It is a recipe for a succulent fall-apart tender lamb shoulder that’s gradual cooked in a wealthy massaman curry sauce, offered in a grand roast lamb centrepiece type. My present most-made lamb shoulder recipe. Acquired 5 minutes to make it? 🙂
5 Minute Fall-apart Massaman Lamb Shoulder
This recipe goes to avoid wasting you on these events when you must serve a gaggle and are pressed for time, but nonetheless desirous to make one thing that appears spectacular. I imply, we have now a popularity to uphold, in spite of everything! 🙂
You actually simply put every thing in a pan, which takes all of 5 minutes, then go away it within the oven to gradual roast for 4 hours.
And what comes out is extraordinary. The lamb meat is succulent fall-apart tender, swimming in a to-die-for massaman curry sauce with tender potatoes that actually soften in your mouth.
Plus, it may be made the day earlier than as a result of it reheats 100% completely (can’t say that about most roasts!) and it’s child pleasant as a result of Massaman curry isn’t spicy.
Cynical? Don’t blame you!
If it sounds too good to be true – I don’t blame you for being cynical! This recipe works very particularly as a result of it’s slow-roasted (permits time for the sauce and meat to develop flavour), we’re utilizing lamb meat (extra flavourful than rooster, pork and beef) and since we’re utilizing a richly flavoured curry sauce because the braising liquid.
Want extra proof? Head over to the Massaman Lamb Shanks. Similar methodology. Glowing critiques!
Components in Massaman Lamb Shoulder
A shortcut on this recipe is that we use retailer purchased curry paste. In actual fact, selfmade Massaman Curry paste doesn’t work for this recipe as a result of it’s too contemporary! We want the concentrated flavour of retailer purchased.
Additionally, as talked about above, utilizing lamb here’s a deliberate alternative. In actual fact, conventional Massaman Curry is made with beef however I go for lamb as a result of it’s a stronger flavoured meat.
1. Lamb shoulder
Lamb shoulder is a minimize of lamb that must be cooked lengthy and gradual to provide the powerful meat fibres time to interrupt down and develop into tender. You may’t cook dinner shoulder to blushing pink like a conventional Lamb Leg, it’s simply too powerful.
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The place to get it – Lately, you’ll find shoulder in common grocery shops right here in Australia. It was cheaper than lamb leg however now it’s about the identical worth. However, it’s extra succulent and has higher flavour than lamb leg!
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Get bone in as a result of the meat is juicier. Belief me on this, I’ve examined bone-in and boneless aspect by aspect. The distinction is phenomenal! (See FAQ for extra info).
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Different lamb cuts – For lamb shanks, use the Massaman Lamb Shanks recipe (it’s barely completely different). Boneless lamb shoulder will work however scale back the cooking time by an hour.
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Different proteins – I don’t assume beef chuck would add sufficient flavour into the sauce for this methodology of cooking (ie no searing meat prior). Beef brief ribs do work (scale back bake time by about 1 1/2 hours, it was nice). Pork shoulder can even work however I haven’t bought my head round how good pork is with massaman curry sauce. Tasty, however maybe higher with beef or lamb? Rooster received’t work as a result of it may well’t be cooked lengthy sufficient to provide the sauce enough time to develop sufficient flavour. Keep in mind this recipe is designed with comfort in thoughts which implies we’d like slow-cooking time for flavour creation!
2. THE CURRY PART
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Massaman Curry paste – Maesri is my most popular model. Not all curry pastes are made equal! Extra on this beneath.
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Cinnamon and star anise – Flavour increase of two dominant spices in Massaman curry paste.
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Coconut milk – As utilized in conventional Massaman Curry sauce. Search for a coconut milk that’s at the least 80% coconut! Very economical manufacturers will be as little as 30% which barely style of coconut. I exploit Ayam (89%).
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Rooster inventory/broth – To create quantity to make a braising liquid to principally submerge the lamb, in addition to including depth of flavour into the sauce. A shortcut – conventional Massaman Curry is made by braising items of beef in liquid to make a selfmade inventory which is used for the sauce.
Get low-sodium so your sauce doesn’t find yourself too salty. (Although it received’t be a catastrophe in the event you don’t get low sodium as the enormous hunk of lamb + potatoes will soak up the salt).
