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This is so succulent it’s wonderful & so, so simple. It can be a winter warmer meal or a summer BBQ with salad meal – very versatile & feeds a crowd or leaves you with fabulous left over’s for other easy meals.

You will need:

• 1 x boned Lamb Shoulder (go to your local butcher and ask for a good lamb shoulder, to the size that you need for the number of people you would like to feed, and ask him/her to bone it & butterfly it for you – local butchers are a great source of good products and information – they are the experts!)
• 1 x good bunch of fresh Rosemary
• 1 bunch of fresh mint
• ¼ of a Brown or white onion – finely chopped (only need a small amount so it doesn’t take over)
• A good pinch of salt, a good grind of black pepper & a teaspoon of sugar
• Enough of a good Olive Oil to generously coat the meat

(Suggestions for “What to serve your luscious lamb with” can be found below)

What to do … 

• Wash the Rosemary and Mint leaves and shake dry.
• Strip the Rosemary & Mint leaves from the stems, cut through the pile of rosemary leaves once or twice and tear the mint leaves - so that the lovely oils and flavors are released from both.
• In a bowl – mix Olive Oil, Rosemary, Mint, Onion, Sugar, Salt & Pepper.
• Place the boned Lamb Shoulder in a plastic bag & place the bag in a bowl big enough to hold it easily.
• Pour the olive oil mixture into the bag and massage the meat, though the plastic bag, to ensure that the oil & leaves, etc cover the entire surface of the lamb (make sure all surfaces are covered). Leave the bag fairly loose over the meat & tie the top of the bag to keep all of those lovely flavors in!
• Place the bowl (& bag inside!) in the fridge to marinate for as long as possible – if possible marinate for 24 hours, or if not possible – marinate in the fridge overnight. Try to turn the bag over (with the meat in it) as often as you think of it so that the surfaces are constantly being given as much of the marinade as possible.

Ask the BBQ Chef to heat up the BBQ grill to a low heat with the hood down. We want the temperature in the BBQ to be about 170 - 180°C in the top of the hood. (NOTE: if you don’t have a hood on your BBQ, use a large casserole dish or other large pan to cover the meat while it’s on the BBQ so that you can create a closed ‘oven’ type of cooking environment).

The lamb could take up to 1 ½ hours to cook (depending on how well you like it cooked) – but slow is worth it.

If, when the lamb was butterflied there is a very thick part in the middle (where the two halves meet), if you like your lamb well done – perhaps cut through this section so that you have two pieces or halves of the shoulder that are around the same thickness.

• Take a beer and the meat in the bag & bowl out to the BBQ Chef.
• The BBQ Chef can then cut the top of the bag and lift the marinated lamb out of the bag (using your MAN LAW BBQ Tongs of course!) and place it straight onto the BBQ grill.
• Turn from time to time to even up the inside temperature while it’s cooking. Cook it very very slowly so that the meat falls apart when it’s done.
• Cook until it’s to your liking … even well done!
• Once cooked, remove from the BBQ grill to a warmed plate and cover with foil. Allow to stand in a warm spot for 15 minutes.

To serve….

As there is loads of flavor in the rosemary and mint marinade and the meat has such a subtle flavor, things that are slightly sweet make a perfect accompaniment.

• Peel & cut baby carrots in half lengthways cook in the microwave. When cooked, drain & put a good teaspoon of honey over the carrots, cover and keep warm.
• Asparagus spears – steamed or cooked for 1 – 2 minutes in the microwave to be ‘just’ cooked.
• Potatoes – boil until cooked, drain, then smash roughly & sprinkle with ground black pepper and a couple of knobs of real butter.
• Gravy – make up a nice gravy (even using a commercial powder like Gravox) & while it’s cooking – put in a teaspoon of crushed garlic.

Alternatively….

-          A lovely simple crisp salad - use leaves of your choice and any veggies that you would like – finely julienned, then drizzle with a little fruity olive oil dressing – eg: mandarin or lemon flavored olive oil.

But also needed is – a nice bottle of Rose or Merlot.

Good heavens – don’t tell anyone how easy this was … let them think it took you ages!! Well done!!