Lamb shoulder

Slow cooker lamb shoulder

Posted by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe. 

Dear Reader, 

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. A food blog about cooking meals for one.

Introduction 

How has your week been? I enjoyed some warmer days early in the week with daily maximum temperatures around 28 °C (about 82 °F). It was nice to be able to walk around in shorts and also to get outside and expose my scar to some sunlight. Yes, I have ichthyosis. My skin is always dry and scaly.

Patella ORIF scar getting some “bennies“.

I’m looking forward to warmer weather, although all residents of Canberra know that we can expect frost any morning until at least the second Tuesday of November. 

What I’ve been watching this week 

The bearded butchers 

“The Bearded Butchers” is a YouTube channel featuring a butcher business from the USA. They specialise in sharing information on cattle, pig, and sheep butchery and meat processing for our tables. 

I have this desire to learn how to butcher cuts of meat properly. I want to break down and fabricate an entire pig and lamb. 

I also dream of having a decent workbench and freezer to cut and freeze my cuts. 

House 

Originally titled “House M.D.”, this is one of my all-time favourite shows on TV. Gregory House is an antisocial medical practitioner with specialist training in infectious diseases and nephrology. 

A muscle infarction in his right thigh left him with chronic severe pain, influencing his personality. The chronic pain has resulted in opioid dependence and the need to use a cane. 

He’s abrasive and contrary, but more often than not he’s correct. I don’t mind people who are obnoxious if they’re right; I do not like opinionated, obnoxious people who try to foist their views on me with poor-quality evidence. 

A big surprise 

I haven’t measured my mass since the morning of my injury. Because I cannot remove the brace, I didn’t see much point standing on the scales. I also don’t know the mass of the leg brace. 

During the week, curiosity got the better of me, and I stood naked on the scales after breakfast, coffee, and about a litre of water. With the brace on my mass, it was a huge surprise. I was more than a kilogram lighter than I’d been since high school. 

New Apple operating systems 

This week, Apple released iOS17 and iPadOS17. Updating the operating system on these devices feels more effortless these days. With Apple providing beta versions months in advance, release problems are fewer. 

Both devices feel faster to use, and I like some app enhancements. 

Given how expensive new Apple devices are, these major operating system updates are like getting a new smartphone and tablet without paying for them. 

Recipe 

I cooked this during the week and thought it was worth sharing on the blog. 

Equipment 

  • Slow cooker 
  • Oven 

Ingredients 

  • Lamb shoulder roast — boneless, rolled, and trussed with butcher’s twine 
  • Speck — I think of speck as fancy bacon. There will be readers who think cured meat is bad for our health. But there is no proof of causation of cured meat and malignancy. At best, there are association studies. The odds ratios, however, are fairly poor and close to 1. Unlike the epidemiological studies associating cigarette smoking and lung carcinoma which was later proven with mechanistic research.
  • Salt — I use iodised salt 
  • Black and white peppercorns 

Instructions 

  1. Place the lamb and pork into the slow cooker with a cup of water, a couple of teaspoons of salt, and a couple of teaspoons of whole peppercorns. 
  2. Cook on low heat for 10 hours. 
  3. Carefully remove the meat and strain the liquid to remove solid matter. 
  4. Place the meat into a baking tray and cook uncovered in an oven set at 180 °C (356 °F) for 30 minutes. The oven stage will dry the surface and create a thin crust over the lamb. 
  5. While the meat is in the oven, slowly boil the strained cooking liquor to evaporate the water and thicken the liquor. The reduced liquor will make a lovely lamb and pork broth. 
  6. Remove the meat from the oven and break it down with tongs. The lamb and pork will fall apart with little effort. 
  7. Transfer the pulled meat to a container for refrigeration. 
Lamb shoulder roast
Speck
Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck
Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck
Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck pulled and ready for refrigeration.

Meal ideas 

Here are some photographs of how I used the lamb and pork in a few meals. I still have most of the lamb and pork in the refrigerator, and it will keep me going for a few more meals. 

Slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck served with cherry tomatoes, cauliflower, and broccoli.
Leftover slow cooker lamb and speck mixed with full “cream” coconut cream, olives, capers, and cherry tomatoes plus tasty and mozzarella cheeses. This was cooked in an oven at 180 °C (356 °F) for 30 minutes. It was served with an avocado cheek.
Leftover slow cooker lamb shoulder and speck, with coconut cream, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. I heated the lamb and pork in lamb fat before I added the coconut cream.

Final thoughts

  • How has your week been?
  • Do you update operating systems as soon as they’re released?
  • Have you watched “House”? Did you like it?