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Potato and onion – historically included in conventional Massaman Curry. Use complete child potatoes, round 3cm/1.2″ huge is right, in order that they maintain collectively and develop into fantastically tender and creamy inside. ⚠️ Don’t use cubes of minimize potato as they are going to disintegrate and make the sauce grainy!
3. Maesri curry paste
Right here is the undisputed king of all retailer purchased Thai curry pastes – Maesri. Eating places use it, cooks use it, and meals obsessed individuals like myself are mad for it.
And it occurs to be offered at common grocery shops and it’s the most cost effective (at present ~$2.00).
I exploit it for all my Thai curries once I don’t have time / substances to make the curry paste from scratch – Purple, Inexperienced and conventional Massaman beef curry. And some other recipe calling for a dollop or two of curry paste, from the peanut dipping sauce for Thai Satay Rooster to Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup to Purple Curry Pot Roast Rooster!
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The place to seek out Maesri curry paste – At your native grocery retailer! It’s offered at most metropolitan Coles and Woolworths grocery shops in Australia (Asian part), at Harris Farms, virtually all Asian shops (it will be un-Asian to not carry it!) and right here it’s on-line in the US, Canada* and UK.
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Can’t discover it? Use any Massaman Curry paste you’ll find. My private order of desire (Aussie manufacturers) – Ayam, 5 Tastes and citing the rear is Volcom (it’s all the time too candy).
* Obscenely costly, please attempt to get to an Asian retailer!
How you can make Massaman Lamb Shoulder
2 simple steps -put every thing right into a pan, bake 4 hours! It’s also possible to use your gradual cooker – see recipe notes.
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Sauce – Put the curry, coconut and inventory in a roasting pan. Whisk till lump free (together with pesky coconut milk lumps).
💡If making forward to reheat tomorrow, use a ceramic, glass or enamel coated forged iron baking dish reasonably than a steel one. I usually attempt to keep away from preserving meals in any sort of steel pans in a single day. Simply to be cautious!
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Lamb the other way up – Put the lamb shoulder in then flip to coat within the sauce. Then prepare it so it’s the other way up within the sauce. ie fats cap aspect / meaty aspect down, crimson boney aspect dealing with up. This fashion many of the meat is submerged within the liquid so it braises.
Scatter the onion, cinnamon, star anise and potatoes across the lamb.
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Gradual roast excessive then low – Cowl with foil. Roast for 1 hour 220°C/425°F (200°C fan) to get the warmth going contained in the pan (it’s an enormous hunk of meat there, which takes some time to warmth up), then 3 hours at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) or till the meat is fork-tender. Which means that it’s best to be capable of pry the meat aside with two forks with none effort.
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Brown it – Take away the foil and punctiliously flip the lamb over so. Spoon some sauce over then pop it again within the oven for half-hour till the floor is a stunning deep golden brown.
Making forward? After browning, let it absolutely cool uncovered then refrigerate in a single day. On the day of, simply reheat it within the oven coated for 1 hour. See recipe notes for instructions!
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Skim fats – Take away it from the oven and let it relaxation for 10 to fifteen minutes. Skim off the surplus fats from the floor of the sauce utilizing a big spoon. There will likely be a good quantity – round 1/2 to three/4 cup (125 – 180 ml). Lamb shoulder is a fatty minimize, and that’s the reason it’s so tasty! Don’t attempt to get all of the fats as a result of in any other case you’ll lose an excessive amount of sauce. And bear in mind, fats = flavour!
💡In the event you refrigerated in a single day, you possibly can elevate sheets of the fats off the floor of the sauce however remember to scrape all of the sauce off the underside!
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Garnish and serve – In the event you’re posh (I’m not), switch every thing right into a serving dish then sprinkle with the crimson chilli slices and coriander/cilantro. Serve with rice and tongs – no carving knife required right here, this isn’t the carving type! See the part beneath for varied serving types.
Serving types
An odd-sounding heading maybe, however it’s going to make sense as soon as I clarify! Listed here are the three methods I’ve served this lamb prior to now few months (it’s been usually used since I invented it, so helpful for teams):
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Lazy format for acquainted individuals eg household, informal lunch with the workforce – Go away the entire lamb shoulder within the roasting pan. It does get a bit messy because the meat-tearing progresses because the bone will get in the best way, and in addition there are pockets of fats that I discover individuals are likely to keep away from and go away within the pan. However, it’s much less work for me to serve, and the entire lamb appears to be like spectacular! 🙂
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Meat absolutely eliminated – This one is straightforward for company to serve themselves although lacks the visible affect of a complete lamb shoulder. Take away all of the meat off the bone and separate into large-ish serving-size chunks. Take away and discard giant identifiable pockets of fats. Squidge meat in sauce, garnish, serve with giant serving spoon.
