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….
Hi Nagi – I am going to try this recipe for company. I have 2 roasts – each 1.14 kg (2.5 lb). I will do both of them as they need to serve 4 people. Should I make any adjustments in the recipe. Thanks so much. Looking forward to making this.
Hi Vivian, Just adjust the cook time to slightly less – I would check at 2.5 hours to ensure the meat is tender. It’s a very forgiving recipe so don’t worry too much – if it isn’t quite tender enough, continue with another 20 minutes and check again. Then proceed with browning step with foil off. – N x
Hi Nagi. I cooked the 2 lamb shoulders (each about 1.15 kg) for the 3 hours and then at 425 for 20 minutes. They looked amazing coming out of the oven…and were delicious. Thank you! I am going to try the oven baked chicken and rice next.
I have a boneless shoulder of lamb. Can I still use this recipe and if so should I adjust it? Thanks
This recipe came out GREAT. It was done earlier than expected, but I caught it in time when it was still delicious. Had LOTS of gravy drippings to work with. FIVE STARS!
Hi Nagi, Made this for dinner tonight, and it was terrific. My husband went back for 2nds and enthusiastic in his approval.
I have wanted to make this for a while, but have not seen lamb in the grocery stores (wrong time of year, or just not common in these parts, not sure which) and finally Easter is here and the stores had lamb legs, but no shoulder roasts. I saw shoulder chops and asked at the meat counter about a roast, so they went into the back and brought up a 10 lb (4.5 KB) shoulder roast Even though it was way more meat than I wanted or needed, I took it, and adjusted the cooking time as you recommended in the notes. The only down side was the meat was so fatty that by the time it was done cooking there was about an inch of fat in the bottom of the pan, the onion and garlic were charred to a crisp, and any meat drippings that might have been in the roasting pan were deep fried in the hot fat, so I didn’t try to make the gravy.
My husband later pointed out that the fat would have been perfect for a Yorkshire pudding, and he is right and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.
Regardless, this recipe is a keeper, and I am looking for a butcher that can provide a somewhat smaller lamb shoulder roast for next time. 🙂
I’m so glad you loved it Margie!
Hi Nagi! Love your recipes!!
Can this lamb shoulder be cooked in a slow cooker instead and still be as good?
How long would I need to cook it for on the low setting?
Thanks!
HI Dimitri, sure can! Try this one: https://salesdock.info/slow-cooker-roast-lamb-leg/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Nagi
Just wondering if done in the slow cooker can I still use the lamb shoulder or does it have to be the leg of lamb?
I’d really like to try this on Sunday with my lamb shoulder which is 2.5kg. Would that still work? Is it THAT forgiving??
Hi Bill, it really IS that forgiving, I’d just cook it an extra 30-60 mins. Just check it after 3.5 hours, you can’t really go wrong – just cook until it’s incredibly tender!
I’m planning to cook this on Saturday. My lamb shoulder is 1.5kg. Do I need to modify the cooking times?
Hi Wendy, just follow the recipe as is, it’s very forgiving! I hope you love it!
Hi Nagi, I’d really like to try this on Sunday but my lamb shoulder is 2.5kg. Would that still work?
P.S. You are now my go to for recipes – all the ones I’ve tried to date have been fab!
Nagi, I’d like to give ten stars! My lunch guests have just left. Total, total success! So tender and tasty with just the right amount of crunchy little bits. And so easy! This is my go-to roast from now on. Thank you!
Wahooo!!!!!! That’s awesome Wendy!
Oh and I forgot to give it 5 stars!
Thanks Anne!
You were not wrong about this being the juiciest lamb roast ever. I cooked it this last weekend for group of friends coming to lunch. I have done slow roast shoulder many times before but never felt it was quite right. Yours was perfection. Huge sighs of happiness all round from my guests. Thanks so much.
That’s terrific to hear Anne, I’m so happy you all enjoyed it! ❤️
Omg I’m in the middle of doing this and forgot to TURN DOWN the oven to 180. It has been at 240 for an hour and 10 mins is it ruined?
No you’ll be fine 🙂 Shoulder is very forgiving, it’s so fatty and juicy! N x
I made this for dinner tonight and it was SPECTACULAR! Thank you so much for this amazing (and so easy!) recipe, I am never going to cook lamb any other way. My husband loved it too. We didn’t make the gravy, but even on its own the lamb was SO tender and juicy. Perfection!
Hi Nagi, we have two boneless lamb shoulders can I still use them? It is for my husbands Birthday. We love your recipes. Many thanks Sue
Hi Nagi, we have two boneless lamb shoulders can I still use them? If yes, what adjustments should i make for oven roasting. It is for my husbands Birthday. We love your recipes. Many thanks Sue
Hi Sue, what size are the shoulders?
1.258 kg each to feed 8 people
Actually to feed 6 people
what is the correct temperature for a standard oven I see that this recipe has three different temperatures so do you have to set the three different temperatures for Katie to DDS maintain one temperature at all time
Hi Danny, the standard oven temperatures are in the recipe directions – starting at 240C/465F, then slow cooked at 180C/350F then browned in the last stage at 220C/425F. – N x
I had purchased half a lamb that came with 2 shoulder roasts, and decided to use this recipe for one of them last night. Ended up being a great choice! The roast was perfectly delicious, my house smelled amazing. I used the wine for the gravy though, I’d probably do the broth-based gravy next time with just a splash of wine, the gravy was a little too wine-y. Now I just need to decide how to eat the leftovers! 🙂
Woah great Amber, I’m so glad you loved it!
Turned out absolutely perfect, tender and delicious!
Great Jacinta!
I just cooked the lamb shoulder today for dinner this evening. It turned out perfect! I have cooked my entire life. But, cooking lamb is new for me. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a keeper! 😋
I’m so glad you gave it a go Sherrie ❤️
I’ve been looking for a great go-to slow roasted lamb recipe for ages. I cooked this today and WOW!! Easy and delicious! Thanks for your recipe and easy to follow steps! You’ve converted my Lamb hating teenagers!
Thank you for this recipe. The lamb was absolutely delicious!! I love your lamb recipes, thanks!!
I’m so glad you loved it Mary!
Hi Nagi
Can I use a slow cooker with that recipe, if yes how long do I have to cooki it for ??
Thanks
Hi Sandie, you could do it in a slow cooker for 5-6 hours but you’d need to transfer back to the oven to get that nice crispy skin ☺️