Slow Roasted Mediterranean Lamb Shoulder
Slow Roasted Mediterranean Lamb Shoulder is juicy and so flavorful from an aromatic garlic rosemary marinade and slow cooking in red wine with lots of onions and spices until fork tender. A foolproof recipe that’s perfect for Sunday dinner, holidays like Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving or any get together!
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- Garlic Press (optional)
- Roasting Pan or baking dish
- Fat Separator (optional)
Ingredients
- About 3 pounds trimmed, boneless lamb shoulder (See Notes.)
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano (See Notes.)
- 1 tsp dried thyme (See Notes.)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- 4 Tbsp olive oil + more to rub on roasting pan
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary stemmed and chopped (about 2 Tbsp chopped)
- 2 Tbsp minced or grated garlic
- 2 large yellow or Spanish onions, ½" slice
- 1 cup dry red wine such as Chianti or merlot
Instructions
- Gather and prep all ingredients. Remove the lamb from netting if it was purchased with it. If the lamb was purchased untrimmed, trim it of large pieces of fat and silver skin. Pat the lamb dry with paper towels. (See Notes.)(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)About 3 pounds trimmed, boneless lamb shoulder
- Make a dry rub by mixing the first 7 ingredients together in a bowl until well-combined. This can be done several days in advance and held in an airtight container at room temperature.1½ tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- Combine the dry rub spice mixture with chopped fresh rosemary, minced garlic and olive oil to make the marinade. Then, rub this mixture thoroughly all over the lamb, coating as much surface as possible for maximum flavor. The longer you marinate the meat, the more flavorful it will be! Cover and marinate it overnight if possible, but at least for a couple hours.4 Tbsp olive oil, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, 2 Tbsp minced or grated garlic
- When the lamb is finished marinating, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 450◦F. Slice the onions if they have not been done yet.2 large yellow or Spanish onions,
- Use butcher’s twine to tie the lamb back into a roast. There’s no need to be precise about doing this. Simply tie it up in 3-4 places so that it holds its shape.
- Arrange sliced onions on the bottom of an oil-rubbed roasting pan or baking dish and sprinkle them with salt and black pepper.
- Place the marinated lamb shoulder roast on top of the onions.
- Transfer the lamb to the preheated oven and roast it uncovered at a high heat (450◦F) for 30 minutes to brown its surface.
- After 30 minutes, turn the lamb roast over and continue to roast it uncovered for another 30 minutes at high heat to brown the other side.
- After the second 30 minutes, remove the roasting pan from the oven and turn the lamb over again. Pour the red wine into the pan, then cover it securely with aluminum foil. Reduce the heat to 325◦F and return the covered pan to the oven. • NOTE: At this point I like to place a few whole garlic bulbs (that have had their top part sliced off) in the pan to roast along with the lamb, but this is completely optional.)1 cup dry red wine
- After about 2 hours, check the texture of the lamb and assess its doneness. You can do this by inserting a knife into the center of the roast to determine its tenderness. It should be fork tender and fall apart fairly easily when pricked with tongs or a fork. If it is not quite there yet, return the lamb to the oven and continue checking it every 20 to 30 minutes until it is fork tender.• Actual cooking time will vary based on your oven and how many other items are in the oven at the same time. After the initial 60 minutes roasting uncovered at high heat, it took the lamb another 3 hours covered at 325◦F in my electric oven.• NOTE: If you feel like the lamb needs a bit more browning or caramelization at the end, turn the heat back up to 450°F and continue to roast it, uncovered, until it browns to your liking, checking it at 15 minute intervals.
- Once the lamb is done, remove pan from the oven and let it rest for about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the twine.
