Plain-ish, slow- roasted lamb shoulder, rubbed with mostly store bought harissa.
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Wow! That picture almost looks like it was lifted from a cookbook. Fantastic.
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Awww; thanks so much for your help. Don’t believe I’ve seen a lamb shoulder before. Not pulling apart as planned.
Here’s what it looks like inside.
Maybe some more time?
Yes more time and perhaps part of the time covering.
What temperature did you cook it at? How long?
2.5 hours covered at 320, then 2 hours at 320 uncovered. The last 60 minutes was less consistent, as I had to swap ovens a few times.
I might have treated it like a pork shoulder and done a low and slow, say 225 degrees for 4 or 5 hours, uncovered the last hour.
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Thanks!
I may have hit the wrong button just now. Hope I didn’t flag something by mistake.
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I posted upthread, at the end of January, that we’d picked up a bargain full shoulder. It’s now defrosting for tomorrow night. The plan is definitely to cook it low and slow so that, effectively, we end up with pulled lamb. Simple accompaniments - peas and roasted butternut squash - and gravy, of course.
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All smoked! Now the braise, then the roast…?
This part isn’t in the recipe.
“We brine a whole lamb shoulder and smoke it over hardwood for a couple of hours. Then we braise it in pomegranate molasses until the meat is tender enough to eat with a spoon. Finally, the lamb shoulder is finished in a hot oven to crisp up the exterior”
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This IS in the recipe
"Preheat the oven to 475°F. Place a rack on a baking sheet. Drain the lamb and pat dry. Put the lamb on the rack and roast until well browned on the exterior, about 30 minutes. (Or sear the lamb over a medium-hot grill for 15 minutes until well browned on all sides and nicely charred in places.) Lower the oven to 300°F.
Transfer the lamb shoulder to a large roasting pan. Mix the pomegranate molasses with 8 cups water in a bowl and add to the pan. (The liquid should come about halfway up the shoulder; add water if needed.) Drain the chickpeas and add them to the liquid. Place a sheet of parchment paper over the lamb and cover the pan tightly with foil.
Braise in the oven until the lamb shreds easily with a fork and the chickpeas are tender, about 5 hours. Let the lamb cool in its braising liquid in the refrigerator overnight."
So does the smoking for two hours replace the “roasting until well browned” for 30 minutes? I’m following a 3 or 4 hour smoke with the braise, but am guessing the “braise until lamb shreds easily” will take less than five hours.
Uh oh…the chickpeas may take the whole five.
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After braise.
I will “let the lamb cool in its braising liquid in the refrigerator overnight”.
Tommorow, "the lamb shoulder is finished in a hot oven to crisp up the exterior”
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In the event, we hadnt cooked it long enough to “pull” but it was still very tender. Lots of leftovers - frozen one batch of very well trimmed meat for shawarma and another, finely chopped and mixed with the leftover veg and gravy for shepherd’s pie. Three meals for twelve quid - bit of a bargain, IMO.
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Looks faaab!
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I googled “lamb blade roast” and found this thread!
This one looks a little different, but not much. “On sale”, but a dollar more per pound.
These seem a bit meatier, and have no (obvious) spine.
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I cooked exactly this just a week ago. It worked out very well. Adapting this:
I did this:
Pre-heat oven to 425.
Roughly chop onions and stewing veg (garlic, carrots, celery, leeks, mushrooms etc. but just carrots would be fine) and mix with a little oil in a dutch oven. lightly oil/salt/pepper the lamb and sit it on top of the veg. Into the oven for about 25/30 minutes with it to get some colour going, turning the lamb after 15 minutes.
Remove to low burner and reduce oven to 350.
Stir in 1 14oz can of chopped tomatoes, 1 can of red wine and 1 can of chicken or beef broth/stock and just a little tomato paste. Also a few herbs if you have them. Bring up to simmer, cover with a well fitting lid (I used foil plus lid)
Cook in oven for 2 hours, remove lid and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Remove lamb and pass liquid & veg through a sieve, squashing a bit with a spoon.
Serve carved/lightly pulled meat with strained sauce.
Good with mashed potatoes and green beans.
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Oooo! That looks and sounds good!
I think both shank and shoulder are “braising cuts”, and I think that means they are often interchangeable.
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