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Bone eliminated, lamb in-tact – It is a good approach to have visible affect of a complete piece of lamb however it’s simpler to serve as a result of the bone is eliminated. You actually simply seize the bone and slide it out of the meat, taking care to maintain the lamb in tact. As a result of the meat is so tender, it ought to slide out effortlessly.
What to serve with Massaman Lamb Shoulder
Rice is crucial, for sauce soaking. Jasmine is my first choose (being Thai and all) although basmati is gorgeous with it too, given the Indian affect of Massaman curry. They each have a slight fragrance of flavour that goes so properly with this dish however I’m certain no person would snob different rice varieties on provide! 🙂
I’d counsel choosing a lightweight and contemporary aspect salad as this dish is sort of wealthy. It’s pictured above with an Asian Slaw on the aspect. Some extra recommendations: Leafy Asian salad, Chang’s Crispy Noodle Salad, Smashed Cucumber Salad, Japanese Slaw, Glass Noodle Salad (skip the rooster), or any contemporary greens/salady issues / blanched greens you need tossed with my easy 4 ingredient Asian Sesame Dressing.
Take pleasure in! – Nagi x
Massaman lamb shoulder FAQ
Make per recipe, hold it complete and let it absolutely cool (takes about 2 hours). Cowl and refrigerate (24 hours finest, as much as 3 days). Take it out 2 hours prior. Reheat 1 hour at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) coated in foil.
It reheats 100% completely which is a singular characteristic right here as a result of it’s uncommon {that a} “roast” fashion dish to have the ability to be reheated with out lack of high quality. For instance, I might by no means do this with a lamb rack or prime rib!
As many as you possibly can snug match within the oven, although you could want to extend the roasting time in the event you crowd the oven. I can match 4 in my commonplace dimension 60cm oven, 2 shoulders in 2 giant pans. I’ve used giant disposable aluminium trays to make cleansing up simpler and in addition as a result of they match 2 lambs.
Sure, however it’s not fairly pretty much as good as a result of it lacks the long-roasting-time caramelisation you get on the floor of the lamb and sauce. Gradual cook dinner for 10 hours then end within the oven to brown / scale back sauce (~ 1 hour).
As a result of when butchers minimize into the meat to take away the bone they’re slicing the flesh which creates extra escape routes for juices.
I as soon as made my 12 hour lamb shoulder utilizing a bone-in and boneless lamb shoulder and in contrast the burden of the lamb meat after roasting. The distinction is extraordinary – the bone in lamb meat retains about 20% extra juices so the meat is way extra succulent.
YES. Proof right here – that recipe makes use of the identical methodology however makes use of shanks as a substitute of shoulder. It’s a beloved reader fave!
See in put up for why this recipe works although it’s really easy.
It makes extra meat so this dish serves extra. And since lamb shoulder is fattier than lamb shanks, I begin with extra liquid within the braising sauce so the sauce on the finish is barely thinner and fewer wealthy. The primary time I made it simply switching the shanks for shoulder, the sauce was simply too wealthy and in addition there wasn’t sufficient for all of the meat.
Additionally – roasting temp. Beginning with a 1 hour excessive warmth blast is essential for this recipe, it cuts the full roasting time down by an hour.
Sure, it’s on the big aspect. Sometimes you can see that butchers carry smaller ones round 1.4 – 1.7kg and grocery shops carry bigger ones ~2kg as much as 2.5 kg. The bigger lamb is technically mutton, not lamb, from a sheep that’s older. Lamb from youthful sheep is extra tender and can cook dinner sooner so in the event you use a small shoulder, examine if the meat is tender a little bit earlier.
4 days within the fridge, 3 months within the freezer. Reheats 100% good!
Watch methods to make it
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Fall-apart massaman lamb shoulder
Prep: 5 minutes
Prepare dinner: 4 hours 30 minutes
Resting: 15 minutes
Essential
Thai-ish
Servings6 – 8
Faucet or hover to scale
Forestall display screen from sleeping
Directions
Abbreviated recipe:
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Whisk curry, coconut and inventory, put lamb in the other way up. Add spices and potatoes, foil cowl, roast 1 hour at 220°C/425°F (200°C fan), 3 hours 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) or till fall-apart. Uncover, flip lamb, half-hour. Garnish, serve!
