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The Greek Lamb Roast Tradition
Roast lamb is a staple of Greek family feasts as well as the culinary traditions of neighboring countries. At my grandmother's house it always made an appearance on holidays, especially Easter. Greeks tend to cook lamb until it is fall apart tender and this is especially true of the shoulder cut.
This authentic recipe for lamb roast is a perfect example of how a few simple ingredients, low heat and time create big, comforting flavors and a truly festive dish. The goal is to roast the lamb slowly and allow the melting fat to gradually moisten the meat and infuse it with flavor until it becomes rich and succulent.
Lamb shoulder is traditionally prepared with Greek lemon potatoes (in the same pan) or with separately cooked orzo or roasted vegetables in tomato sauce (giouvetzi). When potatoes are simultaneously cooked with it they absorb all the juices dripping from the meat. The liquid in which the potatoes cook contributes moist heat and perfects the juicy tenderness of the roast. The lemon acidity cuts through the richness and brightens every bite.
Boneless or Bone-in Lamb Shoulder + Other Ingredients
Lamb shoulder tends to be even more flavorful than lamb leg and in true Greek fashion can be roasted in the oven or on the grill. The same principles apply.
- Lamb shoulder. You can use boneless or bone-in - it depends on your personal preference. We like to slow roast a rolled, boneless lamb shoulder in the oven, with potatoes and cook a bone-in piece on the grill in a cast iron skillet to catch all the juices. To help you make a decision consider that:
- A boneless lamb shoulder cooks a bit faster and is much easier to carve.
- A bone-in lamb shoulder takes a bit longer to cook and is better suited for being shredded/pulled apart with a fork, family style.
- Garlic cloves & shallots. For a savory flavor base. Leave the shallots out if you do not have any on hand or simply substitute with red onion.
- Fresh herbs. Fresh rosemary and oregano sprigs are most common, but also thyme and mint.
- Lemon juice & zest. While most roasts do not call for lemon, it does wonders for rich lamb meat and is integral to Greek lamb cooking. Budget for extra tablespoons of lemon juice if also roasting the Greek lemon potatoes. We also like to hide lemon slices in between the potatoes to amplify flavors or use preserved lemons.
- Potatoes. Traditionally large, all-purpose potatoes are cut by hand into thick slices, similarly to lemon wedges. We prefer to use baby potatoes as they take less work and their skins become wonderfully blistered. Yukon gold, Dutch yellow potatoes and red potatoes all work great in this recipe.
- Olive oil. Use this staple in Greek cooking generously and without fear with the potatoes even though there will be plenty of lamb drippings. A small amount is needed for the lamb shoulder rub.
- Stock. Add chicken stock or vegetable stock to the potatoes. You can substitute with water without a significant loss of flavor when you are roasting them with lamb.
- Oregano, salt & black pepper. Oregano, the most Greek herb of them all, is traditional for Greek potatoes and the dried form is typically used.
How to Cook Lamb Shoulder Roast in Oven
Low and slow roasting is the traditional method for roasting a Greek Lamb shoulder and yields far better results than a short stint in high temperature oven (better suited for boneless lamb leg).
Be sure to bring the lamb to room temperature before cooking.
NOTE: In order to brown the surface of the lamb shoulder before you begin cooking it you can either sear it in a hot pan or simply place it in a very hot oven for the first 10-15 minutes. We prefer the second option.
- Prep the potatoes. Preheat oven to 450 F. In an appropriately sized roasting pan toss the potatoes with olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano and salt and pepper.
- Prep the lamb shoulder. Puree the garlic, shallots, rosemary leaves, lemon zest & juice, salt, pepper and olive oil. Alternatively mince the garlic, shallots and rosemary leaves and mix with the other ingredients. Rub the mixture all over the lamb shoulder, getting into the crevices of a rolled boneless cut if this is what you're using. Place the meat on top of the potatoes and add enough stock to cover the potatoes about half way.
- Roast. Place in the hot oven for up to 15 minutes, then take out and lower the temperature to 300 F. Loosely tent the lamb with aluminum foil and place back in the oven for 1 hour. After one hour remove the foil. Using a spoon baste the lamb with some of the juices in the pan. Continue to slow roast until the meat gets to your desired tenderness.
How to Cook Lamb Shoulder Roast on the Grill
Roasting a lamb shoulder on the grill, especially if a charcoal grill, imparts more authentic, rustic Greek flavor closer to what a spit fire roasted lamb would taste like. Use a large cast iron skillet or roasting pan suitable for the grill, especially if also making Greek lemon potatoes. You want to capture all the delicious liquids that will ooze from the meat and use the them to baste it occasionally.
