This is a recipe by my friend Kalina Koloff – she apparently came up with this dish on the fly only adding the balsamic as an experiment! It’s a great dish for the hungry hordes and it’s worth asking your nice local butcher to de-bone a shoulder of lamb and tie it up for you as it is more flavoursome than the leg. The slow roasting gives you plenty of time to hang out with friends and family. We all got to taste it at a gathering down the south coast and could not believe how well the herbs and flavours penetrated the meat, and the crust of the balsamic gave an extra texture and flavour that made it truly special – Chelsey Davies.
Pictured: Slow Roasted Lamb with Caramelised Balsamic Glaze
Select a de-boned shoulder of lamb, trimmed of fat and tied up – get as many as you need for group based on 200g uncooked per person
Select cast iron/heavy based pan with lid, or a baking tray with a tight foil seal, that fits the meat snugly. Lay base of pan like a little nest with–
Bruise 1 small head of garlic with skin on
Lay 10 bay leaves
Rind of one lemon
15 – 20 pink peppercorns, or green
1 bunch rosemary and 1 bunch thyme
Caramelised Balsamic, to drizzle - at least 1/3 cup
5 stalks Greek, dried oregano (white) or a couple tbsp normal oregano
Place meat on top of nest of herbs etc and add –
1 – 2 glasses white wine, dry
1 – 2 cups of rich stock (beef/veal)
Liquid should come half way up the sides of the meat.
Preheat oven 140°C, and place pot sealed tightly into oven for 2 hrs or until meat can be shredded with a fork. If you are concerned the lid or foil may not be sealed tight enough, add a half cup of water, wine or stock to the pan to make sure the meat steams well and does not dry out.
Remove meat from pot and shred into bite-sized pieces onto a baking dish. Turn oven temp up to 200°C.
Drizzle with caramelised balsamic vinegar (can be found in David Jones Food Hall, Essential Ingredient or Fratelli Fresh)
Add another sprinkle of oregano and thyme and juice of 1 lemon
Bake on a high temp until the glaze is sticky.
Serve with roasted lemon and thyme potatoes and fresh lemon squeezed over the lamb.
Serves at least 4