I’m not the biggest fan of lamb in general, but I think my favourite cut of any meat has to be lamb shoulder. It is a rather tough cut of meat with a lot of connective tissue, but can be boned out and rolled into a roast if you carve around or remove some of the tendons beforehand. Also, if you get quality young Australian or New Zealand lamb, you won’t have to worry about that gamey scent that lamb usually has.
This recipe is inspired by something that I did at work a few days ago, Moroccan spiced roasted boneless lamb shoulder.
From the top: sambal oelek, chopped coriander stalks, ginger, garlic, onion
The spices come in the form of chermoula [also spelled shermoola, and charmoula]. Chermoula is a spice paste used in north African cooking [Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), and while recipes vary considerably, some common ingredients are: garlic, ginger, onion, coriander leaves and stems, chilies, lemon juice and zest, and oil.
From the top: paprika, cumin, Chinese 5 spice, coriander seed, turmeric
Spices used may include fennel seed, coriander seed, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, turmeric.
Chermoula recipe:
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 small onion, red, white, yellow, whatever you like.
- 1 tbsp sambal oelek [or ground red chilies, sambal was a shortcut]
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp ginger or 1 inch or so fresh ginger chopped
- 2 tsp coriander seed, crushed whole or ground
- 4 tbsp coriander (cilantro) leaves and stems.
- 1 tsp turmeric (optional).
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1/2 to 1 tsp cinnamon depending on taste
- Oil
- Salt to taste
Finished chermoula, ground into a paste with a morter and pestle. Feel free to use a food processor.
Yeah, I know that is a lot of spices and ingredients, and if you don’t have them all on hand this can be an expensive thing to make. Feel free to omit anything listed, and I recommend you eyeball the quantities as well because everyone’s spices have different potencies. Mix your chermoula and let it sit for a few minutes, then taste it. Adjust the flavour if you need to, after all, eating is a very individual thing.
I couldn’t be bothered to find my fennel seed today, so I threw in 1 tsp of Chinese 5 spice powder. Five spice contains ginger, cinnamon, star anise, fennel seed, and Sichuan peppercorns [yours may have different ingredients, however]. Cinnamon, ginger and fennel seed are all ingredients in todays recipe, and the cloves go nicely as well, so if you have 5 spice, feel free to experiment and use it. I should also mention that I only had a bundle of coriander stalks left over, without any leaves. The stems pack even more flavour than the leaves do, so you may want to hold onto them next time you grow or buy some cilantro.
Boneless lamb shoulder, flattened and ready to be coated
If you bought vacuum packed lamb, open the cryovac bag and rinse the lamb under the tap, then let it sit to let the smell dissipate. When things sit in cryovac bags they tend to start to stink, even when the meat is perfectly fresh. The smell will go away in a couple minutes, and the meat will return to its natural vibrant red colour.
Boneless lamb shoulder with the inside coated in chermoula
Preheat the oven to 325F/160C. Coat your lamb shoulder inside with some of the chermoula.
Rolled, tied, and coated lamb shoulder
Then roll it up and tie with butchers knots. Coat the outside with the remaining chermoula and let it sit as the oven heats up. You can also coat and roll the lamb the night before to let the flavours infuse.
Roast the lamb at 325F for about an hour, or more, or less. Now is the time to break out that meat thermometer, because the cooking time depends on the thickness of the meat, and every roast is going to have a different cooking time. Cook the roast until the internal temperature reaches 140F, or 60C. This will be rare. Then remove it from the oven, and tent with foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. The carryover cooking should give you a medium-rare roast. If you prefer your lamb medium to well, remove it at 150F or 65C and let rest. If you like your lamb charcoal and dry, cook it well done to 170F or 70C. If you cook it well done, it’ll likely be dry and inedible.
Roasted lamb shoulder after resting
Let the lamb rest for 10-15 minutes, remove the ties, then slice. You may need to cut cleverly if you’ve left some thick tendons in there.
Roasted Moroccan inspired lamb shoulder cooked medium and sliced
This lamb goes nicely with minted yogurt, a rice pilaf, and some zucchini and carrots.
