Tender and Juicy Lamb Shoulder or Roast: Delicious and fairly easy Lamb recipe, paired with a mint and sundried tomato sauce.
We have made this for both Christmas Eve and New Year's depending on the year. For Christmas Eve, we have found that putting it in an hour and a half before we leave for Mass, helps time dinner perfectly. When we get home our house smells amazing, and we just pop off the foil to let the outside crisp up and throw in the other sides which takes 25-30 minutes, and we have dinner ready by the time everyone is out of the Sunday bests and the table is set. For New Year's, we are usually around all day, so less of a time constraint.
Lamb, Lucky? Since when? The tradition states that progress is the focus of the New Year. Lamb, pork, and fish move forward. Turkey and Chicken scratch backward and cows stand still (no beef.) Our ocean friends' lobsters swim backward and crabs walk sideways. We want to keep moving forward in the New Year, so we stick to the lamb, pork, and fish. By the time we get to the New Year, I feel like I am over chicken and turkey, so this is a good mix-up. I came up with this recipe by just using ingredients I happened to have on hand. Aside from the lamb and the mint, most of the ingredients are staples we have in our home. Let's roll into the New Year with luck on our side and get to cooking Mary's little lamb,
Good Luck Lamb
Ingredients: Roast/Shoulder& Sauce Ingredients
For the Sauce:
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons coconut aminos ( can sub low-sodium soy sauce, but soy makes my son a little crazy)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
6 garlic cloves, or measure with your heart. I have used garlic paste many times when avoiding a rough chop.
1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes with the oil. I have also used pesto sauce, but my niece has a nut allergy, so it depends on my audience. If you want some spice adding 2 jalapenos or habaneros is encouraged.
1/3 cup FRESH mint leaves, I find that the living plants at the grocery store usually equal the perfect amount, if there is any extra I will use it on the lamb.
2-3 lemons, squeezed. Can also use 6-8 limes, but I prefer lemons.
1/2 cup parsley, fresh or dried
1/4 cup hot water
pinch of garlic salt & basil
For the Lamb
4 pounds of lamb shoulder or roast. I prefer the shoulder, as I think it's a little more tender but have used a roast too.
3 yellow onions, sliced
3 handfuls of carrots (if I had celery on hand I would throw that in there too)
12 cloves of garlic or garlic paste
1-2 cups of red wine or broth (water will work too)
Salt & Pepper - measured with heart
2 tablespoons coconut aminos ( can sub low-sodium soy sauce, but soy makes my son a little crazy)
Fresh Mint - if any remaining from the sauce
Instructions
Remove Lamb from the fridge an hour before you are ready to prepare it.
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
For the sauce - In a blender combine sugar, Worcestershire sauce, aminos, apple cider vinegar, garlic, sundried tomatoes, mint, lemons, parsley, hot water, garlic salt, and basil. Reserve half of the sauce and place it in the fridge.
On the cutting board place the lamb fatty side up and slice into the lamb several times
Generously rub the lamb with coconut oil, salt and pepper, and any remaining fresh mint. Be sure to coat both sides.
Coat the lamb with the remaining mint sauce not placed in the fridge.
Place onions and carrots in the roasting pan with 1-2 cups of red wine or other liquid.
Place Lamb in a roasting pan fatty side up
Cover with foil
Roast for 3 hours, check temperature to see if it has reached 145 degrees, if not continue to roast checking every 10 minutes or so.
Once it reaches 145 degrees, remove the foil and increase the temperature to 425 degrees. I like my lamb a little crispier on the outside, so I roast it for 25 additional minutes. Depending on personal taste roast for another 15-25 minutes.
Remove from oven, recover with foil and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with reserved mint sauce.
ENJOY!
This recipe serves about 8 people, with 2 kids in the mix. If making for a larger group, I usually opt to cook two shoulders. Let me know in the comments what you think!
Need a good roasting pan? Grab this All-Clad roasting pan with a rack from Amazon.
Prep Time | Cooking Time |
20 Mins | 3.5 hours |
Comments