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Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver

Incredible Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Smashed Vegetables and Greens

  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 4 hr 55 min
  • Prep: 25 min
  • Cook: 4 hr 30 min
  • Yield: 6 servings
In this recipe I'm going to show you how utterly incredible a slow-roasted shoulder of lamb can be. In exchange I'd like you to buy quality local lamb that's had the appropriate amount of hanging time. I'm going to let the meat speak for itself and not add much to it, just a simple sauce made from all the goodness in the pan. You can make this at any time of year served with any seasonal veg.

Ingredients

For the lamb:

For the smashed vegetables:

For the sauce:

Directions

  1. For the lamb:
  2. Preheat your oven to full whack, (450 to 500 degrees F).
  3. Slash the fat side of the lamb all over with a sharp knife. Lay half the sprigs of rosemary and half the garlic cloves on the bottom of a high-sided roasting pan, rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place it in the pan on top of the rosemary and garlic, and put the rest of the rosemary and garlic on top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 325 degrees F and cook for 4 hours - it's done if you can pull the meat apart easily with 2 forks.
  4. For the vegetables:
  5. When the lamb is nearly cooked, put thepotatoes, carrots and rutabaga into a large pot of boiling salted water and boil hard for 20 minutes or so until you can slide a knife into the rutabaga easily. Drain and allow to steam dry, then smash them up in the pan with most of the butter. If you prefer a smooth texture, add some cooking water. Spoon into a bowl, cover with foil and keep warm over a pan of simmering water.;
  6. For the sauce:
  7. Remove the lamb from the oven and place it on a chopping board. Cover it with foil, then a kitchen towel, and leave it to rest. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the greens. Pour away most of the fat from the roasting pan, discarding any bits of rosemary. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and mix in the flour. Add the stock, stirring and scraping all the sticky goodness off the bottom of the pan. You won't need gallons of gravy, just a couple of flavorsome spoonfuls for each serving. Add the capers, turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes.
  8. Finely chop the mint and add it to the sauce with the red wine vinegar at the last minute then pour into a pitcher. Add the greens and stalks to the pan of fast-boiling salted water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes to just soften them. Drain and toss with a knob of butter and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place everything in the middle of the table, and shred the lamb in front of your guests. Absolutely delish!
  9. "Our agreement with the producers of "Jamie at Home" only permit us to make 2 recipes per episode available online. Food Network regrets the inconvenience to our viewers and foodnetwork.com users"
rated 4.6 of 5 stars

35 Reviews

Laura G.
Laura G.April 2, 2021
rated 5 of 5 stars
It’s 2kg, not 2lb.  So you need 4-5lb shoulder roast.  Stunning that Food Network hasn’t checked this recipe.  (Look at Jamie’s website - it is 2kg.)  But if you use the correct size roast, this is amazing, and the smashed veg is so fantastic.  I’m not a huge fan of the mint sauce, but others adore it.  High recommend! 
JACQUES L.
JACQUES L.May 1, 2020
Is this with the bone in or is it boneless?  I have never seen a 2.2lb bone-in shoulder, yet people here are saying it's falling "off the bone"
A clarification would be helpful
Laura G.
Laura G.April 2, 2021
It’s supposed to be 2kg. Unfortunate editing fail by food network. 
Carolyn R.
Carolyn R.March 31, 2020
rated 5 of 5 stars
Have made this several times and it’s always fantastic!
Phyllis K.
Phyllis K.March 28, 2018
rated 5 of 5 stars
I have made this and it is amazing, so now I want to try it with 2 - 8lb semi boneless lamb legs. what would you suggest for cook time?
Angela D.
Angela D.July 9, 2017
rated 5 of 5 stars
Absolutely incredible! The only changes I made were to add half a teaspoon of honey to the sauce and to use lamb stock instead of chicken.  I used a cabernet sauvignon vinegar.  The sauce was full of flavour and the lamb fell to pieces as I carved it.  I had my butcher de-bone the shoulder and used the bones to create the stock.  I will definitely be cooking this again.
Maris O.
Maris O.March 16, 2016
rated 4 of 5 stars
Loved this recipe! The lamb was fabulous, and so, so easy. I think possibly some of the negative reviews that mentioned burning may have forgotten to turn the oven down to 325? Mine came out perfect, and was in for the full 4 hours. I made cauliflower mashed potatoes instead of the mixed veggie mash Jamie includes - only because I wanted to use up a cauliflower I had in the fridge. The only "meh" part of recipe IMHO was the gravy. A little too "dark/roasted" tasting, and not enough depth of flavor. I omitted the mint - as most reviewers did not like it - maybe that was a mistake? It was fine as I followed Jamie's instructions to only drizzle a small amount over the meat and veggies. I will DEFINITELY make this again!
Adam K.
Adam K.February 15, 2016
Cook for approx 1 hour per pound,start high ,then finish in low roast.
curlyag
curlyagJanuary 25, 2016
rated 3 of 5 stars
I made this with a 1.8 lb shoulder roast from a lamb ordered through our local farmer's market.  Maybe mine just didn't have as much fat, and I should have checked it sooner for the size, but 3 hours left it dry and the fat & garlic burned under the roast. There wasn't much to work with for the gravy once I scraped away what was burned.  The vegetables were bland--would add some garlic to the chard and smashed veggies. Would make again but maybe roast root veggies along with the roast for more flavor. 
So disappointed, as it smelled heavenly, but just didn't turn out as I'd hoped.
NinaChagas
NinaChagasJanuary 22, 2015
rated 5 of 5 stars
I want to make this on SUnday for my daughter's birthday party. I am having family over. I have a few questions. First, do I leave the garlic unpeeled? and second if I get a 4 pound lamb how much longer should I leave on for?
deltagirl65
deltagirl65October 6, 2014
rated 5 of 5 stars
Just prepared two grass-fed shoulders for a group of six - it turned out incredibly well. I only made the lamb and the sauce as I didn't have a rutabaga so I made my own recipe for mashed potatoes with garlic an oregano. I also served a zuchinni crustini on the side. Back to the lamb: perfecto! The garlic and fresh rosemary were heavenly. My gas oven doesn't seem to cook as fast/hot as my old electric oven so to compensate I cooked the lamb on the full 500 degrees for the first 30 minutes or so before lowering temp. Also I didn't have any capers for the sauce - so we just added a bit more fresh ground sea salt. I had to substitute balsamic vinegar for the red wine vinegar. My kids didn't care for the fresh mint in the gravy claiming it was too sweet -- but my hubby and our two guests raved over it. In my opinion the mint really "made" the dish.