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….
I followed this recipe to the letter with a 2kg shoulder of lamb, so I increased the cooking time by 30 minutes to compensate. The lamb was cooked and fairly tender, but it was not falling off the bone. It needed another 90 minutes to be at the stage where it could be separated with two forks. Fortunately, I didn’t have guests, so this was not a huge burden, but I would have been very annoyed if this was the centre-piece of a dinner party. I am not making this up! This was the exact result at the temperatures and times given. Once it was cooked, it was delicious however.
Hi RG! Your took much longer than 3 1/2 hours? Gosh, I must confess I’m quite surprised by that. Did you use the right temp for the type of oven you have? i.e. standard vs fan/convection?? I was actually planning to make this for Easter so I will recheck the cook times.
Nagi, I’m so excited to try this for Easter, except that I would like to put this in a croc pot instead. Can you recommend high or low and for how many hours? I was thinking low for up to 8 hours. Thoughts?
Hi Ashley! 10 hours on low, then pop it onto a tray, drizzle with oil and brown in the oven for 20 minutes. Follow this recipe for slow cooker lamb leg, except use this shoulder recipe instead re: rosemary, garlic etc 🙂 DELISH! https://salesdock.info/slow-cooker-roast-lamb-leg/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Perfect. Thanks so much!
How do I adjust the cooking time for a smaller, 2 lb, roast?
Hi! Just reduce the covered cook time a bit, maybe about 20 minutes? I find that the thickness of the roast doesn’t vary that much even if the weight does so the cook time doesn’t change that much. Hope that helps!
Great instructions turned out beautiful !!!! I’m so stuffed I couldn’t stop eating it haha.
Just what I like to hear!!! So pleased to hear you enjoyed it Quintin, thanks for letting me know! 🙂 N xx
Tried it today with butterflied shoulder – absolutely amazing tender juicy meat !! Thank you very much! Highly recommended!
Whoot whoot! So glad to hear you enjoyed it Alex, thanks for letting me know! N x
This looks so wonderful ! i can’t wait to try it! Have a greaet weekend!
I hope you do!! My “go to” way of making lamb shoulder! N x
Hello!
I do not have a lid for my roasting pan, will the foil method suffice?
Yep for sure!
Just found your blog, and am hugely impressed. I made this lamb recipe last night, and it just proves you CAN teach an old dog (me) new tricks!! Beautiful luscious meat and wonderful crunchy spuds. Was able to serve the meat by cutting with a spoon. thank you so much. I look forward to “wasting” hours looking through all your recipes.
Hey! Who are you calling an “old dog”?! 😉 I’m so glad you enjoyed this, thank you for trying my recipe! Hope you have fun “wasting” time looking through my recipes Jane – ha ha ha! N xx
I’m so inspired & excited to make this. Unfortunately the lamb shoulder I bought is all sliced. Can you advise please. Amy
Hi Amy! Hmm, that makes it a bit tough! You mean it’s raw and pre sliced?? how ODD!
Hello Nagi
I have done your recipe for slow cooked lamb shoulder today and found it to be one of the easiest and most delicious Sunday roasts I’ve done,I will always do shoulder of lamb this way now, going to look for a recipe to use up the left overs. Thank you Ann
Woo hoo! So glad to hear you enjoyed it Ann, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Hi, Nagi –
I’m looking forward to making this dinner for my in-laws tomorrow. I’m using a boneless 2.7 lb lamb shoulder, though – how will that affect cooking time?
Thanks!
Hi Kathy! Hmm, I think just around 15 minutes less for the covered roasting time. Not much less because the thickness of lamb tends not to decrease in proportion to weight, if that makes sense? Shoulder is very fatty so if anything, to err on the side of caution, cook for longer than shorter, it is VERY hard to dry it out!! 🙂
This turned out great – thanks, Nagi! I added some orange slices to the bottom of the roast with the carrots, onions, and garlic. My in-laws loved it. 🙂 Question for next time – how do you handle all of the rosemary leaves still embedded in the roast? Do you take all of them out before serving? Same question re: the gravy – there were a lot of small rosemary leaves still left in the gravy, even after I took the sprigs out. I tried to strain it which worked ok; I was just wondering if there was an easier solution. Super tasty. Thanks for the tips!
Hi Kathy, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Re: rosemary, I just leave it 🙂 It looks great if you happen to slice through it and it’s easy for people to pick out 🙂 The rosemary leaves in the gravy were very minor for me but yes, straining is the only option I can think off 🙂 N xx
Thanks, Nagi! I also made the Crunchy Potatoes, which my family loved. I overcooked them during the parboiling stage (baby was crying right at the 10 minute mark!) but they still turned out great. You are a great cook – I’m so happy to have found your blog and can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Thanks for the compliment Kathy! And yes the potatoes should still work out just fine even if overcooked! N x
Hello Nagi,
I just found this recipe and love the way it sounds both simple and delicious. I will attempt it tonight for new years eve. My only question is: do you not add water to the vegetables and lamb when you first place it in the oven for 3 hours? Will it not burn or stay dry?