Full recipe steps:
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Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan-forced).
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Whisk the curry paste, coconut milk and rooster inventory in a pan till lump free. Put lamb shoulder in, flip to coat within the sauce then place it so it is the other way up (ie meaty / fats aspect down).
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Place the onion, cinnamon sticks, star anise and potatoes across the lamb. Cowl with foil.
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Gradual-cook – Roast for 1 hour. LOWER the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) then roast for an extra 3 hours. (Be aware 5)
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Verify – Take away foil and use forks to examine the meat is nearly “fall-apart-tender”.
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Brown – Flip the lamb over, spoon over sauce. Bake uncovered half-hour or till deep golden.
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Serve – Relaxation for 10 – quarter-hour. Spoon off as a lot or as little extra fats off floor, discard. Combine sauce properly (it is fairly runny, if it was thicker it would be too wealthy). Switch to a serving dish, in the event you like, sprinkle with chilli and coriander. Serve! (Be aware 6 for serving types)
Recipe Notes:
Different meat that can work: boneless brief rib
2. Massaman curry paste – finest is Maesri model, offered at most Woolworths (see right here) & Coles in Australia, in addition to Harris Farms and Asian shops. Additionally occurs to be the most cost effective at ~$2.10 a can.
In any other case, use no matter model you’ll find (my preferences: Ayam, 5 Tastes and lastly Volcom).
3. Coconut milk – not all coconut milk is created equal. Search for manufacturers which are at the least 80% coconut for higher coconut flavour (examine the substances), I exploit Ayam which is 89%.
4. Potatoes – small ones ~3cm / 1.2″ is right. Hold them complete or halve, with pores and skin on. Don’t use peeled cubes of potato, they are going to disintegrate and make the sauce grainy.
5. Oven temps – Preliminary excessive temp roasting is to get warmth contained in the lamb and liquid, cuts down on gradual roasting time by an hour.
Gradual cooker – 10 hours on low. Switch every thing to a pan (lamb the other way up), 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) half-hour, flip lamb, 30 – 45 minutes till properly colored and sauce diminished (take away lamb and scale back in oven extra if wanted). Useful, however, oven roasting is healthier flavour (higher caramelisation). 🙂
6. Serving fashion – See in put up for recommendations, part above the video. Entire, or boneless complete, or shredded. Completely different events for every!
7. MAKE-AHEAD BRILLIANCE – One of many uncommon roasts that reheats virtually 100% completely (in actual fact, the sauce flavour will get higher with time), making it glorious for making forward for gatherings. Use a ceramic or glass baking dish, absolutely cool (complete) then refrigerate in a single day within the dish. Take out of the fridge an excellent 2 hours prior, cowl loosely with foil, reheat at 180°C/350°F (160°C) for 1 hour (2 shoulders every in separate pans took 1 hour quarter-hour).
Vitamin per serving assuming 8 servings. It is going to serve 6 comfortably with rice and a single aspect salad (lamb meat + the sauce is fairly wealthy), as much as 8 in the event you had a few sides.
Vitamin Data:
Energy: 478cal (24%)Carbohydrates: 18g (6%)Protein: 48g (96%)Fats: 24g (37%)Saturated Fats: 14g (88%)Polyunsaturated Fats: 1gMonounsaturated Fats: 6gLdl cholesterol: 142mg (47%)Sodium: 502mg (22%)Potassium: 1100mg (31%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 2250IU (45%)Vitamin C: 18mg (22%)Calcium: 75mg (8%)Iron: 7mg (39%)
Lamb shoulder is a agency favorite for entertaining
See?
Lifetime of Dozer
In the event you advised me 10 years in the past I’d be sitting on the ground of a purchasing centre with a canine watching a lightwall till the advert for my guide signing got here up, I’d have checked out you want I’m loopy.
As a substitute, individuals had been me like I’m loopy!! 😂
Right here’s a enjoyable little video I put collectively of Dozer’s go to to Warringah Mall yesterday to take a look at our lightwall! In truth, I used to be a little bit upset. I used to be secretly hoping for a large picture of Dozer. I do know, I do know, I’m such an ungrateful brat! 😈