Fall-Apart Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder, Garlic & Rosemary

Preparing a Slow Roasted Rosemary Garlic Lamb Shoulder starts with a 3.5 lb (1.8 kg) bone-in lamb shoulder. This particular cut carries a thick exterior coating of fat that relies on gentle, lengthy cooking to become soft. You will place the sealed roasting dish into a 350°F (180°C) oven for 3 hours. The water at the bottom of the pan steams the meat throughout this covered phase, melting the dense fat and leaving you with tender pulled lamb sitting above the dark cooking juices.

The bone-in lamb shoulder

Lamb shoulder contains a large central bone and a thick surface layer of fat. This fatty cut needs hours of gentle heat to become tender. You will end up with tough, unchewable meat if you cook lamb shoulder quickly at high temperatures.

Preparing the meat

Rub the lamb with olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Cut 12 small incisions into the meat. Go as deep as possible without piercing the bottom. A hole through the underside lets the internal juices drain into the pan.

Insert garlic cloves, sliced into thin slivers, and rosemary sprigs into the holes. Rosemary stems are naturally stiff, so they slide easily into narrow knife cuts. You can use a chopstick to push the herbs and garlic deep down into the meat.

The two oven stages

Scatter these ingredients across the bottom of your roasting dish to build the base:

• Onion quarters
• The head garlic, halved crosswise
• A few rosemary sprigs

Set the raw meat directly on top of these aromatics. Pour 1 cup of water into the dish and seal the top tightly with foil. Preheat the oven to 465°F (240°C). Put the covered dish in the oven and immediately drop the temperature to 350°F (180°C). The water steams the meat while it roasts covered for 3 hours.

Take the foil off to expose the skin. Turn the oven heat up to 425°F (220°C) to brown the surface. Check the liquid level in the pan first. Pour in 3/4 cup of water if the dish looks dry. The base aromatics will burn if you leave the pan dry during this final uncovered phase. Roast the lamb for another 20 to 30 minutes until the skin turns brown and crisp.

Resting the meat

Test the meat for doneness by pulling it apart with two forks. The meat should give way easily. Put the cover back on and return the dish to the 350°F (180°C) oven if the lamb resists.

Move the finished lamb to a plate. Drape it loosely with foil and lay tea towels over the top to keep the heat in. The meat needs to rest for at least 20 minutes. You can rest the cooked roast at room temperature under the towels for up to two hours before carving and reheating.

The pan gravy

Tip the roasting dish so the cooking liquids pool in one corner. Skim off the excess fat from the surface, leaving about 2 tablespoons behind. Keep the dark juices in the dish. Your gravy will taste bland if you scoop out the dark pan juices along with the excess fat.

Set the dish on the stove over medium high heat. Stir 2 tablespoons of flour into the fat and cook the paste for 30 seconds. Pour in the beef broth (or 1 cup red wine and 1 cup water).

Take a potato masher and crush the roasted onion and garlic directly into the cooking liquid. Press the vegetables until the soft garlic pushes out of its skins. Simmer the gravy for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens. Push the liquid through a strainer into a bowl. Squeeze the solids hard to extract all the retained liquid.

Portions and side dishes

A 1.5-kilogram bone-in lamb shoulder shrinks during cooking due to fat loss. This size yields approximately 700 grams of cooked meat. This provides enough cooked meat for four servings.

Serve the shredded lamb with a generous pour of the strained pan gravy. You can cook roast potatoes on the lower oven rack during the meat's final uncovered browning phase to serve alongside the roast.