Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder (Full Recipe)
Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder
Makes | 6–10 servings
Cooking day | 2 ½–4 hours
This is the kind of recipe where lamb is at its best—big flavors with textural, coarse-ground spices accent the tender roasted meat.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 lamb shoulder, approximately 4–5 pounds
Salt, to taste
5 cloves Garlic Confit
½ cup whole grain mustard,
Tools
Spice Grinder
Butcher’s twine
Roasting rack
Instructions
To Debone:
1. Rib Removal
- Separate the ribs from the shoulder, cutting as tight to the bone as possible to leave minimal meat on them.
- Save the removed ribs for use in stocks, sauces, or stews.
- Remove the neck area, which contains glands and blood meat.
- Cut out any large chunks of hard white fat from the middle of the meat that will not render during roasting.
- Use a "tunnel boning" technique to remove the internal bones while keeping the exterior of the shoulder intact.
- Work the knife closely around the bone, using your fingers to help free the meat.
- Trace along the flat part of the scapula until reaching the T-shaped section.
- Cut on either side of the T-shape and continue to the ball socket to fully expose and remove the joint.
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F and toast the spices on a sheet pan until they’re aromatic, approximately 10 minutes. Allow the spices to cool to room temperature and then pulse them in the spice grinder to achieve a coarse-ground consistency
2. Liberally season the inside of the deboned meat with salt. Apply a layer of mustard over the interior.vCrush roasted garlic (garlic confit) with your fingers and spread it evenly across the surface.
3. Use several 2-foot lengths of butcher’s twine to tie the shoulder into a neat roast. You’ll want a truss every inch down the length of the roast.
4. Season the exterior liberally with salt. Since this is a thick piece of meat, you really can’t have too much.
5. Pour the spices onto a 10-inch plate and roll the lamb in the spices to coat it. You want a thick layer of spices.
6. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place a rack on the parchment and put another piece of parchment on top of the rack. This setup will prevent the lamb from sticking to the rack as it roasts, and it allows any rendering fat to drip down onto the sheet pan to be collected.
7. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the meat and place it on the rack. Transfer to the oven and roast to an internal temperature of 120°F for medium-rare, approximately 2 hours.
8. Remove the lamb from oven and rest for at least 20–30 minutes before slicing.