If I were to ask you “When is the perfect time to eat lamb?” What would you say? Easter? I know that’s what I’d have said up until recently. But then I discovered that lamb - or more specifically Welsh Lamb (which is the best - and I’ll tell you why in a minute) is actually at it’s absolute best from the beginning of August through to November. I know right? Chris and I recently spent a fantastic couple of days down in south Wales, learning all about lamb.
We visited the Salt Marshes at Gower Salt Marsh Lamb We learned about the many different cuts of lamb at a butchery session at Hugh Phillips We had a masterclass session with Head Chef Hywel Griffith We were fed a fantastic 4-course dinner (cooked by Hywel and his team) at the Beach House Restaurant in Oxwich Bay, right on the beach.
I’ll share some pics with you further on down this post, but first… With Love Lamb Week coming up (1st-7th September 2019), I wanted to show you an easy way to get delicious lamb dinner on the table. No par-boiling potatoes, no peeling of carrots and no need to install a second sink to fit in all of the pots and pans that the average roast dinner requires!
We start off by drizzling oil onto a big shoulder of lamb, then sprinkling with salt, pepper and rosemary, covering with foil and placing in the oven for 3 hours. After three hours, baste the lamb and add in the potatoes (adding oil and seasoning again) for 15 minutes. Then add in carrots, shallots, butternut squash and sprouts. Toss all of the vegetables in the fat and meat juices in the pan. Back into the oven for 15 minutes. Then add tenderstem broccoli and lightly season, before placing back in the oven for a final 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place the vegetables and lamb on a warm serving plate to rest while you make the gravy.
Place the roasting tin over a medium-high heat and pour in the cider. Scrape up all of the bits from the pan and simmer for a few minutes. Then add in lamb stock and bring to the boil. Stir in a little cornflour (cornstarch) slurry to thicken. Serve with the lamb and veggies.
So let’s have a look at a few pics! If you want to get straight on with the recipe, the recipe video and full recipe card are at the bottom of this post. First was our trip to Gower Salt Marsh Lamb where we saw the lambs roaming the salt marshes (you might be able to see them as tiny little specks in the first image). The salt marshes are abundant with all sorts of nourishing goodies for the lambs to graze on - such as samphire, sorrel, sea lavender and Thrift. The lambs were expertly rounded up by the sheep dogs and farmers who moved the sheep over to the pastured field before the tide came in (a few wild horses went along for the ride too!). The sheep dogs were the sweetest things, and you can see below how much they love their owners.
After the salt marshes we headed over to Hugh Phillips butchers for a butchery session. It was amazing to see the variety of cuts available. It’s too easy to think of lamb chops, leg and shoulder as the only cuts available. I counted about 14 or 15 cuts here, and it was interesting to hear how they focus on different cuts depending on the season. i.e more diced lamb over winter - for stews and casseroles. More mince and ribs over the summer for burgers and barbecues.
Next we headed over to the Beach House Restaurant in Oxwich Bay for a masterclass session with Head Chef Hywel Griffith. I’ve got to admit, I was a little alarmed at the faggot-making process (offal scares me), but I had a little taste, and they were good! We also watch Hywel prepare a loin of lamb with laverbread sauce - which was delicious! Notice on one of the images, there’s a bottle of ’lamb fat’. I think that needs to be a new addition to my kitchen!
Hywel and his team then treated us to a fantastic meal at his restaurant. Check out the view from the patio outside. So pretty! We ate:
Laverbread loaf with salted butter Charred mackerel fillet with anchovy mayonnaise and avocado Hay smoked lamb with pearl barley and mushroom ketchup Salt marsh lamb with carrot and caraway puree Hazelnut treacle tart with vanilla and lime clotted cream ice cream
We were spoiled rotten on this trip, and it was so great to see the versatility as well as the provenance of PGI Welsh Lamb. I couldn’t wait to get home to get in the kitchen and make this roasted shoulder of lamb (we even stopped off at a farm shop and bought more Welsh lamb for a curry ha ha).
Will you be cooking lamb this Sunday? At this time of year you can find Welsh lamb available in most supermarkets.
Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb recipe video:
If you’d like to see some more recipes from my fellow foodies who also came on the trip, check these out below:
Welsh Lamb Kebabs from Jane at The Hedge Combers Welsh Lamb Bombay Hotpot - from Pippa at The Slimming Foodie Welsh Lamb Paella from Eb at Easy Peasie Foodie I’ve also done another delicious lamb recipe recently - Lamb Carnitas - served on warmed tacos with ALL the toppings!
The Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb Recipe:
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