I bought a shoulder of lamb from my local butcher the other day. I put it in a hot oven for about 45 minutes, then turned the oven down low and cooked it wrapped in foil for another 3 to 4 hours.
The joint was nicely seasoned with garlic and dried rosemary, but it was tough as hell. I got some good advice about how to rescue it. So this morning I cut the shoulder into pieces and put it into a large pan with stock, soup vegetables and a bed of sliced celery and simmered it for about 3 hours.
The resulting lamb stew smells good and I flavoured it with all spice and Thai red curry paste.
The lesson to be learned was that I can’t just wing it when it comes to large joints of meat. I have now invested in a Heston Blumenthal meat thermometer that will give me an instant reading (rather than wait, yes I am an impatient cook.)
odespinner 