A Great Classic with a Slight Twist
I think of classics as recipe’s that have been done a million times over but still stand the test in time because they are just so bloody delicious. There are some that I could eat every week and never get tired of and then there are others that I have done so many times that I just can’t stand the sight of anymore. I had thought I was at that point with the slow-cooked lamb shoulder, a dish that for years I have loved and cooked more times than I can count, but in the last few years, I was so over and so bored with that I may have only cooked it twice. It got to the point where it seemed like every pub, every restaurant and every food magazine was thrashing the lamb shoulder and I was so sick of it myself that I banished it from my kitchen.
But the love-hate relationships I have with many foods never last long, it’s hard to hate something that’s so great. That said I was still a touch surprised at myself when I picked up a shoulder and added it to the shopping trolley.
There are so many different ways you can change a shoulder, today’s recipe looks pretty festive although that was not the intent, could definitely be added to the Xmas spread. It has a tahini yogurt on top with fresh mint, pistachio and pomegranate, so it’s a bit more jazzed up to my normal lamb shoulder but the actual lamb itself is still my go-to. It’s simple but it works for me and the end result is always melt in your mouth goodness.
What you’ll need
1.2 kg lamb shoulder with a good even cover of fat on the top
3 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of rosemary
1 cup of greek yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini
1 lemon
1 pomegranate
1/3 bunch of mint
1/4 shelled pistachios
From the Pantry
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Prep and Cook
Choosing the right dish
Choosing the right sized dish is pretty important for this one because you want the shoulder to be sitting in all of it's own juices, this is what makes it beautiful and soft. So you want a roasting dish that isn't so small that the shoulder is cramed in and touching all the sides, but isn't so big that all those natural juices will disappear. When stretched out you want to be able to have two fingers between the meat and the sides of your dish the whole way round. And the walls high enough that the foil wont touch the meat.
Preheat Oven to 200c
Cook Lamb
Strip rosemary off the woody stalk and roughly chop.
Peel and roughly chop garlic.
Remove lamb from packaging and cut off the butchers twine or netting and open out the shoulder, season both sides really well, then rub the garlic and rosemary all over the lamb and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
Place the shoulder in a roasting tray lined with baking paper, fat side facing up and cover tightly with foil then pop in the oven to cook for 30 minutes.
Once the timer has finished reduce the oven temperature down to 140c and set the timer for another 2 hours.
After the two hours have completed remove the lamb from the oven.
Your lamb should now be sitting in a lot of natural juices. Turn the whole piece over and ladle those juices over (also now is when you want to have a stab with a fork to see how soft it is).
Cover again with the foil and return to the oven for 1 hour.
Check the meat again to see how soft it is and turn it over, cover and return to the oven.
Check every hour until the meat pulls apart with a fork. You’ll know it’s ready when there is no tension on the fork it will just slide through the meat.
When your meat is lovely and soft remove the foil and turn the lamb so that it is once again fat side facing up. Turn the oven back up to 200 and crank that baby for 20-30 minutes so you get a nice golden crispy top.
Cooking Time
The actual cooking time always will vary as no two lamb shoulders are ever the same so always check your meat and adjust where necessary, some will soften up fast and may only require 4 hours to cook, some will still be hard sfter the first two hours will take at least 6 hours.
To Serve
Mix the yogurt, tahini and lemon juice with salt and pepper.
Deseed the pomegranate. If you want to avoid the pomegranate staining the yogurt transfer the seeds onto a paper towel before using.
Roughly chop the mint leaves.
Roughly chop pistachio.
Spread the yogurt over the cooked lamb. Scatter with the mint, pistachio and finish with the pomegranate.
Enjoy!