Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ kg shoulder of lamb, skin on
• 750g waxy potatoes (e.g. Desiree), peeled and cut into thick slices (i.e. approx 2cm)
• 570ml hot stock, lamb or beef
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 large onions, quartered
• Gravy:
• 450ml hot stock, lamb or beef
• 100 ml red wine
• 50g plain flour
• 3 tbsp lamb fat (i.e. from the roasting tin at the end of cooking)
• 1 to 2 tsp redcurrant jelly
• A few drops of Worcestershire sauce
• To serve:
• Green vegetables, if desired

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C / 428 F / Gas Mark 7.
2. Place the shoulder of lamb onto a cooking board, with the skin uppermost. Take a sharp knife and make a series of holes in the skin of the lamb, making sure to cover the whole shoulder, then insert the slices of garlic into these holes.
3. Next, transfer the lamb into a roasting tin and roast for approximately 20 minutes (i.e. until the skin is browned) before turning over the lamb and roasting the other side for a further 20 to 30 minutes (i.e. until that is also browned).
4. Whilst the meat is browning in the oven, boil the onion in water for 10 minutes, before adding the potato slices and boiling for a further 4 minutes. Once boiled, drain well.
5. Once browned, temporarily remove the lamb from the roasting tin. Add the onion and potato slices to the roasting tin, along with the hot stock and mix together. Place the lamb back into the roasting tin (i.e. on top of the vegetables / stock) and cover the tin tightly with tin foil.
6. Reduce the oven to 160 degrees C / 320 F / Gas Mark 3.
7. Place the roasting tin back into the oven and cook for 3 ½ to 4 hours, until the lamb is fully cooked (i.e. tender all the way through).
8. Remove the lamb from the roasting tin and place it onto a warm serving plate, or cooking board, to rest. [NB: Cover it lightly with tin foil to keep it warm.]
9. Use a strainer to remove the fat from the roasting tin (i.e. to use for the gravy), leaving the onions and potatoes in the tin.
10. Increase the oven to 220 degrees C / 428 F / Gas Mark 7 again.
11. Put the onions and potatoes back into the oven to roast for a further 25 minutes, until brown.
12. Whilst the onions and potatoes are roasting, make the gravy (i.e. as outlined below) and cook any green vegetables you have chosen (i.e. as desired).
13. To make the gravy, pop the lamb fat into a saucepan with the flour and stir over a medium heat for 30 seconds. Next, whisk in the hot stock, red wine, redcurrant jelly and worcestershire sauce - keep whisking over the heat until the gravy becomes thick and starts to boil.
14. Once everything is ready, carve the lamb, then serve it with the vegetables and gravy on warm plates.