Otherwise the steps are very similar to oven roasting.
- Prep the lamb shoulder and potatoes. Heat the grill to 450 F and prepare the potatoes and lamb shoulder as described above. Place the lamb over thick round onion slices or on top of the potatoes if using and add the stock. Place the roasting pan, roasting tray or large skillet on the grill and cover.
- Grill. After about 15 minutes open the grill and loosely tent the lamb with foil. Lower the temperature to 300 F. After one hour remove the foil and continue to cook the lamb, low and slow, basting it occasionally until the meat is as tender as you'd like it.
Lamb Shoulder Roast Cooking Time
Even though lamb is food safe and medium-rare at 140 F internal temperature, a Greek lamb roast is about fork tender meat, not a pink center. You may disregard the temperature.
The total cooking time required to slow roast a lamb shoulder depends on:
- Size of lamb shoulder. Bigger takes longer.
- Boneless or bone-in cut. The boneless will cook faster.
- Oven strength/calibration. If you know your oven to be strong use 275 F. Overall, adjust oven temperature as needed.
- Desired doneness. This is really a personal decision, but generally we like to see the fat cap melted away, a nice crust and fork tender meat.
Overall budget about 50 - 60 minutes per pound of lamb and consider adjustments as per the above criteria.
Serving Ideas for This Lamb Recipe
If you go with slow roasting potatoes all you really need for the perfect Greek meal is a salad and some sour cream, yogurt sauce or tzatziki as sides. A simple salad I like to serve is thinly sliced romaine, red onions, pitted kalamata olives (dried if you find them) and feta crumbled on top.
If you go the route of roasting the lamb shoulder only consider an orzo salad with fresh or roasted vegetables or Greek roasted veggies in tomato sauce.
Where to Buy Lamb Shoulder
Lamb shoulder, whether bone-in or boneless is not as widely available at the meat departments of most grocery stores as lamb leg is. If this is the case where you live ask your local butcher to get exactly what you need or shop online - we recommend D'Artagnan (affiliate links below in the recipe card). Consider this bone-in lamb shoulder roast recipe if you purchase a square-cut lamb shoulder.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb with Potatoes |Smoked Leg of Lamb | Braised Lamb Shanks (Oven) | Lamb Meatballs | Pan Seared Lamb Chops
Recipe
Greek Lamb Shoulder Roast with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs lamb shoulder boneless or bone-in*
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 lemons medium sized, juice of + 1 teaspoon zest**
- 2 shallots halved
- 4-6 cloves garlic
- 3-4 sprigs rosemary leaves removed
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt + pinch or two more for the potatoes
- 1 teaspoon pepper + pinch or two more for the potatoes
- 3 lbs baby potatoes***
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 cups stock chicken or vegetable or water, might use less
Instructions
FOR OVEN LAMB SHOULDER ROAST
- 1. Bring the lamb shoulder to room temperature. Trim any excess fat, but leave a good amount of fat cap on top. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
- 2. In a suitably sized roasting pan toss the potatoes with olive oil, half the lemon juice, oregano and a bit of salt and pepper.
- 3. Combine 2 tablespoon olive oil, remaining lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, rosemary leaves, salt, pepper, garlic and shallots. Puree using a handheld or counter top blender. (Alternatively mince garlic, shallots and rosemary leaves and combine with the rest of the ingredients). Spread all over the lamb shoulder and place it over the potatoes.
- 4. Add enough stock or water to cover the potatoes just over halfway. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
- 5. After 10-15 minutes lower the heat to 300 F and loosely tent the roasting pan with foil. Place back in the oven for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes remove the foil and continue roasting low and slow for another 90 minutes or until desired tenderness is reached. You may baste the lamb shoulder occasionally with the drippings from the pan.
FOR GRILLED LAMB SHOULDER ROAST
- 1. Preheat the grill to 450 F.
- 2. Prepare the potatoes and lamb shoulder as described above and place in a suitable roasting pan. Roast for 10-15 minutes (grill lid down).
- 3. Lower the grill temperature to 300 F. Loosely cover the roasting pan with foil. Slow roast for 60 minutes then remove the foil. Continue roasting for about 90 more minutes or as needed, occasionally lifting the lid to baste the lamb shoulder.