I really like the fact that this recipe does not require browning, and that it will colour in the last bit of roasting in the ove.
Many thanks!
Hi Pacita! Yes that’s correct 🙂 It doesn’t dry out because it is roasted covered in foil so the steam creates moisture and also the lamb will drop fat. 🙂 This is one of my absolute favourite ways to prepare roast lamb!
Hello Nagi, I’m back to say that it worked great and it was a big hit.
I am repeating today, this time using two lamb shoulders, boned and rolled by the butcher. I’ll follow the same method but cook for 2 hours instead of 3, as there is no bone inside. Do you think that might work?
At any rate, I’ll report!
Fantastic to hear Pacita! I think you will still need 3 hours because this is a slow cooked recipe 🙂 Boneless shoulder works GREAT!
So, I settled for 2 and a half hours and it seemed fine, but as you rightly point out, this recipe will forgive pretty much anything.
Thanks you again!
WHOOT!! 🙌🏻
I made this lamb for visitors 3 days after Xmas and it was a great success. The meat was so tender and delicious. Many thanks for posting this recipe Nagi I look forward to trying more of them.
Anita
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed it Anita, thanks for letting me know! N x
Hi, if I’m making ahead and reheating, how long does it take to reheat?
Hi Kirsten! I’d say around 25 minutes @ 180C/350F, I’d do 15 minutes covered then the balance uncovered. Stick a knife in the centre to check if it’s heated through. 🙂
Hi Nagi! Just love your recipes! I’m doing this shoulder roast but I bought two 1.5kg shoulders that I want to cook in the same pan for xmas lunch. Would I need to adjust the covered cook time for two instead of one??
Thank you so much!!!
Hi Mary! Oooh, this is such a fabulous centrepiece for a Christmas lunch! (Plus it’s so forgiving and keeps warm for ages, so much less stress than turkey!). I think 4 hours for the covered time (instead of 3 hours per recipe) should be sufficient. Allow 4.5 hours covered, but check it at 4 hours. The meat should be pretty tender, check a discrete place on the lamb to see if you can practically pull the meat apart with forks. If so, then it’s done, so uncover it and just do the final 30 minute roast to make the skin nice. Merry Christmas! N xx
Hi Nagi,
I’ve got a conventional oven (i.e. not fan forced), what temperatures should I use?
Regards, Helen
Hi Helen! I updated the recipe with the temps 🙂 N x
Thank you so much! Have a lovely Christmas ?
Hi Nagi. My lamb is in the oven and already smelling amazing! Love the recipe and now I understand why my attempts with legs of lamb just aren’t going to have the same results. I can’t wait to taste it! Must be patient!
Mel (UK) x
Oooh! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!
It was absolutely delicious. And the best gravy ever. I’m always going to cook my lamb shoulder like this from now on! We had the leftovers Greek style the next day in wraps with tzatziki, etc.
Can’t wait to cook it again!
Woo hoo! So glad you enjoyed it Melanie, thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
HI
This sounds easy and delicious. I need to cook it in a crock pot, and have no oven space to brown it. will that matter?
I will probably cook it for 7 hours.
thank you
Hi Rachel! Crockpot is fine but I would brown it on the stove first. Do you have a large skillet to do that? The browning just adds to the flavour!
Hi Nagi,
I’m cooking a lamb shoulder tomorrow – weight is 2.75kg. I was going to cook on 220C for the first 30 mins (with 250ml water in the pan and uncovered) and then turn down to 120C and cover with foil but not sure how many more hours – what would you suggest? Thanks!
Hi Jo! At 120C, that’s an overnighter 🙂 10 – 12 hours. Very forgiving at that low temp so don’t worry if you cook for longer than necessary. Hope you enjoy it!
11 hours and it was PERFECT! Thanks for the advice Nagi!
My shoulder roast is from a very young lamb so it is very tiny. I guess t to be less than 2 lbs. How should I adjust the cooking time?
Hi Cyndi! 2 hours covered will probably do it 🙂 Then cook uncovered per recipe 🙂
Hi Nagi – this lamb shoulder dinner was a huge success in ourhousehold. My husband loved the gravy which I made with 1/2 red wine and 1/2 water. I tossed the potatoes in olive oil and threw them in for the last 20 minutes when the dish was uncovered. They came out golden roasted and not mushy, just the way we like them. This was my first time with your recipes and I can’t wait to try more of them.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Karen, thank you for letting me know! N x