Rolled and stuffed Lamb Shoulder
Ingredients (serves 6):
1.2-1.5 kg of lamb shoulder
50 grams of cooking fat
Sea or rock salt from a grinder (you can use normal table salt)
Black pepper from a grinder (you can use ground black or white pepper)
100 grams of strong white flour (you can use any white flour)
2 meters of cooking string to tie the rolled shoulder with (do NOT use those elastic cooking bands you can buy, they are not capable of holding the meat together as is needed)
For the stuffing:
150 grams of bread crumbs
70 grams of dried sage (use a decent brand quality unless you know of a really good no name product, you don't want the stuffing to taste of grass cuttings or worse)
100 grams of dried roasted onions
25 grams of butter
200 ml of boiling water
Alternatively, buy a 250 gram packet of high quality sage and onion stuffing (in the UK I would recommend Paxo)
For the gravy:
1 pint (500 ml) of boiling water
Sea or rock salt from a grinder (you can use normal table salt)
Black pepper from a grinder (you can use ground black or white pepper)
100 grams of double cream (if you are worried about the fat content, use milk instead)
1-2 tablespoons of corn flour (corn starch) for thickening. Alternatively, make a butter ball from 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of strong white flour.
Method:- Bone out the lamb shoulder. Unless you have a proper boning knife and are absolutely sure about what you are doing, ask you butcher to do it for you.
- Lay the meat flat on a cutting board and season both sides with freshly ground sea or rock salt and black pepper.
- Set aside until required.
Making or preparing the sage and onion stuffing:- If using a ready made stuffing, follow the instructions on the packet but remember to add the 25 gram knob of butter and leave until ready (approx. 25 mins).
- If making your own stuffing, add all ingredients into a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Leave to soak for approx. 25 mins.
- If you homemade stuffing is too wet or dry, either add a little water or some more breadcrumbs.
Method, continued:- Once the stuffing is ready to be used, spread evenly over the inside of the lamb shoulder (this is the side that does not have the thin fat layer on it), leaving an uncovered edge of at least 1-2” (2.5-5.0 cm). This will prevent the stuffing from leaking out during tying and/or cooking.
- Roll the meat up along its longest side.
- Use the cooking string to first tie the two outer edges as tightly as you can. Use a butchers knot, not dissimilar to a ships bowline knot.
- Once the ends are secured, tie the shoulder in three or four more place in the middle, making sure that stuffing does not spill out.
- Roll the tie shoulder in the strong bread flour. This will give it a wonderful crisps outside once cooked.
In the meantime:- Pre-heat the oven to 140 C.
- Place to roasting tin with the cooking fat onto the middle shelf of the oven.
Cooking:- When the oven is hot, place the shoulder in the roasting tin and leave to cook for about 3 hours, turning and basting the joint frequently.
- The meat is done when pierced and the juices run clear, i.e. no blood.
- Lamb shoulder needs longer cooking times.
- Remove from the roasting tin and place on a carving plate.
- Leave covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving, so the juices can distribute evenly throughout the meat.
In the meantime:- Pour one pint (500 ml) of boiling water into the roasting tin in order to remove as much of the meat stock as possible.
- Drain through a strainer into a saucepan, season with sea or rock salt and ground pepper.
- Thicken the gravy using the corn flour (corn starch) or use the butter ball, which must be placed in the gravy and slowly heated. This requires constant stirring or it will solidify as one solid lump, leaving you with watery gravy and a huge lump in it.
- Well up and stir to dissolve any lumps.
- Remove from the hob, leaving to cool a little and slowly stir in the double cream. Make sure that the liquid is no longer boiling or the cream will separate. It is still fine but will not look particularly nice.
- If using milk instead of cream, make sure you don't water down the gravy too much, it should be a creamy consistency.
Notes:- This is a relatively simple method, though on your first attempt you may struggle with tying the meat. This is important, as it will help keep all those juices inside, rather then spill out into the roasting tin. If in doubt, ask your butcher to show you how to do it. Should he offer you to use those elastic bands for cooking instead, he's basically a rubbish butcher and chances are his meat won't be up to much either.
- Serve with fresh green beans, roast potatoes, Yorkshire Puddings (recipe to follow) and mint sauce (make sure it is made from fresh mint, rather then dried).
Variations:- Try substituting the sage and onion stuffing with my mum's all time favourite, a mixture of finely chopped cooking apple and currants or raisins. Use 1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored, chopped and 100 grams of currants or raisins and spread onto the meat as you would with the sage and onion stuffing. The contrast of the meat and the sweet and sour tang of the apple and currants is delicious.
Storing:- Suitable for home freezing, preferably in meal sized portions.
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