Need help cooking a shoulder of lamb

Mike Litoris

Watched Saturday kitchen yesterday and saw a great recipe for a leg of lamb. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/roastlegofspringlamb_11539.shtml

It was a different chef but the same recipe as above. I thought right, thats tomorrows dinner. I dont like the taste of the leg so decided to buy a shoulder on the bone instead, I can de-bone it myself and use the same technique as the above recipe.

Problem is the cooking time. It seems the leg can be cooked for about 1.5 hours and be about medium cooked. Upon checking out other shoulder recipes it seems the cooking time would be 3.5 hours at least , some overnight, slow cooked at a lower heat.

Would the shoulder be like leather if I tried to cook it medium? Is it a big no no with this cut of meat?

Any other ideas for a shoulder of lamb?

Minder

What weight is it? To roast a Lamb shoulder to medium, cooking times are 25 minutes per 500g + 25 minutes. Oven temp is 180c.

Mike Litoris

Sorry, its about 1.5 kg with the bone in. Thanks for the info.

Has anyone tried cooking a shoulder to medium? Considering most recipies for a shoulder are slow cooked, is it a bad idea?

Spanish Eyes

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Sorry, its about 1.5 kg with the bone in. Thanks for the info.

Has anyone tried cooking a shoulder to medium? Considering most recipies for a shoulder are slow cooked, is it a bad idea?

I would always slow cook a shoulder of lamb. It is a fatty piece of meat and needs slow cooking to melt the fat and make it juicy and tender. The longer it is cooked the better in my view.

Cooking it to medium, would I think leave it a bit tough.

Minder

Like most lamb recipes suggest, start it at 220c for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 180c. Two hours should see it done.

The slow cooked recipes use stock or water to keep the meat moist. Either way, shoulder is a fattier cut than leg - I don't worry about the fat, carve it and let the diners trim the fat as they see fit.

Mike Litoris

Thanks guys, I actually got away without having to cook it today so I'll probably do it tomorrow for just me and the better half.

I think I'll forget about cooking it to medium. The question now is weather to slow cook it or use the conventional method. Either way it will be an experiment.:D

Dizzyblonde

For the best flavour, I'd cook it in the oven rather than the slow cooker. Being fatty it will render quite a bit of fat and in the slow cooker it would end up sitting in a lot of liquid.

The Sweeper

You can still slow cook something in an oven. You just turn the temperature way down and then leave it in there for hours. I think that's what the OP was thinking of, as opposed to physically putting the meat in a separate slow cooker.

foodaholic

Made this last weekend, it just fell apart
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/597924