Tender lamb shoulder studded with garlic, rosemary and anchovy

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder

By Big Green Egg

Lamb, anchovy, garlic and rosemary: a classic combination that really makes this Low & Slow cook sing.

  • Low & slow
  • Sunday

Overview

The shoulder is a hardworking muscle that risks being tough unless you take it to 84°C. Take it further still and magic happens — the fats, collagens and sinews will melt down giving you the most tender meat imaginable.

Set up your EGG

Set up your EGG with the ConvEGGtor in the legs up position. This is an indirect cook, however for this recipe, you’ll also be using the Cast Iron Grid.

The target temperature for your EGG is 140°C. Add your EGG Genius if using and set the pit temp at 140˚C.

Getting Started

Make 10-14 deep incisions in your shoulder of lamb.

Place your anchovies and rapeseed oil into a pestle and mortar with a pinch of sea salt. Work this into a paste.

Rub the entire shoulder with rapeseed oil then your anchovy paste.

Insert pieces of garlic and sprigs of rosemary into the incisions.

Drizzle the shoulder with honey and season with cracked black pepper.

You can prepare the lamb shoulder up to this point the night before to help the marinade. Make sure to remove from the fridge two hours before your cook.

shoulder of lamb being prepared shoulder of lamb on the minimax

Cooking your lamb

Once your EGG is up to temperature, place the shoulder directly onto the cast iron and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 84˚C. This should take around 4-5 hours.

shoulder of lamb on the minimax

Now, open up your EGG and turn over the lamb shoulder to caramelise. You can do this by turning the EGG up to 160°C, and waiting until the shoulder reaches a core temperature of 90˚C. Make sure you keep an eye on the internal temperature, as you don't want it to overcook!

Take your lamb off the EGG and cover with tin foil. Leave to rest for 45 minutes.

To serve, carve or just pull apart!