- Greek lamb roast is all about fork tender meat, not a pink center. Disregard internal temperature and slow roast until desired tenderness is achieved. A rule of thumb is about 60 minutes per pound of lamb shoulder, but this varies based on the size of the meat and whether boneless or bone-in.
Liane Chow
Made this yesterday for a Greek themed family dinner. I had about a 8 lb lamb shoulder roast. I used your rub ingredients listed but had to adjust due to size of my roast. The combination smelled amazing. Since it was slow cooked and I used your 50-60 minute/lb reference, I slow cooked it for 7 hours. The result was a fabulous smelling roast that was so tender and juicy. I added the potatoes at the 5.5 hour mark and they were perfect. My family loved it. Served with Greek salad, rice pilaf, spanakopita with tzatziki, everyone's plate was abundant with food. Thanks again for this recipe and will definitely make again.
Milena Perrine
Liane, sounds like a fabulous feast! I am so glad our recipe for roasting lamb shoulder Greek style worked out for you. Cheers to good food!
P.T. Lee
Absolutely delicious. The Lemon and Rosemary reminded me of what I grew up with going to my grandmothers. The potatoes were lemon infused, soft and delicious. A huge hit with the family.
Soundoftext
This roast is absolutely delicious! I love the combination of succulent lamb and lemon potatoes, a perfect meal for any occasion.
Diane
Can I put this in a covered cast iron pot instead of using foil?
Milena Perrine
As long as it is not too deep of a pot and you do not close the lid all the way, leave a bit of space to mimic covering loosely with foil. Otherwise the boneless lamb shoulder will braise like a pot roast (will still be tender, just the skin not as appetizing as with slow roasting as described).
Reach
This lamb roast is delicious! The lemon potatoes are a great addition.
Glenda
Could this be done in a slow cooker?
Milena Perrine
You would need to sear the tied roast in a skillet to brown it first, then place in the slow cooker with the potatoes and other ingredients.
Ruann
Hello,
I made this before and it was delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
I wanted to clarify the herb selection. In the ingredients, it says to use only rosemary but in the description you mentioned rosemary and oregano, or thyme and mint. Do each go together? Or these are just general recommendations.
Thank you!!
Milena Perrine
Hi, Ruann, these are in relation to the rubbing mixture for the lamb shoulder roast. All these herbs are very compatible with lamb meat. You can use whichever one you have on hand. For the potatoes, if you choose to make them, oregano is traditional.
Peter
What temperature should the meat be? If im using a bigger leg i would rely on the temperature rather than time?
Milena Perrine
Peter, please consult the paragraph about LAMB SHOULDER ROAST COOKING TIME above.
With this kind of roast, low and slow with moist heat temperature is pretty much irrelevant, what you are looking for is fork tender meat. Continue cooking in it until you are personally satisfied with how tender the meat has become. If there are bones involved, it should pull away effortlessly.
Jeremy Peters
Could you use boneless leg of lamb with this recipe?
Milena Perrine
Yes, you can use boneless leg of lamb. It has most of its fat on the outside as opposed to marbled through as the boneless shoulder so take care not to dry it out. Be sure to have plenty of liquid in the pan and perhaps keep it tented a bit longer than directed by the recipe.
Beck and Bulow
Seriously! Don’t sweat the au jus, you just have to go with it and have a backup in case, if necessary. AND a digital meat thermometer is an absolute must. And I would also error toward the lower temp out of the oven.
Leslie Putz
I have a 5 pound boneless roast. How much more time will I add to the cooking time?
Craft Beering
Leslie, it would probably need an extra 90 to 120 minutes on low (300 F) if not a bit longer. If you are roasting it rolled and with potatoes, I would add the potatoes later. So simply double the ingredients for the rubbing mixture to accommodate the size of your meat, place the rubbed shoulder over a rack inside a roasting pan with about a cup of water for moisture. Then roast for 20 minutes at 450F. After that tent and roast at 300 for 90-120 mins. Then uncover, add the potatoes and stock etc., keep drippings in pan and continue slow roasting at 300 until tender, so perhaps another 90-120 mins (after 90 keep checking it for tenderness with a fork and take it out when satisfied). Add liquid if needed.
Natalie Hallert
Are your temperatures using a fan forced over or no fan? Which over settings do you recommend?
Why does the first method take the foil off after 1 hour however the 2nd recipe (grill) you leave the lid on?
