The best slowly cooked lamb shoulder recipe with home-made gravy

The meat

1. Chuck 1x roughly diced onion, 4-6 cloves of garlic & a sprig or 2 of rosemary in a casserole dish big enough to fit your shoulder in

2. Place your shoulder in the dish skin facing up, on top of the onion etc..

3. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the skin and rub in until the whole outside is covered in a light layer of oil.

4. Season oiled skin with plenty flaky sea salt and ground pepper from a hand pepper mill ( I use Maldon salt, but salt from a hand mill is fine too)

5. Roast in a hot oven with the lid off for 20 mins (200-220 degrees)

6. Take out the oven, turn the oven down (150-160 degrees)

7. Pour ½ a bottle of red wine into the dish, along with ½ an pint of stock ( shop bought or homemade stock is fine)

8. Put back into the oven with the lid on

9. Enjoy the other half of the bottle of wine while your shoulder cooks..

10. Check the lamb every approximately every 30 mins until tender

11. Once cooked, remove the meat and leave on a chopping board or plate and cover with foil

The gravy

There are numerous ways of thickening your gravy. There is no right or wrong technique, so long as you enjoy the end result. One can use plain flour, corn flour, make a roux or just stir in some bisto

How I make gravy

1. Strain juices through a fine sieve into a sauce pan

2. Simmer on the hob for 5-10 minutes before whisking ½ a teaspoon of plain flour at a time into your meat juices until you have beautiful thick gravy.

3. I simmer and gently whisk the gravy for another 2-3 minutes to ensure the flour is absorbed.

4. I like to stir in a dollop (1-2 tablespoons) of Tracklements mint jelly at the end which just gives the gravy a lovely sweet undertone.

Cooking times Half shoulder = 3 – 3.5 hrs Whole shoulder = 4.5-5 hrs