Table of Contents
- Perfectly roasted shoulder of lamb with an Indian Madras spice rub
- How to cook lamb shoulder in the oven
- Madras Curry Powder – What is in a Madras Spice?
- Step-by-step instructions for cooking the perfect Madras Lamb Shoulder
- Spice Rubbed Lamb Shoulder
- Roast lamb gravy from pan juices
- How long does it take to cook a shoulder of lamb?
- How to cook roast lamb gravy from pan juices
- Perfectly roasted lamb shoulder
- Serving Suggestion
- Recipe: Slow Roasted Madras Lamb Shoulder
Perfectly roasted shoulder of lamb with an Indian Madras spice rub
This beautiful piece of lamb on the bone is enhanced with an Indian Madras curry spice rub, with the addition of fennel and cumin. Roasted over onions, garlic and a little water, the spices not only flavour the meat but also infuse the pan juices to create a delicious sauce. Packed with flavour, it not only tastes amazing, but requires minimal effort to achieve the rich taste.
How to cook lamb shoulder in the oven
Lamb is a tough meat and needs a low and slow cooking time to release its juices. After a few hours in the oven, it will be soft and succulent and should be easy to pull apart. This recipe is for a 1.5kg cut of lamb and the cooking time has been adjusted accordingly. For larger cuts of lamb, refer to the recipe notes and make adjustments.
Madras Curry Powder – What is in a Madras Spice?
Madras curry powder is an Indian spice blend commonly used to flavour curries, meat, vegetable, and grain dishes. It contains coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, cassia bark (cinnamon), cloves, cardamom pods, curry leaves and Kashmiri chiles. It’s one of the most popular spice blends used today in India and internationally and pairs perfectly with lamb. You can buy pre-mixed in stores or online or make your own blend using this recipe here.
Step-by-step instructions for cooking the perfect Madras Lamb Shoulder
Place onions and garlic in the middle of a large and high-roasting tin. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt.
Spice Rubbed Lamb Shoulder
Rub lamb generously with the spice mix, making sure to coat every corner. Marinate for 30 minutes. (To achieve maximum flavour the lamb can be rubbed up to 12 hours before and left in the fridge to marinate). When you are ready to start cooking, place the lamb on top of the onions and garlic.
Roast lamb gravy from pan juices
No slow-roasted meat is complete without a delicious gravy. To make a rich flavoursome sauce, remove lamb from the oven after 2 hours of roasting and pour water around the bottom of the tray. The liquid will infuse with the onions, garlic, fat, juices and spices from the lamb and create a sauce.
How long does it take to cook a shoulder of lamb?
In this recipe, a 1.5kg piece of lamb is roasted to perfection in 3.5 hours. The oven temperature is set to 150°C fan-forced. The result is juicy, tender meat that pulls apart effortlessly. Refer to the recipe card notes and adjust the cooking temperatures for different oven types.
How to cook roast lamb gravy from pan juices
Normally, a gravy is made by combining pan juices with extra stock, herbs, and a thickening agent such as cornflour. But with this clever method, no extra work is needed to make a delicious gravy – all you need is a blender. Put the onion, garlic, and pan juices into a blender and blend. A rich sauce flavoured with Madras spices, lamb fat and juices, naturally thickened by the roasted onions and garlic, it couldn’t be more perfect.
Perfectly roasted lamb shoulder
Because meat loses its moisture during cooking, it’s important to allow it to rest at room temperature after removing it from the oven. Resting allows the meat to relax, redistribute fat and juices, and become wonderfully tender. Using two forks, the meat should fall easily from the bone and be easy to shred.
Serving Suggestion
Serve the lamb with onion gravy, turmeric pilaf rice, and garnish with coriander.
Recipe: Slow Roasted Madras Lamb Shoulder
Slow Roasted Madras Lamb Shoulder
Ingredients
- 1.5kg lamb shoulder
- 1.5 tbsp madras curry powder
- 3/4 tbsp fennel seeds
- 3/4 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp sea salt flakes preferably Maldon
- 2 small-medium red onions
- 8 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil
- 375ml water
Instructions
- Remove lamb shoulder from the fridge 1 hour before cooking time to bring it to room temperature.
- Heat a fan-forced oven to 150°C (See recipe notes below for temperature conversions)
- Using a non-stick frying pan, dry-roast fennel and cumin seeds for 10 – 30 seconds or until fragrant. Do not burn or all flavour will be lost. Grind seeds into a powder along with sea salt flakes. Combine with Madras curry powder.
- Rub meat deeply and generously with the spice mix, making sure to reach every corner until it's completely coated. Leave for 30 minutes to absorb the flavour. (For maximum flavour this can be done before and left to marinade anywhere from 30 minutes – 12 hours).
- Peel onions and slice into wedges approximately 2cm thick. Separate garlic cloves from the bulb but leave the skin on. Drizzle and coat the onion wedges and garlic evenly with oil.
- Place onions and garlic into the middle of a large and high roasting tray.
- Place the lamb on top of the onions and garlic, making sure they sit evenly and nicely under the meat.
- Cover tightly with aluminium foil and carefully transfer to the middle shelf of the oven (don't move too fast or the meat will slide off the onions and garlic).
- Roast for 2 hours. At this point remove the tray from the oven, carefully peel away the foil and pour 375ml of water around the bottom of the tray, but not over the meat. This is going to be your sauce.
- Cover again tightly with foil and return to the oven. Roast for a further 1.5 hours.
- When done, remove the tray and leave it to rest, still covered, for 20 – 30 minutes. This will allow the lamb to become soft and juicy again.
- Peel away foil and transfer lamb to a large plate or serving board. Remove skins from garlic cloves and discard. Transfer onions, garlic and pan juices to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt if needed.
- When ready to serve, quickly reheat the lamb sauce until it's nice and hot. Serve alongside the madras lamb shoulder.
