A slow cooked lamb shoulder roasted low and slow in the oven with carrots, onions, potatoes, celery and garlic until fork tender. This one-tray lamb shoulder recipe is ideal for home cooking and delivers the pull-apart texture you would expect from restaurant-style slow roasted lamb.
Ingredients
Serves 3–4
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8g salt
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8g black pepper
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4g cumin
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3 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped
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2 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped
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2 brown onions, cut into wedges
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2 potatoes, cut into chunks
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3 carrots, cut into thick slices
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2 celery sticks, cut into chunks
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1 whole garlic bulb, halved horizontally
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500ml Maggie Beer beef stock
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100g tomato paste
Optional for gravy
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2 tablespoons flour
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Black pepper
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A little roasted garlic pulp from the pan
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Extra water or beef stock if needed
Method
Preheat the oven
1. Heat the oven to 150°C.
Season the lamb
1. Mix salt, pepper, cumin, thyme leaves and rosemary leaves. Rub the lamb shoulder with olive oil and apply the seasoning all over.
Arrange the tray
1. Place the halved garlic bulb cut-side up in the centre of a deep tray.
2. Surround with the carrots, then add the onions, potatoes and celery around the sides.
Add the lamb and liquid
1. Set the lamb shoulder on top of the garlic.
2. Whisk the beef stock with the tomato paste and pour into the tray. The liquid should come up to the lamb without covering it, depending on tray size.
Cover and cook
1. Cover with aluminium foil and roast for 4-5 hours.
Uncover to colour and reduce
1. Remove the foil and roast uncovered for the last 1-2 hours. This allows the lamb to brown and the liquid to reduce and concentrate.
Optional: During this uncovered phase you can spoon some of the liquid over the lamb once or twice to enhance flavour.
Rest and pull apart
1. Remove from the oven and rest the lamb for 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a board, arrange the vegetables, and pull apart the lamb with forks.
Serve
1. Plate the roasted vegetables and the roasted garlic halves. Serve the pulled lamb alongside.
2. Pour over any tray juices or serve with optional gravy. This is a complete one-tray slow roasted lamb shoulder perfect for a home-cooked Sunday meal.
Optional pan gravy
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Remove the lamb and vegetables and scrape up any browned bits in the tray.
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Add a little roasted garlic pulp, black pepper and 2 tablespoons flour.
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Whisk either directly in the tray or transfer to a small pan on the hob for a hotter, smoother finish.
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Loosen with a splash of water or stock if needed, or thicken with a little more flour to reach your preferred consistency.
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Serve with the lamb.
Notes and tips
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Slow cooked lamb shoulder naturally becomes pull-apart tender at low temperature
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Removing the foil helps the lamb colour and intensifies the flavour of the remaining juices
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This oven lamb shoulder recipe is ideal for home cooks looking for a reliable one-tray lamb method
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Serve with bread, couscous or mash to extend the meal if feeding more people
Don’t Just Read It, Watch It
See exactly how we cook it in our Youtube video.