Rosemary and Garlic Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb

It was the last of the lamb from Welsh Farm Organics and , the shoulder  ,  undoubtedly my favourite  cut.  I often  slow casserole lamb shoulder with red wine. But this shoulder deserved something special to ensure I could taste all its organic sweetness so I went for a really slow roast with the plenty of garlic and rosemary.

Nick’s Dad swears by the magical temperature of 150degC, so with 3 hours to spare for cooking , I thought I would give it a whirl , adding water just adds to the moistness and means there is plenty of juice for gravy .  But the true treat has to be giving meat time to rest something I am finally learning to do .

If you have noticed  a lot of rosemary on the blog  we have a massive bush right next to the front door it is  flowering right now and just begging to be used.

Rosemary and Garlic Slow Roast Shoulder of  Lamb

Serves 4

1.5kg organic lamb shoulder
6 springs of rosemary
6 cloves of garlic skinned
2 tsps of fennel seeds
1 large onion thickly sliced
Salt and Pepper
500ml of water

For gravy
300ml of red wine
2 heaped tbsp of plain flour

1. Turn the oven onto 150degC
2. Rub the joint with fennel seeds , salt and pepper.
3. Spear the shoulder surface in 12 places with a knife ,push sprigs of rosemary and the skinned garlic cloves into the slots
4. Slice some onions and put them at the bottom of a cast iron casserole dish, put the lamb shoulder on top , of the onions & pour the water into the bottom of the dish
5. Cover the casserole dish with a lid ( or tent the roastng dish with foil )
6. Roast the lamb with the lid , after two hours remove the lid and roast for another hour to allow the lamb  to brown.
7. After the final cooking time remove the lamb from the cooking dish Cover with the lamb with foil and leave to rest for half an hour .

Making gravy

1. Pour the juices including the onions , any fallen garlic cloves and rosemary into a measuring jug, in just a minute the fat will rise to the top, pour the fat off leaving the  cooking juices
2. Return a few glugs of  the cooking juice to the casserole dish and heat on a hob for a few seconds ,add 2 heaped tbsp of plain flour and stir in
3. Slowly add the rest of the juices mixed with 1/2  a pint of wine .

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