Lamb Shoulder in Red Wine Sauce

This slow-cooked roast lamb shoulder is marinated with garlic, ginger, and fresh herbs. It's roasted alongside veggies and red wine, then served with a rich red wine gravy. Perfect for the weekend or festive dinner with family and friends.

Table of Content

• Why make this lamb shoulder?
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Lamb shoulder in red wine sauce
• Tips for success
• More roast recipes
• Frequently asked questions
• You may also like
• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

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Lamb is always a great choice for us on festive occasions. So we often use the leg or shoulder. There is a difference between the leg and shoulder. Read more about cuts of lamb

Firstly, lamb shoulder is quite a fatty cut of meat. So, it is a great cut for slow cooking. And, it stays juicy and tender. Moreover, compared to a leg of lamb, lamb shoulder is usually less expensive.

Why make this lamb shoulder?

• This recipe is fairly simple and easy because most of the flavor comes from the herbs and the cooking method. No tieing and no searing the meat before roasting!
• Usually, I am a big advocate of marinating meat as long as you can. But, in this one, the marinade and herbs used are so robust that, while you can, it is not necessary to marinate.
• Most of the ingredients are easy to find or pantry staples.
• This is a slow-cooked lamb shoulder so the meat is fork-tender and juicy perfect with or without any gravy.
• And leftovers make delicious pastrami slices for sandwiches or can be frozen for up to a month. I also use leftovers in meat pie like my chicken pot pie or shepherd's pie.
• There are three components to this lamb shoulder.
  • The marinade - The nice, strong flavors of garlic, ginger, and herbs mean you can cook this without a long marinating time.
  • Veggies - Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and turnips are excellent for such roasting. It's like making a full meal in one pan.
  • Gravy - While the lamb is delicious with or without gravy. This gravy is made with red wine and perfect served over mashed potatoes.

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Ingredients and substitutes

• Lamb - I am using the bone-in lamb shoulder. But, you can also use leg of lamb for this recipe.
• Herbs -  Now, rosemary, thyme, and parsley make a perfect match with lamb. I would highly recommend fresh for this recipe.
• Red Wine - Always use good red wine for cooking. One that you would drink. So, if you cook with wine often, it's best to add a bottle to your weekly shopping list. I am using a merlot today but a shiraz or pinot noir would work beautifully too.
• Vegetables - I used carrots, potatoes, onions, and lemon. And yet, you can also use parsnip and sweet potatoes. Cut them into large chunks so they won't become too soft. Also, I highly recommend onions and lemon. Because, the onions caramelize adding sweetness both to the lamb and the gravy.
• Stock - I prefer to use chicken or vegetable stock. And yet, if you don't have stock, go ahead and use water. The lamb is full of flavor, so the dripping will make the veggies absolutely delicious.

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Lamb shoulder in red wine sauce

Marinade

• Roughly chop the parsley, rosemary, ginger, garlic, and thyme. In a mortar and pestle, crush all marinade ingredients along with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
  Alternatively, you can use a food processor. Just make sure to blend it coarse not too smooth.

Trim, Sear, and marinate

• Using a sturdy cutting board and paring knife, remove excess fat and silver skin from the shoulder.
• Heat a skillet on high heat. Then, sear the shoulder on all sides - remove from heat.
  Pro tip - use cast-iron or metal (no non-stick pan) and make sure it is very hot before you place the lamb. Leave it for 2 to 3 minutes before you turn it to the other side. This will give a better color.
• Next, generously rub the marinade on the shoulder. Set aside.
  Pro tip - alternatively, you can skip the searing and marinate the meat for up to 12 hours in the fridge.

Roast

• Preheat the oven at 200°C / 400°F Gas Mark 6 for at least 20 minutes.
• In a large roasting pan - add the veggies. Then, place the marinated shoulder on top of the veggies.
• Add a few more sprigs of thyme and rosemary to the roasting rack. Place the onions and lemons slices on top of the shoulder.
  Pro tip - Make sure to thaw chilled meat at least 2 hours before cooking to prevent uneven cooking.
• Season with salt, pepper, and drizzle some olive oil all over the veggies. This will prevent them from burning.
• Next, pour the stock and red wine around the shoulder over the veggies in the roasting rack.
  Pro tip - do not pour the liquids over the meat otherwise all the marinade will wash down to the pan.
• Loosely tent the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Put the roasting rack in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 325°F / 165°C / Gas Mark 3
• Roast for about 60 minutes, basting at least once in between. Then, remove the foil and continue to roast uncovered for another 60 to 90 minutes, basting once or twice in between
  Pro tip - cooking covered will help keep the moisture in the pan, cooking uncovered later will give a lovely deep color to the roast.
• Remove from the oven. Transfer the shoulder to a platter and veggies to a bowl. Cover them with aluminum foil to keep warm while you make the gravy.
  Pro tip - Tidy the meat by removing any chared herbs and caramelized onions. Make sure these are in the pan for the gravy.

Make Gravy

• Place the roasting pan over medium heat and add the red wine and stock.
  Deglaze the pan, and scrape with a spatula to remove all the caramelized bits of veggies, herbs, and meat. Avoid the dark burnt parts.
• Add flour and continue to cook a minute or two more until thickened. Strain the gravy through a sieve or mesh.
  Pro tip - when cooking add more stock or water if necessary to make the gravy.
• Then, pour into a sauceboat to serve with the lamb over mashed potatoes, lemon rosemary roast potatoes, lemon dill potatoes, potato wedges and side salad like avocado, tomato, beet.

Tips for success

• Always thaw the lamb shoulder before cooking - a few hours at least 2 hours. Cooking chilled meat cause uneven baking causing the outer parts of the meat to overcook.
• A lamb shoulder is a large chunk of meat and not much exposed. So, make sure to over-season the meat, because only some of it will penetrate the meat. The rest of it will get crusted on.
• Elevate the bone from the base if possible. This encourages even cooking by circulating the air.
• This is a slow-cooked recipe so you don't need to check the temperature and time because the meat should cook until fork tender. 
• Let the meat rest after cooking. If you cut the meat too soon all the juices will flow out of the meat and give you a dry roast. Instead, let the meat rest for at least 15 minutes if not more.

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