This slow cooked lamb shoulder will be the juiciest, most incredible lamb roast you have ever had! With rosemary and garlic stuffed into incisions, it infuses this lamb roast with the most incredible flavour as well as adding a subtle perfume to the lamb gravy.
Lamb shoulder has more flavour and is easier to cook than lamb leg. Virtually foolproof, minimal effort, and incredible meat that is so tender that you won’t need a knife to carve this! Want to upgrade to the Rolls Royce version? Try the Ultimate 12 Hour Roast Lamb or browse the entire Roast Lamb recipe collection.
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder is the ultimate lamb roast
Being born into a foodie family, there is always a flurry of emails leading up to a Sunday Night Roast. It usually goes something like this:
My brother (the “serious” foodie): Let’s do a standing rib roast. Dry aged from Victor Churchill (PS A gourmet expensive butcher in Sydney!)
Me: That’s ridiculous. It will cost $100!
Brother: If we’re gonna do a roast, we should do it right. I’m not doing a lamb leg from Coles!
Me: Who said you’re cooking? I’M the Roast Queen, remember?
Brother: Self proclaimed titles carry no weight.
Me: How about a slow cooked lamb shoulder?
Brother: OK. That’ll do. I’ll do the sides.
Sister: I don’t mind. Just tell me what I need to do.
Mum: Send me a shopping list.
And thus the roles and responsibilities for a Sunday Night Roast are set.
Lamb Shoulder
Lamb shoulder is not as popular as lamb leg – and I truly do not understand why. It has more flavour and it’s far juicier. The only “downside” I can think of is that it needs to be slow cooked, it can’t be cooked hard and fast like a classic Roast Lamb Leg that’s cooked until perfectly pink and juicy inside.
On the other hand, because lamb shoulder is a juicier cut, it’s incredibly forgiving so if it’s in the oven for too long, it’s still going to be gloriously juicy.
I love using the technique of stuffing rosemary and garlic into incisions to infuse the meat with flavour. You can really only do this with rosemary because the sprigs are stiff enough to stick into the holes.
And also it works well for this recipe because it is slow roasted – the flavours do not infuse as well into the meat with a traditional roast that only takes 1 1/2 hours or so. So take advantage of it in this recipe!
OK, signing off! Love to hear if this makes it to your Sunday Night family dinner! – Nagi x
My favourite side dishes for roast lamb
More Roast Lamb Recipes
I love a good roast lamb – so I’ve shared a few over the years!
Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Slow Roasted Rosemary Garlic Lamb Shoulder
Ingredients
- 1.8kg / 3.5 lb lamb shoulder (bone in) (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 onion, quartered (no need to peel)
- 1 head garlic , cut in half horizontally
- 3 garlic cloves , cut into slivers
- 8 sprigs rosemary
- 1 cup water
Gravy
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 cups beef broth (or 1 cup red wine + 1 cup water)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 240°C/465°F (220°C fan forced).
- Rub the lamb with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Use a thin, sharp knife to make 12 incisions in the lamb, deep as you can but without piercing through the bottom of the lamb. (See photo in post and video
- Stuff bits of rosemary and garlic slivers into the holes (chopstick helpful!)
- Place the onion, halved garlic bulb and rosemary in the base of a roasting pan. Place the lamb on top. Pour water around.
- Cover with lid or tightly with a double layer of foil. Place in the oven, and TURN DOWN to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
- Slow roast, covered: Roast, covered with the foil, for 3 hours. (Note 1 for different sizes).
- Brown it, uncovered: Remove foil, check to ensure there's still liquid in the pan. If not, add 3/4 cup water (otherwise onion/garlic will burn). Turn up the oven to 220°C/425°F and roast for a further 20 to 30 minutes, until the skin is browned and crisp.
- Check if ready: By now, you should be able to part the meat with two forks - if not, just cover and return to oven at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) until you can do so.
- Rest: Remove lamb from the roasting pan and transfer to a plate. Cover loosely with foil then a couple of tea towels and let it rest for at least 20 minutes, up to a couple of hours (after this, you may want to reheat).
