Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder (with Gravy)

Name: Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder (with Gravy)
Total time: 10 h 25 min
Yield: 6 serving
Ingredients: 2.4 kg lamb shoulder (bone in); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 3 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves; 4 garlic cloves; ½ teaspoon salt; black pepper; 2 cups beef stock; 50 g butter; 40 g plain flour; 2 cups reserved lamb braising liquid/cooking juices; salt and pepper

User Reviews

5.0

6 reviews

Excellent

Total Time
10 hrs 25 mins
Servings
6
Calories
385 kcal
Course
Dinner
Cuisine
Australian

Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder (with Gravy)

Zara Shaw

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My super easy slow cooker lamb shoulder recipe will give you succulent, melt in your mouth lamb so tender that it literally falls away from the bone.

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Ingredients

Servings

2.4 kg lamb shoulder (bone in)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped
4 garlic cloves crushed
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper
2 cups beef stock

Gravy

50 g butter
40 g plain flour
2 cups reserved lamb braising liquid/cooking juices
salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

Rub lamb all over with olive oil, rosemary and garlic then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place lamb in the slow cooker and pour the beef stock around the lamb (not over the top) and cook for 10 hours on low setting (refer to your slow cooker's instructions).
Towards the end of the lamb's cooking time, preheat oven to 200c.
When it's finished, take the lamb out of the slow cooker and place it in a baking dish (be careful as you transfer it, it will be very soft) and pour the cooking juices into a jug, skim off any fat and set aside to make the gravy.
Bake lamb uncovered for 20 minutes until browned on top.

Gravy

Melt butter in a saucepan until starting to foam.
Add plain flour and mix to combine, then stir over low heat for 1 minute.
Switch off the heat, then add cooking juices in approximately ¼ cup amounts (stir well with each addition until there are no lumps before adding the next ¼ cup - see my Gravy Making Notes below), once this mixture is the consistency of cream you can add the remaining cooking juices. Stir over low heat until simmering and thickened, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Slice or shred the lamb (discarding fat and bones) then serve with gravy.

Notes

Gravy Making Notes
*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*
Please don't skip the step of browning the lamb in the oven once it's finished in the slow cooker - this step really amps up the taste and visual appeal of the dish.
Make sure you can fit the shoulder in your slow cooker - my lamb was 2.4 kg (bone-in) and my slow cooker is 7L. It also depends on the shape of the bowl/insert in your slow cooker. My previous slow cooker (that was about 30 years old!) had a round bowl - no bone-in lamb shoulder was fitting in that, believe me, I tried!
You could also use a boneless lamb shoulder (approximately 2 kg) if you'd rather, I tend to go for bone-in because the bone imparts some extra flavour and weirdly I find it easier to shred. You can buy boneless shoulders from the supermarket (usually rolled and tied) or ask your butcher to bone one out for you.
There will be a lot of liquid in the base of the slow cooker when the lamb is finished cooking - that's exactly what we want! This also makes it easy to increase the amount of gravy if you like. If I have a good amount of liquid left after I make the gravy I freeze it for another occasion.
I like to serve a pile of this shredded lamb on the plate, then spoon over plenty of gravy.
The lamb is best shredded when it is warm, as it cools it will be much harder to shred.
Adding the liquid in small increments, mixing until there are no lumps and the liquid is fully absorbed by the butter/flour mixture before adding the next amount is the secret to getting a smooth gravy.
The mixture will start out looking like play-doh when you add the first couple of portions of liquid - gradually getting thinner until it reaches the consistency of cream - at this point you can safely mix in the remainder of the liquid without any lumps forming.
Watch me make the gravy in the video just above the instructions.