Slow Cooked Lamb

4.63 from 8 votes

Slow cooked lamb is impossibly tender and takes all of five minutes to get into the oven. Then it's hands off while your house fills with the aromas of earthy spices and roasting meat.

Prep Time5

Cook Time4 30

Total Time4 35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: slow cooked lamb, slow cooked lamb shoulder, slow roasted lamb, steam oven slow cooked lamb

Servings:

Calories: 273kcal

Ingredients

3.5 lb lamb shoulder bone-in
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground paprika
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 onion thickly sliced
1 bulb garlic cut in half horizontally

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Conventional/regular oven

Preheat oven to 320°F/160°C.
Scatter the onion and garlic into the base of a roasting dish or tray. Add the meat on top and rub all over with the oil, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.
3.5 lb lamb shoulder, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground paprika, 1½ tsp salt, 1 onion, 1 bulb garlic, 1 tsp black pepper
Cover the dish with a tight fitting lid or a large piece of aluminium foil, and cook until the meat is very tender and easily pulls away from the bone, about 5-6 hours. The easiest way to check if it’s cooked is to tug gently at the bones - if they can be pulled right out of the joint your meat is done!

Combi steam/convection steam oven

Preheat oven to 285°F/140°C, combi steam setting. If your oven has variable steam, use 50%. If not, don't worry! Just set to combi steam (or convection steam, or hot air plus steam) at the correct temperature and the oven will take care of the steam level for you.
Scatter the onion and garlic into the base of a roasting dish or tray. Add the meat on top and rub all over with the oil, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper.
3.5 lb lamb shoulder, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1½ tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 onion, 1 bulb garlic, 1 tsp ground paprika
Cook the meat until it’s very tender and easily pulls away from the bone, about 4 to 4 and a half hours. The easiest way to check if it’s cooked is to tug gently at the bones - if they can be pulled right out of the joint your meat is done!

Resting and serving (both cooking methods)

Remove meat from the oven, transfer to a dish and set aside in a warm place to rest, loosely covered, for 20-30 minutes.
Drain or spoon off most of the fat from the meat juices, and put the juices into a small bowl or jug for serving. You can discard the fat or use it to roast outstanding vegetables.
Serve your slow cooked lamb by pulling away large shreds of meat rather than carving.

Notes

If you prefer to make this dish without the spice rub, or with a different spice rub, go for it! Any earthy spice blends will go well with lamb, as do woody herbs like rosemary and thyme. If you're keeping things very simple, a rub of salt and pepper is wonderful.
If you have leftovers, pull the meat from the bones and refrigerate it for up to a few days. Reheat gently in your steam oven, or pan fry in a little of the roasting fat until the meat is heated through and getting a little crispy on the edges.
The cooked, shredded meat freezes well if it's sealed tightly; I vacuum seal meal-sized portions but a zip-lock bag with the air pressed out works just fine.

Nutrition