Hi there friends! I know it’s been a long time and I can’t really say anything other than, I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last post. To say I’ve been busy is an excuse but truthfully I just needed a wee bit of a break. That being said, I’m posting one of my all time favorite lamb dishes tonight. Stuffed lamb shoulder with Waldorf salad on the side.
Here’s the inventory you’ll need to make a mind-blowing lamb supper:
1.6 kg boneless lamb shoulder
1 cup of English Parsley
5 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp pine nuts (lightly toasted in a dry pan)
1/3 cup of sun-dried cherry tomatos in olive oil (drained)
2 tbsp capers (rinsed under cold water)
1 small tin of sardines in oil
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of dijon mustard
kosher salt/freshly ground black pepper to coat
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried oregano (all 3 dried ingredients pounded to a pulp with your mortar and pestle!)
Now here’s what you’ll need to do:
Combine the parsley, garlic, pine nutes, tomatos, capers and sardines in a food processor. Pulse it about 6-10 times in short bursts. You want to keep the stuffing pretty chunky as opposed to runny and liquid-like. Once done, unwrap your lamb shoulder from the butcher’s net in comes in. You’ll re-tie the lamb shoulder later with your trusty butchers twine (which of course I didn’t have on hand so I improvised…) Spread the stuffing generously across the lamb and carefully wrap it back up as close to what it looked like before. This is where two pairs of hands really come in handy! Take your butcher’s twine and tie it up nice and tight. Nothing fancy required, just make sure the shoulder doesn’t fall apart on you. We wrapped the shoulder up in cling film and popped it back in the fridge for another hour or so.
Meanwhile, get your grill up to ludicrous temperature and get ready to sear your lamb shoulder on all sides. Careful now as the flames will get pretty intense so a long pair of tongs and a fireproof set of gauntlets really come in handy. Coat the shoulder in olive oil and give it a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Then, on to the grill and make sure you get a nice sear all over the lamb and once done, then simply set it aside. Now comes the crucial part….add your plate setter (if using a BGE) or make sure your grill is set up for indirect grilling. I plonked in the plate setter and reduced the temperature to about 400 F (dome.)
As the Egg was settling down, I re-tied the shoulder where the twine had singed off (always get quality twine!) and then I spread the dijon mustard all over the shoulder. Then, sprinkled the dried herbs all over and finally I placed the shoulder into a greased v-rack and onto the grid (which sat on top of the plate setter, legs down.)
For this lamb I went purely by temperature. Using my trusty iGrill thermometer, I set the internal temperature alarm at 155 degrees F. To reach this temperature, it took right about 1.5 hours at 400 F. At the sound of the bell, I took the lamb shoulder off and covered it loosely with aluminium foil and let it rest for a full 10 minutes.
The result? A gorgeous crust, a lip smacking stuffing and lamb that was as tender as tender could be! Simple, tasty and nothing better for a Sunday roast dinner!
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It’s good to be back!
Overall Heather Rating: 9/10