Best 4 Pulled Lamb Shoulder Recipes

PULLED LAMB SHOULDER WITH STICKY POMEGRANATE GLAZE

Steps:

• Put the garlic, cinnamon, cumin, oregano and lemon in a blender with 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp black pepper. Blend until smooth. Put the lamb in a large roasting tin and tip the marinade over the top. Massage all over the lamb and leave for 24 hrs in the fridge, or up to 2 days.
• Remove lamb from the fridge 1 hr before cooking. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Scatter the onions around the lamb, tucking some underneath, then pour over the pomegranate juice. Cover the lamb with foil and cook for 4 hrs.
• Remove the foil, carefully pour the meaty pomegranate juices from the tin into a large saucepan and add the honey. Increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7, re-cover the lamb and continue cooking for 30 mins. Meanwhile, bubble the cooking liquid over a high heat until reduced, thick and syrupy - this may take up to 30 mins.
• Pour the sticky pomegranate glaze over the lamb and onions and return to the oven for another 30 mins, uncovered, until the glaze is bubbling and just starting to char, and the lamb is really tender. Mix the yogurt, most of the pomegranate seeds and mint leaves in a small bowl. Shred the lamb at the table and serve with the sticky onions and the minty pomegranate yogurt. Scatter over the remaining pomegranate seeds.

SLOW COOKED LAMB SHOULDER WITH BALSAMIC, GARLIC, & ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Place the lamb shoulder in a slow cooker. If your roast has a fat cap, make sure the fat cap is at the top, facing you, so all the juices melt and flow down through the meat as the lamb slowly cooks. Arrange the sliced onion around the lamb roast. Top with the garlic, rosemary, & bay leaf, seasoning with 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt & ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. Pour the aged balsamic vinegar, beef stock, & pure maple syrup over top.
• Transfer the lamb to a cutting board or plate. Use 2 forks or a pair of tongs to shred the lamb into bite-sized pieces (as chunky or fine as you'd like). Set aside. Drain off excess fat from the juices in the slow cooker, as desired - I find this is most easily done by pouring the juices into a liquid measure & spooning off excess fat into a bowl or jar to discard later. Add the lamb, and the cooking juices, back into the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Turn the slow cooker on its high setting, with the cover removed. Let everything simmer and combine for 5-10 minutes, allowing the lamb to absorb some of the excess liquid.

CURRIED PULLED LAMB

Steps:

• Up to 2 days before the meal, tip all the spice paste ingredients into a mini chopper or small food processor with a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Blitz until smooth. Lightly score the lamb a few times on all sides and rub about a third of the paste all over. If you have time, cover the lamb and leave in the fridge for a few hours or overnight, and chill the remaining paste.
• The day before you want to eat the lamb, heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 4. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a casserole or flameproof roasting tin that is big enough to fit the lamb snugly. Add the onions, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves to the hot oil and cook for 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and starting to brown. Sprinkle over the sugar and splash in the vinegar, then sizzle for 1 min. Tip in the remaining curry paste and cook everything for 1 min until aromatic.
• Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 min more, then stir in 200ml water and the yogurt. Season with salt and bring everything to a simmer. Nestle the lamb into the sauce and spoon over some of it. Cover the pan with a lid or tightly with foil and place in the oven for 3 hrs until the lamb is really tender. Leave the lamb to cool in the sauce, then lift it out and tip the sauce into a container - cover both and chill in the fridge overnight.
• On the day you want to eat the lamb, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the lamb on a shallow roasting tin, brush with the remaining oil and roast in the oven for 40 mins until nicely browned. While the lamb is roasting, scoop off and throw away the solidified fat from the sauce, then tip the sauce into a saucepan and simmer for 10 mins until thickened, and season to taste. Blitz the sauce with a hand blender until reasonably smooth, then reheat in the pan. Serve the lamb on a board, with the sauce for spooning over, and the coriander, mint, chillies and chapatis on the side.

SLOW-COOKED PULLED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Place the pork shoulder into the ceramic bowl of a slow cooker. Pour enough water and white vinegar into the slow cooker to assure the pork is completely covered, maintaining a 2-to-1 ratio of vinegar to water. Add the salt. Put the ceramic bowl in the refrigerator and allow the pork to marinate at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Drain enough of the liquid from the ceramic bowl until about 1/2-inch of pork is left exposed. Add the onion to the remaining liquid. Season the exposed surface of the pork with the cumin, mustard, chili powder, and brown sugar. Place the bowl into the base of the slow cooker and cook on High until the pork is tender and falls apart easily, 8 to 10 hours.
• Carefully remove the pork to a cutting board; shred the meat into strands using a pair of forks. Remove and discard any excess fat.