This slow cooked lamb is great on its own or wrapped in lavash
When you make this slow cooked lamb, you will love how fall apart delicious it is! You can literally pull it apart and the meat is so juicy.
When you cook let or shoulder of lamb, it needs to be either cooked quickly and served pink or nuke it like you do hear until you can literally tear the meat off the bone.
About this recipe.
You can make this slow cooked lamb recipe using shoulder or leg of lamb. I used to always make it with shoulder as it is more fatty than leg meat and that fat adds flavour.
This time I made it with lamb leg and I’m happy to report it was just as good. It was also healthier than the shoulder version.
I still highly recommend using shoulder of lamb. It will take a little longer in the oven to be pull apart tender but it’s worth the wait.
What is the secret to getting the lamb so tender and juicy?
There are of course many slow cooked lamb recipes out there. They vary from cuisine to cuisine. This slow cooked lamb is done Turkish or Middle Eastern style.
Unlike other versions, you tightly wrap the lamb or shoulder in parchment paper and foil. This keeps all the juices in the meat rather than letting them run off into the roasting tray.
If you like your gravy, having the juices run off into the roasting tray is a good thing. In this case, you keep all the juices in making this slow cook lamb perfect for picking up with breads such as lavash and enjoying with a few mezes.
How long does it take to make this recipe?
The actual preparation and cooking time is only about 4 to 6 hours. Most of that is in the oven so you can do other things while you wait for your amazing slow cooked lamb dinner.
It is, however very important to marinate the meat with the onion, garlic, salt and pepper marinade. The lamb needs to sit in this marinade for 15 to 24 hours but that is easy. You just need to wait for the marinade to do its work.
There is also a second marinade of herbs, spices, lemon juice and olive oil. You can rub this into the meat and go straight to cooking or let it marinate the meat for up to 3 hours before placing in your oven.
How much salt?!
Some of you might think there is a lot of salt in this recipe. There is but there is also a lot of meat. When using a wet marinade like those you see here, it is important to use a lot of salt so that it penetrates and flavours the meat.
You will scrape off a lot of the excess salt when you scrape off the first marinade.
How do you serve this slow cooked lamb?
Although there are a lot of slow cooked lamb recipes that are served with gravy, you don’t make or need gravy for this recipe. The moisture is all kept in the lamb meat using the steaming process in the photos and recipe card below.
When making slow cooked lamb this way, I usually serve it on its own with a few salad side dishes and/or wrap the pulled lamb meat in lavash or pita breads and top them with salad and a few sauces of choice.
You might also like to serve it drizzled with tahini sauce or a hot sauce of your choice. Popular meze dishes like Turkish onion salad, ezme salad, muhammara, baba ganoush and hummus are also very good on the side.
How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?
You can store any leftover meat in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. Wrap it tightly. Although you could reheat it in your microwave, I recommend frying it in a little oil in a frying pan until heated through to retain its juiciness.
Can you freeze this slow cooked lamb?
Yes and it will freeze well for about 3 months or perhaps a little longer. Be sure to place it in an air-tight container or freezer bag and label and date it. If using a freezer bag, try to get as much excess air out of the bag before sealing it.
To reheat the meat, let it defrost completely and then either heat it up in your microwave or better, in a little oil over a medium heat in a frying pan.
Step by step photographs.
Get all your ingredients together and ready. Optional garlic and ginger paste not shown.
Slice off any excess fat and silver skin from the lamb.
For reference, press the meat. You will see how much more tender the meat becomes with marination. Set it aside while you prepare the marinade.
Place the onions, garlic, peppercorns, water and salt in a blender and blend to a smooth paste.
It should look like an onion smoothie. Pourable and smooth.
Cover the lamb with the onion marinade. I usually do this in a large freezer bag but a bowl is also fine. Allow to marinate for 15 to 24 hours in the fridge.
Once you have marinated the meat, remove all the marinade and discard it. It is important to get it all off.
You will notice a change in colour of the meat and it will be much more tender when pressed.
