Boneless Lamb Shoulder
The weather is starting to cool down, and to me that means it’s coming into roast season. I love a good roast on a cool fall night for dinner. One roast that I especially enjoy is a lamb shoulder, boneless, slow cooked - in a crock pot, braised in the oven, or even stewed. The lamb shoulder has great flavor thanks to all of the fat that is stored in the shoulder muscles of the lamb. A wet braising method will gently break down the ligaments and tendons that hold the muscle together, resulting in a tender meat that can pull apart easily. You can season the shoulder with strong flavors like garlic, wine, and herbs and the flavor of the meat can stand up to those flavors thanks to lamb’s distinct taste.
Braised boneless lamb shoulder:
One whole boneless lamb shoulder
3 cloves of garlic
1 medium chopped yellow onion
1 sprig of rosemary
1 Tablespoon of thyme
1 cup red wine
3 cups of stock
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Chop the herbs roughly
Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees
Get our your cast iron dutch oven with a lid
Heat up the pan on medium high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil
While your pan is heating chop the garlic and onion into a rough mince
When your pan is hot, add the garlic and onion and stir for a minute
After the minute has passed take your lamb shoulder and put it into the pan top-side down (the top side is the side that was not cut open to remove the bone)
Brown this side of the lamb shoulder for about 4 minutes then flip and begin browning the underside for another 4 minutes
When the time has passed pour in your cup of wine - this is called “deglazing” the pan
Stir the wine around to get all of the bits of garlic and browned lamb off the bottom of the pan for a few seconds, then add the stock
Place the lid on the pan and put into your oven for 2-3 hours
Serve by removing the shoulder onto a chopping board and slice
If you wish, you can make a gravy from your braising broth by straining the liquid and making a roux in your pan with butter and flour, add the liquid back and cook down to thicken for about 5 minutes.
Serve with mashed potatoes and greens for a hearty fall meal