Meat me at my place

Indulge me, just for a moment.

As the daughter of a meat wholesaler, I appreciate a good cut of meat. And lamb shoulder is my new favourite.

Inspired by this cold snap at the moment and wanting to jump head first into Winter cooking, I invited the troops around for slow cooked balsamic lamb tonight. That meant a trip to the butcher to source the perfect cut of meat and I'll tell you what - customer service is back and better than ever!

My butcher was awesome - he went above and beyond and even got the whole team involved, giving me hints and tips how to get the meat to caramelise on top and ensure it was lip smackingly good and falling off the bone.

And I didn't do so bad, even if I say so myself!

After 5.5 hours in the oven, the wait was well worth the trouble - complete with duck fat roast potatoes and steamed beans.

It was ah-mazing.

Literally falling off the bone, sooooo tender.

And the balsamic glaze was heavenly. The most delicious dinner and perfect, comforting, indulgent end to a lovely weekend.

And don't get me started on the sticky date puddings . . .

Slow cooked balsamic and garlic lamb

Ingredients
1kg lamb shoulder, on the bone
1⅓ cups (310ml) balsamic vinegar
3 cups (750ml) chicken stock
6 sprigs rosemary
8 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons brown sugar

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 140°C (275°F).
2. Place the lamb, vinegar, stock, rosemary, garlic and sugar in a deep baking dish and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
3. Bake for 3 hours. Turn the lamb and bake for a further 2 hours.
4. Remove the lid, increase temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 30 minutes or until the lamb has browned.
5. Remove lamb from the pan and keep warm. Pour the pan juices over a large bowl of ice and quickly remove the ice and the solidified fat with a slotted spoon. Place the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.
6. Serve the lamb with crispy roasted potatoes, steamed greens and the pan juices.

 Thank you Donna Hay