Pop back in the oven with no foil wrap and cook for another 30 minutes.You don’t need to turn the lamb shoulder over, just drizzle the top. Then drizzle generously with honey, about 4 tablespoons, spreading it evenly over the meat. Scoop some of the juices from the pan and drizzle over the lamb meat. After 2 hours, remove from the oven and take off the foil.Place in the preheated oven, middle shelf, and cook for about 2 hours and 15 minutes.Cover with one piece of foil, tucking the edges close to the meat and with another piece of foil covering the edges of the pan. Place the lamb shoulder inside, meatier side up. Add 1 cup of water and 2/3 cup of red wine to a deep roasting pan.Insert garlic pieces in the cuts and any folds of the meat.Sprinkle each side with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and chopped rosemary, rubbing everything into the meat cuts.Use a sharp knife to score the top with deep cuts (see photo). Place the lamb shoulder on a cutting board, meatier side up.Cut the garlic cloves (lengthways) into 2-3 pieces each. Pull the needles off the rosemary sprigs and chop them into small pieces.After cooking for that long, remove from the oven and take off the foil. Place in the preheated oven, middle shelf, and cook for about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and 2/3 cup of red wine to a deep roasting pan. Sprinkle each side with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and chopped rosemary, rubbing everything into the meat cuts. Insert garlic pieces in the slits and any folds of the meat. Use a sharp knife to score the top with deep slits (see photo). Place the lamb shoulder on a cutting board, meatier side up.

Here are the steps for making my slow-cooked lamb shoulder recipe. You will find the full recipe card with ingredients and a nutritional breakdown below.

Red wine – this adds flavour and acidity to our lamb gravy sauce.

Seasoning – salt, pepper and smoked paprika, which I love with the lamb.

I cut the cloves into long pieces as they are easier to insert into the slits of the meat.

Garlic – lamb meat loves garlic so go to town here.

I love fresh but you could use dry herbs instead, about 2 tablespoons. Rosemary – this recipe uses 5-6 large sprigs and the needles are pulled off and chopped so they can be rubbed into the meat.You can use boneless lamb shoulder as well, it will take less time to cook. See recipe notes for measurements and cooking times variations. If you’re cooking for more people, you can either use a larger lamb shoulder OR cook two in a large baking tray. Lamb shoulder – for this recipe, I used a smallish lamb shoulder with the bone in, about 1.3 -1.5kg (3 lbs), which is plenty for 4-5 people.For this recipe, I used a 1.3 kg lamb shoulder, which is typically big enough for 4-5 people, so I will be roasting two of these lamb shoulders over the holidays. This is the main I will be making for Christmas and I can’t wait for everyone to try it. This gives you the BEST red wine, rosemary, and honey lamb sauce without you having to do extra work! Lamb juices and honey dribble into the pan broth, which reduces and caramelises during cooking. The lamb shoulder is roasted covered with foil for just over 2 hours, then drizzled generously with honey and finished uncovered for 30 more minutes. The lamb is then slow-cooked in the oven with some red wine and water to keep it lovely and moist AND to form an incredible pan sauce. The secret was to score the lamb with deep slits so I was able to rub seasoning and rosemary in as much meat as possible, plus insert the garlic cloves.

And while there are many lamb roast recipes out there, this is t he best I have made. I love roasting meat on the weekends or for special occasions like Christmas or Easter and lamb roast is our family favourite.

Lamb shoulder steak