Succulent Shoulder of Lamb Recipes

Shoulder of lamb is my favourite, especially for a slow cook when the fat breaks down and adds to the flavour of the superbly succulent meat. Here's an easy recipe followed by something wonderful to do with the left-overs.

Slow-Roast Shoulder of Lamb:

Ingredients

Lamb Shoulder

Garlic

Mustard, or Cumin, Coriander and Cinnamon

Rosemary

Roast Potatoes or Rice (to serve)

Prepare the meat by making cuts under the skin and through the fat. Then slither in some crushed garlic and rosemary, and then rub either mustard (for an English flavour) or cumin, coriander and cinnamon (for a Moroccan flavour) into the meat.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then lay the meat in a roasting tin, cover with foil and roast either overnight (around 8 hours) on as low a temperature as your oven can manage - around 80C is ideal. Or, you can roast for 4 hours at 140C. If you've used the low termperature, raise it to around 180C for the last half-hour before serving.

Serve with roast potatoes (English version) or rice (Moroccan), in either case making a rich sauce by sprinkling the pan with a little flour then deglazing with a glug or two of red wine.

And with the left-overs: 

Lamb Parmentier (which is the French for posh shepherd’s pie)

Ingredients

Leftover Lamb

Mashed potato – made with lots of butter and milk or cream

Breadcrumbs

Take the cooked meat off the bone, shred it and place in a layer at the bottom of an overproof dish. Top generously with mashed potato, sprinkle breadcrumbs over it and place in oven at 180C for about half an hour. It's ready when the breadcrumbs are golden-brown. Delicious served with baked beans.