Make this Greek Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder Roast, and you will not regret it. It is simple and impressive, something you can serve guests on Easter, and easy enough to make for a Sunday dinner. Flavored with garlic, rosemary, sea salt, and pepper and surrounded with lemons, veggies, and lots of herbs, it is guaranteed to bring a smile to your guests’ faces.
If you love this Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder, you will also love this Leg Of Lamb In A Parcel – Kleftiko, Lamb Stew Avgolemono, or Dutch Oven Roast Chicken!
Why this recipe sings
- If you haven’t cooked lamb, this recipe is an excellent place to start.
- It is an easy recipe full of healthy ingredients. The lamb slow cooks surrounded by vegetables like bell peppers, onions, garlic, lemons, and cherry tomatoes.
- The sauce left on the pan is truly divine and full of lamb and vegetable drippings.
Here is what you need
- Lamb shoulder. It can be boneless or with bone in. The bone can mean more flavor but you should calculate more cooking time.
- Garlic and onion.
- Fresh rosemary and thyme.
- Dried oregano, bay leaves, coarse sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.
- Chicken stock.
- Lemons.
- Red and green bell peppers, celery, and carrots.
How to make it
- Mix the minced garlic, rosemary, thyme leaves, dried thyme, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper with the extra virgin olive oil.
- Score the lamb with a knife and rub the marinade all over.
- Place the lamb in a dutch oven or deep roasting tray. Pour the stock, lemon chunks, and bay leaves on the bottom, cover, and bake for 3 hours at 160° C / 320°F.
- Add the chopped bell peppers, carrots and celery to a big bowl. Next, add the chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, and dried oregano with ¼ cup of olive oil—season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well.
- After three hours of cooking, transfer the lamb to a plate.
- Add all the veggies with the juices that have accumulated into the pan. Place the lamb on top. Cook uncovered for another hour.
- Allow the lamb to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Place it in the center of a serving platter and surround it with the veggies. Pour the sauce into a sauce dish and serve on the side.
Side dishes for a Greek lamb shoulder
You can’t go wrong with Greek roasted lemon potatoes, and warm crusty bread to dip in the sauce. A large traditional lettuce salad will compliment this shoulder roast, as well as this fava dip with caramelized onions. Roasted cauliflower steaks with lemon olive oil and capers is a side dish I love with a lamb roast.
Check out my Greek pantry staples
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Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large roasting pan
Ingredients
For the lamb and marinade
- 4 lb lamb shoulder. boneless
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs just the leaves
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs just the leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 lemons halved and quartered
The vegetables
- 2 red onions cut into wedges
- 2 red bell peppers cut into 1" pieces
- 2 green bell peppers cut into 1" pieces
- 2 celery stalks cut into 1" pieces
- 2 medium carrots cut into 1" pieces
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs just the leaves
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs just the leaves
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Mix the minced garlic, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, rosemary, and thyme leaves, and dried thyme in a bowl.Score the lamb with a knife and rub the marinade all over.
- Add the chopped peppers, celery and carrots to a big bowl. Next, add the chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, and dried oregano with ¼ cup of olive oil—season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well and let vegetables sit while lamb roasts.
- Place the lamb in a dutch oven or deep roasting tray. Pour on the bottom of the pan the stock, lemon chunks, and bay leaves, cover, and bake for 3 hours at 140° C / 285°F.
- After 3 hours take the pan out of the oven. Turn the heat up to 190°c / 375°F.
- Transfer the lamb to a plate. Add all the veggies with their juices to the pan. Then, add the lamb on top.Place pan into the oven and cook for another hour.
- Leave the lamb to rest for 10 minutes. Then, transfer it to a platter surrounded with the vegetables. Serve with roasted potatoes, bread, and a green salad.
Notes
- Substitute the lamb shoulder with a leg of lamb. You can use bone-in roast but adjust the cooking time. Bone-in requires a longer roasting time.
- You can add cubes of halloumi cheese to the pan at the last hour of roasting.
- If you can’t find fresh herbs, substitute with their dried versions.
Nutrition