YouTube video

Pressure cooker rolled lamb shoulder

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I’m on a roll with my pressure cooker. I’m trying all sorts of cuts of meat. I think the only thing I’d probably baulk at would be fish, but then again, who knows? I may find a recipe I want to try using fish. The cooking time would be brief.

So today has been pretty glorious. I’ve enjoyed the sunshine and clean, fresh Canberra air. Zoom church was good. I also got to chat with a friend who lives in Houston.

Lake Ginninderra
Lake Ginninderra

Ingredients

  • Rolled shoulder of lamb with the bones removed
  • Master stock
  • Brown onion
  • Potatoes
  • Gravy
  • Iodised salt
  • Radish
  • Fennel
  • Red onion
  • Capsicum
  • Parsley
  • Lemon zest
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil

Instructions

  1. Unwrap the meat from the plastic. I would use biodegradable wrapping.
  2. Dry the surface of the roast.
  3. Rub the lamb with iodised salt.
  4. Sear the surface to caramelise the outer meat.
  5. Add in the master stock, onion, and potatoes.
  6. You could also add some garlic, rosemary, and thyme for some extra flavour if you have it.
  7. Cook the lamb for one hour.
  8. Prepare the salad vegetables with a mandolin. I recommend using a safety glove to avoid losing significant portions of skin and blood.
  9. Mix the lemon juice and olive oil. Use this mixture as a dressing for the salad.
  10. At the end of the high-pressure hour, allow the internal pressure to drop to the ambient pressure.
  11. Keep the lid on for about half an hour to ensure the meat is tender and doesn’t dry out while it rests in the meat juices.
  12. Remove the meat and place it on a carving board.
  13. Lovingly sharpen your butcher’s knife (as iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend Proverbs 27:17 NLT).
  14. Slice the meat with long slow, deliberate strokes of the knife and discover the lamb is so tender it falls apart along the muscle bundle planes. Set aside a couple of “slices” for dinner. Place the rest of the cooked meat into a container for refrigeration.
  15. Make the instant gravy according to the instructions for use.
  16. Prepare a dinner plate with slices of lamb and salad. Spoon gravy over the meat to keep it moist.
  17. Give thanks to the Lord for His grace and mercy.
  18. Eat the meal while listening to some fantastic music (I’ve embedded a couple of YouTube videos at the end).
Pressure cooker Lamb shoulder Gravy Radish Fennel Red onion Pars
Sunday dinner. Pressure cooker lamb shoulder, instant gravy, and a fennel salad.

Notes

I think the perfect cut of lamb for cooking and eating is the shoulder. If I didn’t live alone, I would buy a shoulder with the bones in. I like a whole shoulder because I like the knife work necessary to dissect and remove the bones and roast them alongside the meat.

When I refer to master stock, I mean the liquor from previous meals. Whenever I use the pressure cooker, I sieve the liquid and keep it refrigerated. Before using the refrigerated liquor, I remove the fat which has solidified. My master stock has juices from many species, including beef, chicken, lamb, and pork.

When I cook with a pressure cooker, I’ll use the cheapest potatoes I can find. I may not even eat them with that meal. I’ve discovered potatoes cooked this way roast well after refrigeration. 

Final thoughts

  1. Do you like mint sauce with lamb?
  2. What’s your favourite condiment with cold lamb sandwiches?
  3. Do you keep a master stock of old cooking liquor?

Feel free to leave answers in the comments 👍🙂

YouTube videos I love

Celtic Worship is a Scottish group of musicians who sing hymns and other songs.

Oh Holy Night

The Celtic Blessing

Naomi and Steph have marvellous singing voices. 

  • Australian lamb rolled shoulder roast
    Australian lamb rolled shoulder roast in plastic wrap
  • Master stock in a red plastic cup
    Master stock. Do you like the wobbly jelly-like consistency? It looked so cool as it wiggled and jiggled.
  • Australian lamb rolled shoulder roast
    Australian lamb rolled shoulder roast nude, sans plastic wrap.
  • Dick knife Dick butcher's knife
    Butcher’s knife
  • Pressure cooker lamb shoulder roll
    Pressure cooker lamb shoulder roll
  • Pressure cooker Lamb shoulder Gravy Radish Fennel Red onion Pars
    Sunday dinner. Pressure cooker lamb shoulder, instant gravy, and a fennel salad.

10 hours slowly cooked lamb shoulder

Posted by Gary

10 hours slowly cooked lamb shoulder

Lamb shoulder in its packaging.

During the week, a work friend, viz., MH, mentioned that she cooked two legs of lamb for 10 hours each for Christmas dinner. MH has a large family who all live in rural Victoria.

