Slow-roast lamb shoulder
A whole shoulder rubbed with garlic, cumin and lemon and roasted low for four hours, until you can pull it apart with a spoon.
- Serves6
- Prep15 min
- Cook4 hr 10 min
- HeatMild
The easiest showstopper there is. Shoulder has enough fat to baste itself, so a long, low roast turns it soft and sticky with almost no work. Serve it with rice, flatbreads and salad, or with Sunday roast trimmings.
Ingredients
Ask at the counter forA whole lamb shoulder, bone in (about 2kg)
Cut: Shoulder (lamb)
Method
Heat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan, gas 3). Cut shallow slashes all over the fat side of the lamb.
Mix the garlic, spices, salt, pepper, oil and the lemon zest and juice into a paste. Rub it all over the lamb, pushing it into the cuts.
Spread the onions over the bottom of a deep roasting tin, sit the lamb on top and pour the water around it, not over it.
Cover the tin tightly with foil and roast for 3½ hours.
Take off the foil, baste with the juices and roast for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the outside is dark and crisp and the meat pulls away from the bone easily.
Rest for 20 minutes under loose foil. Pull the meat into chunks with two forks and spoon over the onions and juices.
Tips
- A half shoulder of about 1kg takes 2½ to 3 hours in total.
- Spoon the fat off the juices, then pour them over rice.
- Line the tin with foil first and the washing up is easy.
Good to know
- Make ahead and freezing
- Pulled leftovers freeze well in portions. Cool quickly and defrost in the fridge.
- Heat
- Mild. Add green chillies at the table if you like it hotter.