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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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….
This is incredible. The best lamb shoulder I’ve ever eaten. I’ve bought a 2.6kg shoulder. How long would you suggest increasing the roast time? Am additional 30 minutes?
how did it go? wanted to make for 6 people. thanks 🙂
This recipe is outstanding! So simple and the result is amazing! A huge hit in my household – thank you!
Great recipe! I have made quite a few recipes from your website and they always work. Thank you.
Hi, I love this recipe. The only thing that I am having problems with is the lamb is still not as tender as I would like. A little bit dry. Any help would be great?
Brown it in a french oven/crock pot with lid firstly on top of stove. Then add a cup of stock & about half-3/4 bottle red wine, garlic & a few sprigs rosemary, leave the lid on for 3-3 and a half hours, 160 fan forced, remove lid for last 30-40 mins higher heat to crisp top. (you can add whole carrots, fennel, onion halves after 2 hours)….it works for me anyway! Good luck!
Only query would be how long are you letting it rest at the end? As after roasting a while if not rested a lot of the juices can run
This is the first and last recipe I will use to roast a lamb shoulder. My family devours it every time and I appear as a super human mom for knowing how to do it😁
That’s awesome Abby!! N x
I looked at lots of different recipes before trying this one because I have found cooking lamb challenging in the past. This excellent recipe has totally changed that. I have now cooked this twice and am astounded by how simple it is to get tender, flavorful meat and a delicious gravy. Thank you
Just wow! Best lamb and gravy I have ever made, never made gravy like this before but there is no going back now. Can’t wait to try your next recepi, I pin them all. Thanks x
Thanks so much for letting me know Rakel! N x
Excellent recipe! Have used your technique for several dinner parties and it always comes out beautifully.
That’s great to hear Ed, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Hi Nagi,
I wasn’t sure about cooking lamb shoulder but your recipe did exactly what it said it would!! The lamb was beautifully moist and tasty and everyone loved it!!
Great easy recipe to follow and what amazing results. Lamb was beautifully cooked.
Thanks so much Mey! N x
Thanks Nagi. I cooked this tonight for Mother’s Day dinner and my wife and children loved it, as did I. This will be my “go to” recipe for roast lamb from now on.
That’s so great to hear! N x
Nagi,
Last time I made this, it was brilliant. So good cooking it again for Mother’s Day. This time we have bigger piece with bone 2.8kg. Would you cook this for 4 hours?
how did it go – also looking to get bigger for 6 people. thanks 🙂
Hi Nagi!
We absolutely love this recipe in our house.
Is there any difference if I was to make this in a slow cooker? We will still pop it in the oven uncovered for the last 30 mins and make the gravy from the pot juices.
We have a dinner Sunday night and I wont have the room in the oven 🙁
Any help would be appreciated x
Hi Brenna, yes, you can just use this method here: https://salesdock.info/slow-cooker-roast-lamb-leg/%3C/a%3E N x
This is an excellent recipe. We made it last night and it was delicious.
Hi, can I use my staub Dutch oven and lid (my roasting pan doesn’t have one)?
I’m so glad you loved it Anthony! N x
Another brilliant recipe – easy to find ingredients, simple instructions and a delicious result. Thank you RecipeTinEats.
Thanks so much Ann! N x
Hi can I cook the potatoes with the lamb?
Hi Nagi,
Another yummy recipe.
I always do my lamb like this but never covered it so never had it falling off the bone. Wow!
My gravy didnt work… i think because everything was burnt.
Do you think my baking tray was too large and I needed to add more water?
I also feel it could do with more flavour, is this because I got it from woolies or maybe not enough garlic n rosemary?
Would love to hear your advice thanks so much
Corinne
Hi Corinne, sorry you had issues here, sounds like your tray needed slightly more water. The gravy really brings this dish together with all those flavours – maybe that’s why you were lacking flavour. N x x
Thanks Nagi,
Yes gravy looked like it Would have been delicious if not burnt with no juices. Will just have to try it again.
Thanks for you feedback
Hi Nagi, this is one of my all time favorite recipes. everyone in the family loves it – thank you! We love it so much, I was wondering if a pork shoulder would work just as well with this recipe (I have bought some pork and wondering what to do with it)? thx
I’m cooking about 1.5kg lamb shoulder no bone would this still be the same amount of time? 3hrs? Please x
Do you suggest any allowances for it being heavier and boneless