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Lamb shoulder coated in mint jelly served with roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, creamy buttered swede, glazed parsnips, carrots and green peas on a sheet of black slate
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4.94 from 92 votes

Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder

How to cook your family the best lamb roast dinner.
This recipe shows you how to slow roast a lamb shoulder joint in the oven, for 3 ½ to 5 hours at a low temperature. Slow cooked to the point where the tender meat falls off the bone.
Extra flavour and glaze are given from a mint jelly marinade added near the end of cooking time. Lamb is roasted in stock which creates the base for a delicious minted lamb gravy.
Instructions are for half shoulder lamb, however, can also be used for a whole shoulder lamb joint, with extra oven roasting time.
Measurements are given in both UK, metric and US, imperial.
Prep Time10 minutes
Active Time3 hours 30 minutes
Resting time30 minutes
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: British
Keyword: 3 hour, 4 hour, 5 hour, glaze, gravy, half shoulder, How to cook lamb shoulder in oven, lamb roast, lamb roast recipe, lamb shoulder with fall apart meat, mint, minted, oven roast, Roast, roast dinner, shoulder of lamb recipes, slow cook lamb shoulder, Slow Cooked, slow cooked lamb shoulder, slow cooking lamb in oven, Slow roast, slow roasted shoulder of lamb, whole shoulder
Yield: 4 People
Calories: 412kcal
Author: Luke and Kay - Flawless Food

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1.2 kg Lamb Shoulder (Bone in)
  • 2 Onions
  • 1 Garlic bulb Spread into cloves
  • 4 sprigs thyme Or your prefered herb
  • 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 litre Lamb stock Can use beef or vegetable stock instead.
  • 3 tablespoon Mint Jelly

Gravy

  • Leftover stock, from roasting tin fat removed
  • 3 tablespoon Flour mixed with water to create a lump free slurry before adding
  • 1 teaspoon Mint Jelly

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 150°C fan / 170°C / Gas mark 3 / 325°F. It is best to bring the 1.2 kg Lamb Shoulder (Bone in) out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking. Remove from packaging and pat dry.
    Chop 2 Onions into thick round discs. Place in the middle of a large roasting tin with the cloves of 1 Garlic bulb (no need to peel) and 4 sprigs thyme scattered around.
    Chopped onion,Garlic cloves and sprigs of fresh thyme in a black roasting tin
  • Pour 2 tbsp Olive Oil over the lamb shoulder and rub it in on both sides with your hands
    Rubbing in the olive oil with hands over the lamb shoulder sitting on top of chopped onion, garlic cloves and fresh thyme in a black roasting tin
  • Place the lamb shoulder joint on top of the onions fat side up, season the lamb with more thyme leaves and a generous amount of Salt and Pepper
    Sprinkling fresh thyme leaves and black pepper by hand over the top of a lamb shoulder sitting on top of chopped onion, garlic cloves and fresh thyme in a roasting tin
  • Add 1 litre Lamb stock around the lamb (do not pour over the lamb)
    Pouring lamb stock into a black roasting tin from a glass jug with the lamb shoulder sitting on top of chopped onion, garlic cloves and fresh thyme
  • Cover the whole tray with foil and cook at 150°C fan / 170°C / Gas mark 3 / 325°F for 3 hours to start (this is not the full cooking time)
    (remember this cooking time is for a 1kg - 1.5 kg, half lamb shoulder, see notes section for roasting time, if using a larger, whole shoulder)
    covering over the lamb shoulder in a roasting tin with silver tin foil
  • Remove tray halfway through cooking. Shut oven door, lift foil and use a spoon or baster to pour the stock over the lamb. Recover with foil and cook for the remaining time.
    Pouring stock and juices over the lamb shoulder with a silver tablespoon to baste the meat
  • After 3 hours of cooking, spoon on 3 tbsp Mint Jelly and rub all over the top.
    Remove from roasting tin and place in a clean tray to continue cooking for another 30 minutes uncovered at the same temperature.
    Placing mint jelly over the top of the slow roast lamb shoulder with a silver tablespoon
  • Remove onions and garlic (you can keep for serving with roast if desired).
    Use a sieve to pour Leftover stock, from roasting tin from the tin into a jug.
    Place the jug in a bowl of ice to help cool it down quicker. Once cooled enough, place in the freezer to encourage the fat to harden.
    Pouring the juices and stock into a glass jug from the black roasting tin into a sieve catching sprigs of thyme and onions
  • Once finished, remove the lamb and loosely cover it with foil. Allowing it to rest whilst cooking roast dinner side dishes
    Slow roast Lamb shoulder coated in mint jelly served with roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, creamy buttered swede, glazed parsnips, carrots and green peas on a black sheet of slate

Minted Lamb Gravy

  • Remove jug from the freezer and use a spoon to remove the hard layer of fat off the top.
    Removing the fat layer away from the stock/ juices with a silver spoon
  • Reheat the stock in a pan.
    Pouring the stock/ juices into a cast iron pan to make gravy
  • Mix 3 tbsp Flour with double amount of cold water to create a lump-free flour slurry.
    Mixing together plain flour and water together in a black bowl with a silver table spoon
  • Add flour slurry slowly into stock whilst whisking to prevent lumps from forming. You don't have to add it all, mix until at the desired gravy thickness.
    Pouring the plain flour and water mix into the stock and juices in a cast iron pan to make a gravy which is being stirred with a black whisk
  • Add 1 tsp Mint Jelly (optional) for extra flavour.
    Placing a teaspoon of mint jelly into the gravy cooking in a cast iron pan
  • Pour into a serving jug and cover to keep warm
    Pouring lamb gravy into a silver jug with a black ladle from a cast iron pan

How to serve pulled lamb

  • Once rested, use two forks to pull the tender lamb apart.
    Pulling the lamb shoulder apart with two silver forks
  • The meat will literally fall off the bone, there is no need to carve it.
    Lamb shoulder all shredded and away from the bone which is been placed on the side of the meat which is been placed on a wooden board
  • Serve with all the lamb gravy and all the usual roast dinner side dishes, check out the blog post for ideas.
    Pouring lamb gravy over our slow roast lamb shoulder served on a black plate with roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, creamy buttered swede, glazed parsnips, carrots and green peas

Video

Notes

Oven Cooking time for half or whole shoulder of lamb

Shoulder of Lamb (bone-in) weight kg and (lb)
 Oven cooking time
170C / fan 150C Gas mark 3 (325F)
 Final cooking time with mint jelly glaze added Total cooking time
1 kg -1.5 kg
(2.2 lb - 3.4 lb)
 3 hours 0 minutes 30 minutes 3 ½ hours
1.6 kg - 1.9 kg
(3.5 lb - 4.1 lb)
 3 hour 30 minutes 30 minutes 4 hours
2 kg - 2.5kg
(4.4 lb - 5.5 lb)
 4 hour 30 minutes 30 minutes 5 hours

Nutrition

Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 630mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 49IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 4mg