Slow Lamb Shoulder with Anchovy
Five hours of doing nothing, and the meat comes apart with a spoon.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 5 hr
- Written
Method
-
Heat the oven to 325°F. Take the lamb out of the fridge while it comes up to temperature.
-
Chop the anchovies, garlic, and rosemary together on a board until they collapse into a rough paste. Loosen with the olive oil.
-
Pierce the lamb all over with the tip of a knife, going in about an inch. Push the paste into the cuts and rub whatever is left over the surface.
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Season the fat side heavily with salt and pepper. Sit the shoulder in a deep roasting tin, pour the wine around it, and cover the tin tightly with foil.
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Roast for 4 hours. It’s ready to move on when a fork twisted in the shoulder meets no resistance and the bone wobbles when you nudge it.
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Lift the lamb onto a plate. Tip the potatoes into the tin, turning them through the fat and juices until coated, then sit the lamb back on top.
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Raise the oven to 425°F and return the tin uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, until the fat cap has crisped and the potatoes have taken colour at the edges.
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Rest for 20 minutes. Pull the meat apart in the tin with two forks so it soaks up the juices.
Notes
The anchovies are not optional and will not taste of fish. They dissolve into the fat over four hours and leave behind the savoury weight that makes people ask what’s in it. Skipping them gives you plain roast lamb, which is a different and lesser thing.
Pork shoulder works on the same timings if lamb isn’t to hand. Serve with something sharp — pickled onions, or a salad dressed harder than feels sensible — because the meat itself is rich and unrelenting.