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roast shoulder of lamb

24 October 2013 by Dominic Franks

… this story is for meat-lovers only, unless, as a vegetarian and with Halloween so close, you feel the need for a classic tale of family horror… because here’s a story about how I met Gareth one of the worlds most valuable Angus bulls… how I met his wives… and then how I ate their children… and how very tasty they were too…

… the good people at Quality Standard Beef and Lamb kindly invited me to visit a very special farm in Gloucestershire, a farm where I would suggest the benchmark for the Quality Standard mark is set.  I’ve talked often on this blog about eating good quality meats and how, in my opinion, reducing the amount you eat meat in favour for buying better quality meat that may be slightly more expensive will in the long term be better for you, the livestock and the whole food chain in general and this visit to meet Gareth confirmed for me that I should stick to this hypothesis and it also reaffirmed my belief that here in the UK we’re not only producing some of the worlds best quality meat but we’re also going a very long way to ensuring the livestock are well looked after from farm to fork.

it was a fascinating day and I learnt an awful lot about how the quality mark is met and how the criteria is set… I also learnt quite a bit about how and why certain breeds make for better meat and how feeding them specific foods along with natural freshly growing grass goes such a long way towards the final flavour of the meat… I also learnt about the shape and definition of what makes Gareth such a high-quality bull… and the detail is intense, from every cow having their own passport – the number of which you will find on each piece of Quality Standard meat, to educating farmers on the change in attitude toward meat and when their meat is ready for the market…

…so I guess the out-take from this day on the farm is that if you’re buying meat in the UK you should look out for the Quality Standard mark on the meat you buy, wether it be in the supermarket or the butcher, you should try and learn where the meat is from and the journey it’s had to your table…

roast shoulder of lamb
lesson over and time for the good stuff… of course the best part of the day was the eating and I came away with some fantastic tips on how to cook different cuts of beef and lamb… and I was so very lucky enough to have been sent an incredible cushion of shoulder of lamb from the good people at The Ginger Pig who only purchase meat with the Quality Standard mark… the cushion dressing involved the removal of the bone so the joint becomes incredibly easy to carve, which is a major plus in my book… I actually called the phone number on the Ginger Pig website and spoke with a lovely chap who suggested this very simple way of cooking the lamb… and i’m so glad I did…

1 cushion of shoulder of lamb – your butcher should be able to dress it this way
1 large onion – quartered
5 cloves garlic
2 large purple carrots (just for some halloween flavour you understand…)
a sprig of thyme

pre-heat the oven to 130C

place the veg and a sprig of thyme into a large lidded casserole dish and season.

lay the lamb on top, place the lid on and roast for 2 and a half hours, then take the lid off and turn the heat up to 180C for 20 mins until beautifully golden and crispy

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Filed Under: Everything else Tagged With: beef, lamb, roast lamb, shoulder of lamb

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Comments

  1. Charlotte Charlotte'sKitchenDiary says

    24 October 2013 at 8:31 am

    This looks delicious. I've not cooked a shoulder cushion of lamb before – I certainly will try this!

  2. Janice Pattie says

    24 October 2013 at 6:23 pm

    I couldn't agree more, Dom. We have Quailty Meat Scotland and we raise our beef cattle to this standard, the lamb shanks I cooked were of this quality, although I have to say Gareth is impressive!

  3. Aline Conus says

    24 October 2013 at 6:33 pm

    Absolutely beautiful! it looks so tender and moist! I know what's on the next menu!

  4. Karen S Booth says

    25 October 2013 at 8:28 am

    Fascinating post and I agree 100% – I also love cushions as a cut,there is a recipe for a cushion of lamb that I have made many times in a National Trust cookbook and like yours, it is lush! The Ginger Pig also rocks in my book too! A LOVELY autumnal meal, Karen

  5. Andrea Mynard says

    25 October 2013 at 9:57 am

    Looks delicious. Have been enjoying trying recipes from the Ginger Pig cookbook, agree with their ethics too. I have just been planning to buy a whole lamb from a great smallholding near to me (also Gloucs) where I totally admire the way the animals are reared – I watched the lambs on lovely lush, fresh pasture yesterday and heard how they are moved to different pasture regularly, avoiding excessive worming. Definitely think we should support people like this and your roast looks as if it does justice to good meat too.

  6. Charlene Price says

    25 October 2013 at 10:15 am

    As a meat-eater, I think it's important to know where your meat comes from. Great post.

  7. london bakes says

    25 October 2013 at 1:07 pm

    Such a good post, I totally agree with you. I buy a lot of my meat from the butchers in Little Venice and I so agree that if you're going to eat meat, you should eat good meat.

  8. Anneli Faiers (Delicieux) says

    29 October 2013 at 5:03 pm

    That looks sooooo good! What a lovely simple way to cook it. YUM. I am all for quality meat too. Great post 🙂

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My name is Dominic, I am a cook, food writer and creative event producer. I write the food blog Dom In The Kitchen and also write a monthly recipe column for Lincolnshire Life Magazine and Good Taste Magazine. I also run creative event production company The Persuaders, producing global events for brands since 1997. I am based both in the small village of Belleau in Lincolnshire and the smaller village of London! Read More…

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Here’s the #recipe:

🍓 200g butter
🍓 200g golden caster sugar
🍓 3 large free-range eggs
🍓 200g ground almonds
🍓 100g strawberries – quartered
🍓 4 apricots – sliced into wedges
🍓 the finely grated zest and juice of half a lemon
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🍓 1 teaspoon @little_pod Vanilla Bean Paste

I greased a 20cm fluted ceramic pie dish and pre-heated the oven to 160C

beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and creamy… a stand mixer will do this in 4 minutes, a hand held electric whisk will do it in 6 minutes and a wooden spoon will do it in 8 minutes.

add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of ground almonds and beat in, then add the rest of the ground almonds and gently beat in, followed by the Greek Yoghurt, lemon zest and juice, vanilla and half the strawberries and beat in – the strawberries will become mush – which is exactly what you want.

lay half the remaining fruit into the bottom of your dish and cover with the frangipane batter, then scatter the remaining fruit on top

bake for 45 mins or until darkly golden brown, then remove from the oven and let it cool to set

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What are you having for brunch today?

for the kugel:
🍳 5 medium potatoes
🍳 2 large onions
🍳 2 large carrots – roughly grated
🍳 2 eggs – beaten
🍳 2 tablespoons flour
🍳 salt and pepper
🍳 a large handful of fresh rosemary
🍳 2 tablespoons of olive oil

for the poached eggs:
🥚 2 eggs per person
🥚 water
🥚 salt
🥚 a ramekin or similar

pre-heat the oven to 180C and butter your baking tin… i’m using an oblong swiss roll tin but any metal pan will do, a quiche or tarte tin is good.  Earthenware will work too but there’s something about the metal tin that makes it more ‘roasty’

Cut the potatoes and carrots into large chunks and par-boil till just beginning to yeald, drain and place in the fridge for one hour.  I usually do mine the night before.

Once the potatoes and carrots are cold, grate them and add them with the rest if the ingredients to a large bowl and mix together well.

Tip into your cake tin or roasting tray and roast in the oven on 190C till golden and grisp around the edges, roughly 40 mins

To make the poached eggs I prefer to use my large shallow cast-iron casserole dish.  There’s something about the cast-iron that holds the heat and cooks them evenly.  Fill the pan with water and heat it till it’s rapidly boiling, then turn down the heat until it is just steaming. 

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