Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder

Deliciously tender with the right amount of spice aroma, this slow roast lamb shoulder is a perfect choice for any gatherings with your loved ones. Be it a Sunday roast or any festive celebrations such as Christmas or Easter. And you can make the best lamb gravy out of its roasting juices. 

Slow roast lamb shoulder without lamby taste

Yes, this slow roast lamb shoulder will not only give you the most appetizingly melt-in-the-mouth roast lamb, but the meat won’t have the lamby taste at all. 

So it is a perfect choice for those who are not keen on the smell of lamb meat though they love the taste of the lamb. 

Because let’s admit that lamb does have a strong smell when you don’t cook it right. It’s rather stronger than beef. Especially when you roast them.

I have tried many roast lamb recipes, but this one I’m sharing here is the winner. Because it succeeded to trick my niece, who always finds the smell of lamb is strong. Therefore she doesn’t really eat lamb. But when she tried this roast lamb for the first time, she thought it was roast beef. 

So if you have someone like her in your family, I urge you to try this recipe. 

Excellent choice for Sunday roast and celebrations

And you will love this slow roast lamb shoulder recipe because it is so easy to make that you’ll be so surprised.

Though I must admit that you may have to prepare the lamb a bit more. But trust me, it’s all for the good you’ll get. Once you’re done with the preparation, you’ll pretty much leave the lamb to cook itself. 

Therefore, this roast lamb is a good alternative for your Sunday roast or any celebrations you have with your friends and family. Because it won’t take much of your attention. 

So you can get on with making other delicious foods to go with the roast.

Secret ingredients for the best tasting roast lamb

It’s the spices you choose that make a difference to the taste of this roast lamb.

Many spices and herbs are allegedly perfect for roasting lamb. But after using numerous combinations of spices or herbs, I finally found the real match for lamb meat.

They are green cardamoms, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, garlic, red chilli flakes, onions, parsley and mint. 

These 9 spices and herbs successfully take the best flavour out of the lamb without leaving its natural smell. 

Prepare your lamb

I can be a bit fussy in preparing my meat. Whether it’s a red meat or white meat. Because I do find a massive difference in the end result.

So I do the same for this lamb roast.

I suggest you take off unnecessary fats and grizzle. Then rinse the lamb until the water is pretty clear. Pat dry with a kitchen towel.

Grind the green cardamom seeds, nutmeg, black peppercorns, and cloves until they become powder and mix with salt. 

Next, you want to slit your lamb shoulder in a criss-cross about 1-inch apart. And rub the spice mix all over the lamb and between the cuts. 

Then finely chop the garlic and carrots. Mix them with red chilli flakes, dry mint, and dry parsley. Stir well.

Generously cover the lamb and its cuts with the garlic mixture.

Slice the onions into round discs and place them on your roasting tin. Drizzle the olive oil.

Carefully place the prepared lamb onto the bed of onions. 

Up to this point, you can cook your lamb right away or keep it to cook for later.

You can do this preparation the night before you cook and leave the lamb covered with either aluminium foil or saran wrap/ cling film. Then leave it to rest in the refrigerator.

How to cook slow roast lamb

There are two ways of slow-roasting this lamb shoulder. 

1. Using a slow cooker.
2. Roasting in an oven

Both are good. 

The difference is that cooking in a slow cooker will give you more moist meat with loads of juices. While roasting it in an oven tends to make the meat dryer, you will have to keep an eye on it.  

So if you decide to do it in a slow cooker, prepare the lamb as mentioned above BUT do it in the slow cooker bowl. 

Then when you’re ready to cook, pour the balsamic vinegar over the meat and throw the cinnamon stick on it. 

If you go for a slow cooker, carefully place the bowl in the cooker, and start cooking at high for about 6 hours. Or, you can set it at night on low for about 12 hours. 

But if you want to roast it in an oven, preheat your oven at gas 7/ 220°C/ 425°F. Then place the roasting tin in the middle rack and cook it without cover for half an hour. Then take it out of the oven. Pour water over the lamb, cover it tightly with aluminium foil and put it back into the oven. Turn down the oven to gas 4/ 180°C/ 350°F and continue cooking for 4 hours. 

Side dishes to go with

There are many options you can serve this slow roast lamb shoulder with. 

My favourites are:

• Air fryer roast potatoes.
• Microwave sweet potato gratin.
• Pan-roasted Brussel sprouts with honey and balsamic.
• Air fry butternut squash.
• Classic Yorkshire puddings. 

The above combo surely makes a mouthwatering menu for a family roast. Your dinner plate will definitely look generous and delicious. 

What to do with leftover lamb bones

We always end up with big bones from our delicious roast, don’t we? And often, there is much meat left on the bones.

To make the most of them, you can make healthy and tasty bone broth. 

I have a recipe called Yakhni soup which you can easily make using our leftover bones from the roast. You can drink the soup as it is or use it for cooking anything that requires bone broth/ stock. 

Storing matter

If you end up with some leftover roasted lamb and want to keep it for another day, you can freeze it for up to 2 months. Take it out the night before you want to have it and leave it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. 

Once the meat has thawed, you must not refreeze it. 

More lamb recipe ideas

Thank you for checking this slow roast lamb shoulder recipe. Hope you’ll try it. Please share what you think about it in the comments below (leave a reply). I’ll really appreciate it.

And don’t forget to check out my other lamb recipes that you may like.

• Lamb kofta curry.
• Indonesian lamb satay.
• Lamb burger.

Last but not least, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram and/or Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen. 

Take care and all the best.