Food Food help please - lamb shoulder

[Dominic Manderly]

I have a 3kg shoulder of lamb which I would like to roast. Ideally, I would like to do it as a traditional roast with roast potatoes, and not as a slow-roast (though I know that can also be delicious). How long do I cook it for so that it ends up being medium? Most of the normal Internet sources are too busy recommending slow-roasting to be of any use, and those that do mention ordinary fast-roasting vary wildly in the time that they prescribe. It seems like it could be anything between 1.5 and 2.5 hours.

Any thoughts? Suggestions on herbs to add also v. welcome, though here I will probably end up going just with what there is in the garden.

Lastly, just because this is after all a wine forum, I intend to drink a bottle of Cantemerle 96 with it, and possibly also a Senejac from 2010.

 

[Ian Russell]

Hi Dominic
Any reason you don’t want to slow roast? Having lamb shoulder fall off the bone still very juicy and oozing fat is a thing of beauty. I enjoy cooking it with Moroccan spices or sometimes Greek style with olive oil and lemon putting the potatoes in the bottom of the tray some time later in the roast.
if you want to go with traditional roast them stabbing the meat and putting in slithers of garlic and bits of Rosemary generally works well although it’s ages since I didn’t slow roast the meat....unless I’ve boned the meat for curry!
As for timings I tend to trust gut instinct and a thermopen if I can be bothered. I’m not that fussed about serving the meat pink and good meat is good whether it’s rare or more medium done. Plenty of salt and pepper needed however you cook it.
Others may offer something more specific
good luck

 

[Thom Blach]

I'm not keen on the falling off the bone style these days, I sometimes feel I might as well be eating the meat from the stockpot. Shoulders as sold in the UK with their flap need to have most of its fat carefully trimmed away, the meat underneath the flap is lean and tender and I think wasted by the slow roast that suits the flap. Rosemary and garlic are definitely good as is plenty of seasoning. I'd cook in a fairly hot oven until the exterior is well browned, check the temperature in the middle-if you haven't a thermapen little harm will come from a small incision to have a look, if it's getting towards being done to your taste then give it at least half an hour's rest in a warm place.
Impossible to predict times but I'd be surprised if a small or medium sized shoulder took more than an hour.

 

[Andy Lee]

I like the Tom Kerridge lamb shoulder recipe where the shoulder has garlic put into the skin with waxy potato and onion underneath

 

[Mike Humphreys]

I’m not an expert so rely on the general guidance of a calculator that has served well enough over last few years. I now also back this up with my meat thermometer. The website has helped give some direction.
20 mins at 200 C then 2hrs 30 mins at 150 C
I would tend to shorten this and aim for 60C for medium rare and let it rest. 2.5 hrs may get it a little too far cooked.

Roast calculator

Find roasting times for lamb, pork, beef, venison, chicken, duck, turkey and goose with the BBC's interactive roasting calculator.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Dominic Manderly]

Thanks, all. One of the reasons that I was a bit against slow-roasting is that I am also a bit unsold on the falling-off-the-bone style. It can be really delicious, but I don't want to have it every time. Plus I want to have roast potatoes and not boulangeres.

One thing that has been really delightful that I had fairly recently was a slow-roasted shoulder of mutton studded with garlic and rosemary, put in stock on top of some potatoes, and then done in the kamado barbecue for 5 hours. So basically a barbecued version of the classic. The smoky flavour really adds something.

 

[Dominic Manderly]

Think for today that I will just wing it a bit on the timing. My sister has taken over the actual execution of the dish and she is not one to tolerate conflicting opinions.

 

[Jasper Morris]

My mother always used to say "cook till done" if I asked for advice. What I ahve learnt though is that when you can start to smell the aromas of your dish, you are - or it is - quite close to being done. I would be much nearer to Tom's hour than Mike's two and a half.

 

[Thom Blach]

The thing I forget time and time again is that if one's roast happens to be done an hour or two too early no harm at all will come from holding it and it might well benefit from the rest; though I wouldn't go as far as my friend who when inviting us to an evening barbecue party always cooks the meat in the morning.

 

[Mike Humphreys]

My mother always used to say "cook till done" if I asked for advice. What I ahve learnt though is that when you can start to smell the aromas of your dish, you are - or it is - quite close to being done. I would be much nearer to Tom's hour than Mike's two and a half.

Will be very interested to see how it turns out and how long 2hrs plus seems quite a stint but that’s why the thermometer has become essential for me in last few years and helped greatly. An hour for 3KG seems pretty rapid. I might need a better oven

Dominic please do let us know how you got on.

 

[Sean Hardon]

Wee tip the left overs are great thrown into a slo cooker and covered with water and left for the day simmering away to make an Irish stew. The meat falls off the bone and once cooled the fat solidifies and can be skimmed off.

 

[Thom Blach]

Will be very interested to see how it turns out and how long 2hrs plus seems quite a stint but that’s why the thermometer has become essential for me in last few years and helped greatly. An hour for 3KG seems pretty rapid. I might need a better oven

Dominic please do let us know how you got on.

3KG is a pretty hefty shoulder!
My vague estimate does presume a very well trimmed joint, most shoulders at this time of year are sold with a ludicrous amount of fat.

 

[David Mansfield]

Most shoulders we buy in Scotland are 3kg. Island abattoirs very different to the norm.garlic thyme
rosemary, sage, etc etc the combinations are endless . Like the advice above, cook until Done.

 

[Mark Palmer]

Think for today that I will just wing it a bit on the timing. My sister has taken over the actual execution of the dish and she is not one to tolerate conflicting opinions.

I’ve got one of those too. Best left to simmer in their own juices.

 

[Dominic Manderly]

Thanks, everyone for input. I grew up just a bit too late (if I grew up at all) to have , developed the habit of photographing my food, so I am afraid that I didn't take a picture to put up. Ended up cooking it for about 2hrs 10 or so, and it was delicious. Meat was perhaps a bit browner and less pink than I would usually aim for with a leg, but it was still jolly tender and extremely tasty. Not sure whether it was big because it was from an older animal (it wasn't advertised as hogget or mutton) or from a body-positive sheep, or if bits were included in the joint that would usually not count as shoulder.
The Irish stew idea sounds like a winner. I am also a big fan of the lamb hotpot recipe from the Guardian, but it is disturbing to see how much fat there was in it once it has cooled down.

 

[Dominic Manderly]

Oh, and both the Senejac and the Cantemerle were excellent.