Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder (Printer-friendly)

Tender lamb shoulder slow-cooked with garlic, rosemary, thyme, and roasted vegetables for a hearty dish.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Meat

01 - 1 bone-in lamb shoulder (5.5 lbs)

→ Herbs & Aromatics

02 - 6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
03 - 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
04 - 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
05 - 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped or 1 tsp dried oregano
06 - Zest of 1 lemon

→ Vegetables

07 - 2 large onions, sliced
08 - 3 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
09 - 2 celery stalks, cut into large pieces

→ Seasonings

10 - 2 tsp sea salt
11 - 1 tsp black pepper
12 - 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

→ Liquids

13 - 1 cup dry white wine
14 - 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

→ Oils

15 - 2 tbsp olive oil

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 320°F.
02 - Pat the lamb shoulder dry, then make small incisions all over and insert garlic halves into each cut.
03 - Combine rosemary, thyme, oregano, lemon zest, sea salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika; rub this mixture evenly over the lamb, pressing into the incisions.
04 - Heat olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat and sear the lamb on all sides until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
05 - Scatter onions, carrots, and celery in the bottom of the roasting pan and place the seared lamb on top of the vegetables.
06 - Pour the white wine and stock around the lamb (not over it) and cover tightly with foil or a lid.
07 - Roast in the oven for 3.5 to 4 hours, basting once or twice, until the meat is very tender and easily pulls away from the bone.
08 - Remove the cover and continue roasting uncovered for the final 30 minutes to brown the lamb.
09 - Let the lamb rest, tented with foil, for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the roasted vegetables and pan juices.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The meat becomes so impossibly tender that a fork practically dissolves it, no carving knife drama required.
  • Your kitchen will smell like a Mediterranean dream for hours afterward, worth the wait alone.
  • It's the kind of show-stopping main course that makes people think you've been cooking all day, when really you just set it and forgot about it.
02 -
  • Don't skip the searing step thinking you'll save time—the golden crust is where the magic lives, and no amount of roasting later can replicate it.
  • If your lamb isn't fork-tender at four hours, keep going for another 30 minutes—oven temperatures vary, and patience here makes all the difference.
  • The pan juices are not just a side note; they're the entire point of everything, so don't pour them away or dilute them carelessly.
03 -
  • Check the lamb's doneness by inserting a fork into the thickest part—it should slide through with almost no resistance, not because you're cutting but because the meat simply gives way.
  • If your roasting pan doesn't have a lid, heavy-duty foil sealed tightly works just as well and sometimes even better, trapping steam more effectively.