Thank you
Craft Beering
Regular oven, with fan assisted choose the 'adjust temperature' feature or set for 25 degrees F lower (typically what oven manufacturers recommend). But this is not the kind of roast where you want the fan on. The foil gets lifted after about an hour whether you use an oven or simulate one with the grill. The lid is the grill's lid, it must be closed to simulate oven, I believe you are confusing it with the foil. You lift the lid on a grill as if you open the door to the oven to baste and check on the lamb.
Beck & Bulow
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m going to attempt to make it for Christmas but it looks great and the extra tips and explanations are very helpful, wish me luck!
Kathryn
Hello, I’m currently making it and there’s lots of juice still in the pan, the potatoes are getting a bit soggy!
Does it eventually dry up? Can you drain the juices before the meat is fully cooked?
CraftBeering
Hi, Kathryn, you can take the potatoes out using a slotted spoon and add them back after the lamb has cooked. If you have too much liquid in the pan after you remove the potatoes, you can always remove a bit, no problem. But remember - the point of the liquid is to help cook the meat in a gentle manner, almost like braise, so if you only added as much as recommended, I'd keep it there until the end. It does tend to reduce toward the end of the cooking time. Also - you can use the pan liquids to baste the lamb every time you check on it for tenderness.
Nicola Tonge
Any recommendation on what gravy/jus l could make and l’m making this for a dinner party and one of our friends likes lots of gravy.
Craft Beering
Hi, Nicola, I would use the pan liquids (strain first) as the basis for a gravy. If you do not have enough (about 1 cup or a bit more or pan liquids) supplement with chicken stock and add a knob of butter. I would bring to simmer in a sauce pan, mix in 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard for depth of flavor and if needed season with S&P and add just a squeeze of lemon juice. I would reduce all this to the desired consistency or if in a hurry slurry it with corn or arrowroot starch (1 tbsp starch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water, do not add it all at once, use as much as needed, stir as soon as you begin adding).
Robert Marshall
Do you still roll and tie the lamb shoulder if it's bone-in, rather than boneless? If not do you use the came cooking times?
CraftBeering
If it is bone-in you would rub it all over and place it over the potatoes. You would still cook it until tender and fall-off the bone so follow the specified times and adjust towards the end as needed in order to achieve the tenderness. It really depends on the total weight of the lamb shoulder piece you are cooking.
Annie
Since I’m low carb, how would you cook without potatoes?
CraftBeering
Hi, Annie, Simply omit the steps involving potatoes. Add a bit of chicken stock for moisture for the lamb in the beginning and keep up the recommended slow roasting time and temperature. The pan drippings will be delicious to drizzle over the meat so do not discard them.
TerryF
In step 3, you say to add HALF the lemon juice, but I cannot see anywhere in the recipe where you say to add/use the other half of the lemon juice. Am I missing something? Thx.
CraftBeering
It gets added to the potatoes along with the olive oil. See picture #1/Step 1 prep the potatoes in body of post. Fixed in card where it was missing, and thank you so much for the heads up!
TerryF
Thanks so much for replying so quickly! I am visually impaired so don't always read a complete post all the way through. Looking forward to making this Easter Sunday!
CraftBeering
Hope you have a fabulous Easter Sunday!
Leonie Higham
Making this this week ! Sounds delicious so hopefully mine is !
CraftBeering
Should be easy to make:)
Robyn Machney
Great recipe! Mine was way too “lemony”. Going to use less lemon juice in the future!
Sara
Can I use the same recipe for a boneless leg of lamb?
CraftBeering
Absolutely, slow roasted boneless leg of lamb can be prepared with this exact recipe. Roll it up and tie it the same way. Typically there is less fat on it than on a shoulder, so the fat will render a bit faster, watch it closely towards the second half of the 300 F roasting.
Viviana
I’m towards the end of the process and there is so much “juice” left. What do you do with it besides a gravy?
CraftBeering
Viviana, if you don't want to use the extra drippings/juices from the pan to turn into a gravy/sauce, you can simply strain them, cool them down and freeze (a ziplock bag will do) to use in a future braise (for example braised potatoes or lamb shanks). It has a lot of flavor so may as well save it to impart that flavor on a future meal.
Cathy
Absolutely delicious Will definitely make again
Holly
Any specific type potatoes that you’d recommend if baby potatoes aren’t an option? Looking forward to making this
CraftBeering
Holly, yes, definitely - Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes would be perfect.
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
This really does scream Easter! And it sounds so flavorful!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
Lamb is a special treat for us. I feel like this would make a fantastic Sunday supper, Milena. A glass of red wine to go with it and I'm a very happy girl!
CraftBeering
Absolutley!