- While lamb is still warm, break it down into smaller chunks, if desired. Use a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the pan juices to serve them either on top of or alongside the lamb.• There will be quite a bit of fatty liquid left in the roasting pan as a result of the cooking process.• If you strain/remove the lamb and onions and segregate the liquid, you could pour it into a fat separator, then serve it alongside the pork.• Alternatively, if you will be serving the pork on a different day, you could refrigerate the liquid in order to solidify the fat, skim it off, then heat it and serve it with the pork. Or, enjoy it as is! Buon Appetito!
Video
Notes
LAMB:
- I started with an approximate 3-pound boneless lamb shoulder (which was about half a full shoulder) that was already trimmed and netted by the butcher. I recommend asking the butcher to trim and prep the meat for roasting so that all you need to do is marinate it and then tie it. This is usually referred to as a “lamb shoulder roast”.
- If the meat comes already netted, like mine did, just remove it from the netting and unroll it so that you can marinate ALL the surfaces of the lamb properly. Then use some butcher’s twine to re-tie it up and secure it before roasting.
- Or, you can leave the roast untied and spread out if you prefer–it will cook faster this way.
- On the other hand, you can also roast large chunks of lamb, as in my Italian Pulled Pork recipe, if you prefer. The meat would still need to be rubbed completely with the marinade but would not need to be tied up. These lamb chunks would also take less time to cook than one large roast, fyi.
- Also, you can certainly use bone-in lamb shoulder for this recipe and I love doing so. As with any meat on the bone, it will take longer to cook, though, so please take that into consideration. I actually had a hard time finding bone-in lamb shoulder, to be honest, so I went with boneless for this recipe.
- Silver skin is a thin membrane of connective tissue on the lamb that gets tough and chewy when cooked, and it should be removed. (Ideally this will have been already done by the butcher.)
- The longer you marinate the meat, the more flavorful it will be! Marinate it overnight if possible, but at least for a couple hours.
- Don’t skip the high-heat roasting step of the lamb at the beginning. This “searing-like” step locks in a ton of delicious flavor and moisture and creates the most delicious crust on the outside. I have made with recipe with and without this step and there was no question that it makes a really big difference in the flavor and texture of the final product.
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend can be used in place of the 1 teaspoon dried thyme and 1 teaspoon dried oregano.
- You can substitute chicken broth for the wine, if desired.
- Actual cooking time will vary based on your oven and how many other items are in the oven at the same time. After the initial 60 minutes roasting uncovered at high heat, it took the lamb another 3 hours covered at 325◦F in my electric oven.
- Letting the lamb rest after cooking and before breaking it down will allow the juices to redistribute.
- The finished lamb and onion mixture will be very juicy and moist on its own, so you may decide to not use the pan liquids at all.
- Store leftovers of the lamb in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost them in the refrigerator when ready to enjoy, then reheat in a covered skillet with a little bit of water until heated through.
- Sear multiple sides of the marinated lamb in heated oil in a Dutch oven or braiser then remove it;
- Deglaze with red wine or broth and scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan;
- Stir the onions into the wine, then top with the reserved lamb shoulder and any accumulated lamb juices;
- Add 1 additional cup wine or water. Cover and bring the mixture to a rolling simmer. Then, immediately turn the heat down to medium-low/low to maintain a very low simmer;
- Keep an eye on the lamb and check it every 20 to 30 minutes. As the stovetop heats differently, you will likely need to add additional liquid (chicken broth, vegetable broth or water) to the pot during the cooking process. The lamb should be at least 1/3 – ½ covered in liquid;
- It will still take hours for all the connective tissue to break down and become tender on the stovetop as it does in the oven, but you will need to check it regularly. I also suggest turning the shoulder over every hour and stirring the onions and liquid.
- To achieve the same browning on the outside surface that roasting in a very hot oven does, I suggest searing multiple sides of the marinated lamb roast in a hot skillet before adding it to the slow cooker. Searing locks in a ton of delicious flavor and creates the most delicious crust on the outside.
- Then, mix the lamb and onions together and add them to the slow cooker with the wine;
- Cover and set on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours or until the lamb is fall-apart tender.
