your favorite recipe for lamb shoulder

[joanna0707]

I've never made lamb in my entire life, DH is not to crazy about it. I'd like to attempt to cook it anyway because I like it a lot.
I bought lamb shoulder Saturday and now it's sitting in my freezer, I'm not sure what to do with it Help please

[ursusarctos]

Stew! At least that is the only thing I know how to make with it. I would recommend slow-cooking it for a long time because shoulder is tougher than other meat.

[cristeen]

Bone in or boneless?

I have a few marinades i like to use in lamb. The easiest is a buttload of chopped garlic, a handful of fresh chopped rosemary, juice of a lemon and plenty of olive oil. Rub it in and let it sit.

But pomegranate molasses and orange juice is also beautiful.

If it's boneless, i take the net off, marinate it and cook it in cast iron (sear on stovetop and then into the oven to finish). If its bone-in, then i braise.

You really do need a marinade w a good amount of acid, it helps neutralize the really gamey flavor that is probably what your DH objects to.

[ursusarctos]

Originally Posted by cristeen

You really do need a marinade w a good amount of acid, it helps neutralize the really gamey flavor that is probably what your DH objects to.

I did not know that! Will try. Our solution to the gameyness has been to chop it up into very small pieces.

[joanna0707]

Originally Posted by cristeen

Bone in or boneless?

I don't know at the farmers market I asked if they had lamb, they said they have shoulder so I bought it, it didn't occur to me you can have bone in. I think it's boneless though, it weighs only two pounds. I can't check now, it's frozen.

I will definitely try lemon, rosemary and garlic, lots of it, DH loves garlic, he eats it raw all the time(this is the reason why we sleep in separate bedrooms).

When you marinate in pomegranate molasses and orange juice do you taste the fruit a lot when is cooked? And where do I buy pomegranate molasses ?

[cristeen]

At 2 lbs, its most likely boneless.

You dont really taste a lot of fruit, but it gives a nice sweet/tart flavor. Pom molasses is quite tart. I can get it at WF or many specialty markets, but i'm in a big city. It's a middle eastern ingredient that has been increasing in popularity the last few years, you might need to check some ethnic groceries to find it. The thing w pom molasses though is that it will caramelize/burn on the surface. When i use that marinade, i use the grill because i like the caramelized bits. You could do it in the broiler, but i would never put pom molasses in my cast iron.

If your roast can't open flat (the bone was removed leaving the muscle intact), you'll want to butterfly it open - just stick your knife into the hole the bone left and follow the path of least resistance out.

[Arduinna]

I personally don't like lamb stews. It gets even more strongly flavored when cooked a long time. So we sometimes roast whole leg of lamb whole on the smoker, dh makes a rub with fresh rosemary, garlic, fresh mint and olive oil. Although a lot of the time we just cut it up and do kabobs, or grind it and make meat balls or shephard's pie or kofte. I've found that the most important thing is to not overcook it, lots of pink for me, unless it's ground.