- Serve with gravy (below). If you want to go all out, make Duck Fat Potatoes or Super Crispy Roasted Potatoes!
Gravy
- Tilt the pan and use a spoon to remove all but around 2 tbsp of fat (try to avoid scooping out any juices).
- Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium high heat. Add the flour and stir to mix in with the fat. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the stock gradually and stir to combine. Use a potato masher to mash the onion and garlic, making sure that all the garlic squeezes out of the skin.
- Allow it to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until it is just before your desired consistency (it will thicken a bit as it cools), then remove from the stove. Season to taste with salt and pepper, strain into bowl being sure to squeeze all juices out of garlic etc, then transfer into gravy jug.
Recipe Notes:
- Smaller lamb shoulder (around 1 kg) - cut down roasting time while covered by 20 minutes (doesn't change by much, shoulder meat needs a minimum time to breakdown);
- Boneless lamb shoulder - reduce covered cook time by 20 minutes. A 1.8kg bone in lamb shoulder will weigh about 1.3kg with the bone removed;
- Rolled boneless lamb shoulder (~1.1 - 1.3kg) - cook time per recipe.
- 2 x ~1.5kg/3lb shoulders - fit into one pan (they will shrink, so ok if touching), add 30 minutes to cover slow roast time.
Originally published February 2015, updated with new photos, new commentary and video - AND Life of Dozer added!Nutrition Information:
BEST OF SUNDAY SUPPER ROASTS
Life of Dozer
Hmm. Not surprising he’s interested in what’s going on here….
Cooked this recipe for the first time today – absolutely perfect. No changes to the instructions, it was faultless. You make me feel like a real cook by turning out these dishes that work each and every time!
Nagi this was just a-may-zing!!
And so easy to cook.
Thank you
Was my first time cooking roast lamb and I could not be happier. Your recipe is very easy to follow and the lamb turned out beautifully.
Absolutely perfect slow cooked tender lamb shoulder! Beats any other recipe hands down! So simple yet cooked to perfection. Thanks Nagi 🙏
This was amazing! So tender and full of flavor
Thanks Nagi! Delicious!!
Honestly this is ridiculously simple to make but yields an outstanding result. The gravy was generous and incredibly tasty. The instructions clear and concise. Another staple on my rotation and another reason to never eat out again!
Hi, this sounds sooo delicious.
I’m going to make it for my husband’s birthday party on Thursday night. Can you roast 2 x 2kg shoulders in the same pan for the same amount of time but increase the other ingredients or do I need to increase the roasting time too.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers Sandie
Has anyone cooked this in a slow cooker?
Hi Nagi and thanks for all your great content and recipes!
I was just watching the video on slow cooked lamb shoulder (making for friends next weekend) and your garlic looks huge and delicious! May i ask where i can buy some like that please? X
Absolutely loved this recipe, I made it for Xmas dinner and it turned out perfect!!!
This is my favourite lamb roast recipe, so tasty and easy. Loved by the whole family and everyone we’ve ever cooked it for.
OMG your lamb shoulder recipe is the best. I cooked it for the first time and had dinner guests, everyone went back for seconds! I am never going back to a leg of lamb again. I am also about to try your pork shoulder recipe. Thanks so much!!!
Incredible!
Really yummy and easy recipe
It was outstanding 👏
First time I’ve cooked a lamb shoulder…this was super easy and got rave reviews, thank you!
I made this recipe last night and it was AMAZING!! The gravy was outstanding! I think the only changes I made to it was to use dried rosemary and to add thick lemon slices on top before roasting. The addition of the lemon in the flavour of the lamb and the gravy was to die for!
Thank you! Yet another triumph from someone who can’t cook very well 🙋🏽♀️ My husband was super impressed.
In Nagi we trust!
Hi Nagi, I have just cooked your beautiful lamb shoulder and everyone has decided to go out 😱 how do I save and reheat for tomorrow night 🙏