Combine your spices, olive oil, dried oregano and lemon juice to make the second marinade and whisk until smooth. I also added 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste (optional).
Pour the marinade all over the lamb leg and rub it right into the flesh.
Be sure to rub the meat with this second marinade completely.
Make small holes all over the lamb and place the garlic slivers in them.
Dampen to pieces of parchment paper that are large enough to wrap the lamb leg.
Place the lamb on one of the parchment paper and wrap it tightly. Then wrap again with the other pieces.
I usually tie it up as well though that is not necessary if wrapping in additional foil. You can start cooking now or let it marinate for up to 3 hours. Wrap tightly in foil to keep all the moisture in.
Place the wrapped lamb in an oven preheated to 150°C/300°F for 3 1/2 hours to 5 hours.
After 4 hours, my lamb looked like this. It was pull apart tender. I continued to roast it, unwrapped but on the paper for about 30 minutes under a hot grill (broiler) to char it some.
This slow cooked lamb leg was pull apart tender and so juicy. No gravy needed!
Enjoy!
If you like slow cooked lamb, you might like to try some of these other Turkish recipes!
- Turkish Style Mediterranean Grilled Fish
- Turkish Chicken Kebabs
- Tantuni – Grilled Steak Wraps
- Beef Shish Kabobs
- Lahmacun
- Muhammara – A traditional Pepper meze
- Turkish Onion Salad
- Baba Ganoush – Eggplant (Aubergine) meze
- Easy Hummus – Really smooth and delicious
- Turkish Ezme Salad
- Lavash Flatbread
- Homemade Pitas
- Homemade Tahini
- Tahini Sauce
Have you tried this slow cooked lamb recipe?
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Slow Roast Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- FOR THE FIRST MARINADE
- 5 medium onions, roughly chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 generous tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp salt
- 80ml (1/3 cup) water
- FOR THE SECOND MARINADE
- 70ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
- Juice of two lemons
- 3 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1 sprig rosemary, , pounded to a paste or finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp allepo chilli powder or Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tbsp paprika or more chilli powder
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- TO FINISH
- 1 2kg (4lb.) leg of lamb
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place the lamb on a clean surface and remove all the excess fat and silver skin. This does not cook well when slow cooked in this way so try to get most of it off. Set aside.
- Place the onions, five cloves garlic, the peppercorns and water in a blender or food processor and blend until really smooth like an onion smoothie.
- Rub this first marinade all over the meat. Place the meat in a large freezer bag or similar with all of the marindade. Seal it tightly and rub the marinade in some more.
- Place lamb in the bag in your fridge and let it marinate like this, turning a couple of times for about 15 to 24 hours.
- Remove the lamb from the bag and scrape off all of the marinade. Be sure to get it all! You will notice that the lamb has changed colour and the texture is much more tender than before you marinated it.
- Take a couple sheets of parchment paper that are both large enough to wrap completely around the lamb. Scrunch them up and dip them in water. The paper is easier to wrap around the lamb when wet. Set aside.
- Now mix the dried oregano, rosemary, spices, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic and ginger paste together and rub it all over the lamb. Using a sharp knife, make small slits all over the lamb and stick the sliced garlic in the holes.
- Wrap the lamb tightly with one of the sheets of wet paper and then wrap the other sheet around it too. To help keep all the steam and juices in while the lamb cooks, you can also tightly wrap some foil around the paper and seal it tightly.
- Preheat your oven to 150°C/300°F and roast the lamb for 3 1/2 hours. After 3 hours, unwrap it. The meat should be pull apart tender but I like to continue roasting the lamb for another 20 to 30 minutes under a hot grill to char it some. If you do this, be sure to check it regularly so that you don't burn it.
- When you are happy with the colouring, transfer the lamb to a warm serving platter. There is no need to let it rest before cooking as it has been resting for so long in the low oven. Serve immediately with salad, sauce of your choice and lavash bread or pitas.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 341Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 4567mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 9gProtein: 8g