Ingredient

Lamb shoulder

Lamb shoulder is fattier, more marbled and more heavily worked than the leg, which makes it the better joint for anything slow. It is also consistently cheaper, mainly because it is more awkward to carve — which stops mattering entirely once it is falling apart.

Shoulder against leg

A leg of lamb is comparatively lean and even, which makes it good for roasting pink and carving into slices. It is also unforgiving: a few minutes too long and it is grey and dry.

A shoulder has more fat running through it and considerably more connective tissue. Roast it pink and it is chewy; roast it for four or five hours and it becomes something a leg can never be — meltingly soft, deeply flavoured, and pullable with a spoon.

The choice is therefore between two dishes rather than two grades. Leg for pink and sliced; shoulder for long and shredded.

Slow-roasting a whole shoulder

1. Score the fat in a diamond pattern and push slivers of garlic and sprigs of rosemary into the cuts.
2. Season heavily. A shoulder is thick and takes far more salt than looks reasonable.
3. Sit it on a bed of onions, whole garlic and a little liquid — stock, wine or water — in a deep tin.
4. Cover tightly with foil and cook at a low oven temperature for four to five hours.
5. Remove the foil for the last thirty to forty-five minutes and turn the heat up to brown and crisp the fat.
6. Rest for at least twenty minutes, then pull it apart with two forks. Do not attempt to carve it.
7. Skim the fat from the tin juices and use what is underneath as the sauce. There will be a lot of fat and it is worth keeping separately.

Ways to treat it

• Seven-hour lamb, cooked in white wine and stock until it can be served with a spoon. The French classic.
• With anchovy, rosemary and garlic, rubbed into the scored fat.
• Cumin, coriander and yoghurt, the Middle Eastern approach, served with flatbreads and pickles.
• Boned, rolled and stuffed with herbs, breadcrumbs and lemon zest.
• Diced for a curry or a tagine, where it holds up far better than leg.
• Minced with its own fat for kofta or a shepherd's pie of real quality.
• Barbecued whole and slowly, wrapped, which suits the cut very well.

Buying and handling

Bone in

Preferable. The blade bone gives a clear doneness signal and the meat is more flavourful.

Size

A whole shoulder feeds four to six generously. Half shoulders are sold as blade end or knuckle end.

Fat

Considerable, and most of it renders. Score it rather than trimming it.

Hogget and mutton

Older animals — hogget at one to two years, mutton beyond. Stronger flavoured, tougher, and outstanding slow-cooked. Worth asking for.

The fat itself

Strained lamb dripping is excellent for roasting potatoes and keeps well.

Common questions