Six-Hour Shoulder of Lamb with Anchovy, Rosemary and Garlic

⏱ 390 min · Serves 6

A shoulder of lamb studded with anchovy, garlic and rosemary, then left to melt in a low oven until you can pull it apart with a spoon. The anchovies dissolve completely, leaving no fishiness at all — just a deep, savoury backbone to the meat and a pan of glossy, winey juices. Proper Sunday cooking with almost no work.

Per serving: 682 kcal · 58.0g protein · 9.0g carbs · 43.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in lamb shoulder, about 2.2–2.5kg
• 12 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
• 6 garlic cloves, 4 cut into slivers, 2 crushed
• 4 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked from 2
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 tsp flaky sea salt
• 3 onions, thickly sliced
• 2 carrots, halved lengthways
• 300ml dry white wine
• 400ml chicken or lamb stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp plain flour (optional, for gravy)
• 1 tsp redcurrant jelly (optional)

Method

1. Take the lamb out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
2. Make around 20 deep incisions all over the lamb with a small sharp knife. Cut 8 anchovy fillets into halves and push a piece of anchovy, a sliver of garlic and a few rosemary leaves deep into each slit.
3. Mash the remaining 4 anchovies with the 2 crushed garlic cloves, olive oil, lemon zest and black pepper into a rough paste. Rub this all over the lamb, then scatter with the flaky salt.
4. Scatter the onions, carrots, bay leaves and remaining rosemary sprigs in a deep roasting tin. Sit the lamb on top, fat side up. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes until well coloured.
5. Drop the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Pour the wine and stock around (not over) the lamb, cover the tin tightly with a double layer of foil and return to the oven.
6. Cook for 5 hours, basting once or twice with the pan juices. The meat should be collapsing and pulling away from the bone.
7. Remove the foil, turn the oven back up to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and roast for a final 20–25 minutes to crisp and burnish the fat.
8. Lift the lamb onto a warm platter, cover loosely and rest for 20 minutes.
9. Strain the pan juices into a jug and skim off the fat. For a thicker gravy, whisk 1 tbsp of the skimmed fat with the flour in a pan, cook 1 minute, then whisk in the juices and simmer until glossy. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and taste for seasoning — the anchovy usually means it needs no extra salt.
10. Pull the lamb apart in big forkfuls with two spoons and serve with the gravy, roast potatoes and something green.