I’m quite fond of lamb, but I prefer the forequarter rather than a hind leg (also known as the shoulder). I am aware a lot of people aren’t keen on lamb meat. The odour from cooking and cooked lamb is distinct, and some people are put off by it. One of my daughters isn’t keen on lamb meat. Part of her distaste is that she eschews all animal fat and lamb can be quite fat. I like eating breakfast with this daughter because she cuts off all her bacon fat. Guess who gets the discarded bacon fat?

Stolen rosemary with garlic and white onion.

My anatomical preference for lamb is in contrast to my taste for chicken. For chicken, I am a thigh lover over the breasts and wings.

As I was thinking about this meal, I thought I’d try to get things started in the slow cooker at about 6 am so I’d have the meat ready well before my 6 pm dinner deadline.

Lamb shoulder after browning in a frying pan.

The day didn’t start as planned. Oddly for me, I slept in and didn’t start the preparation until about 6.30 am.

Last night, I went for a walk and foraged (stole or acquired) a large amount of rosemary from a few bushes on the footpath outside a local hotel.

I browned the fat and muscle meat in a large frying pan over high heat to prepare the lamb.

Halfway point in a 10 hour slow cook lamb shoulder.

I added all the rosemary in the slow cooker after I scrunched it up and rubbed it vigorously in my hands to break down the leaves a little to release the natural oils. I also cut a knob of garlic in half, sliced one white onion and put it into the cooking vessel.

Add about ¼ cup of dry oregano leaves and a cup of stock.

I then put the lamb into the slow cooker and discovered it was slightly too big. I had to get a knife and cut away some muscle bundles to get the lid to seal correctly.

A wedge of Kent pumpkin rubbed with olive oil, black pepper, iodised salt, chilli flakes and sugar. Ready for the oven.

After ten hours, I opened the slow cooker and removed the shoulder. The fat and muscle meat were coming away from the bones, making the transfer to a tray in one piece difficult. The meat’s tenderness wasn’t a problem because I wanted to pull the muscle bundles off than carve away large cuts from the bone.

Most of the lamb meat is now in an airtight container and refrigerated. Lamb will be a feature of lunches and dinners this week.

Lamb shoulder bones

If you’re wondering what I did with the cooking juices, well wonder no more. I filtered out the rosemary, garlic, and onion and used the liquid to make a gravy. 

I made a roux with a little flour and butter in a saucier pan and cooked it for about 3 minutes. I added the meat juices and cooking liquid and stirred it until a gravy consistency developed.

To accompany tonight’s lamb shoulder roast, I roasted a wedge of Kent pumpkin as well as some broccolini.

I coated the pumpkin with black peppercorns, iodised salt crystals, hot chilli flakes and refined white sugar which I ground in a mortar with a pestle. I like adding a little sugar to help with the caramelisation of the pumpkin. I cooked the pumpkin in an oven at 180 °C for about 45 minutes.

I gently rubbed the broccolini with some olive oil and cooked it with the pumpkin for the 20 minutes of the cooking period.

  • 10 hour slow cook shoulder of lamb with lamb flavoured gravy, roast Kent pumpkin and broccolini.
  • 10 hour slow cook shoulder of lamb with lamb flavoured gravy, roast Kent pumpkin and broccolini.
  • 10 hour slow cook shoulder of lamb with lamb flavoured gravy, roast Kent pumpkin and broccolini.
  • 10 hour slow cook shoulder of lamb with lamb flavoured gravy, roast Kent pumpkin and broccolini.
  • 10 hour slow cook shoulder of lamb with lamb flavoured gravy, roast Kent pumpkin and broccolini.

MH and another workmate, viz., AP, gave me a cultured butter gift on Thursday. I see lamb and gravy rolls on buttered bread being a thing next week.

I have the best workmates who really know me. Cultured butter, biscuits and a microorganism!

Slow cooker boneless rolled lamb shoulder

Posted by Gary

Slow cooker boneless rolled lamb shoulder seemed to make sense today. I’m on-call and working from home. It’s raining and cold. The slow cooker made sense.

Dedicated to friends who keep me happy

Slow cooker boneless rolled lamb shoulder with peas, beans, and broccoli. Served with gravy and mint sauce.
Slow cooker boneless rolled lamb shoulder with peas, beans, and broccoli. Served with gravy and mint sauce.

I bought a large enough piece of lamb to provide sufficient sliced meat for lunches during the week. Leftover lamb, cheese, and tomatoes will form the basis of my work lunches this week.

Traditionally with lamb herbs like rosemary, thyme, and garlic seem to complement the strong flavour that lamb imparts.

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