Pulled Lamb Shoulder
- Total Time
- 6 to 7 hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:10 to 12 servings
- 1bone-in lamb shoulder, approximately 8 to 10 pounds
- ¾cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½cup kosher salt
- ½cup ground espresso beans
- 2tablespoons cracked black pepper
- 2tablespoons garlic powder
- 1tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1tablespoon ground cumin
- 1tablespoon cayenne pepper
- Potato rolls or hamburger buns, for serving
- ½cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½cup stout, porter or other dark beer
- ½cup white vinegar
- 1tablespoon ketchup
- 2teaspoons lemon juice
- 3tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- ½teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ¼teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼teaspoon onion powder
- ¼teaspoon garlic powder
For the Lamb
For the Sauce
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
136 calories; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 164 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Place the lamb on a rimmed sheet pan and set aside.
- Step 2
For the dry rub, combine the sugar, salt, ground espresso beans, black pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin and cayenne in a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. You should have approximately 2 cups.
- Step 3
Use half of the dry rub to coat all sides of the lamb, making sure to rub it into all the cracks and crevices in the meat. Reserve the remaining dry rub.
- Step 4
Heat a smoker to 225 degrees, or set up a grill for smoking, leaving half of the grill area free of coals for wood, or one of the burners off for gas.
- Step 5
Place the lamb into the smoker or onto the grill and cook, maintaining a temperature between 225 and 250 degrees, replenishing wood chips or chunks as needed.
- Step 6
After approximately 4 hours, begin to check on the lamb every 20 minutes or so. You’re looking to be able to tear off a chunk of the meat easily, beneath a thick crust of what’s called “bark.” The interior temperature of the meat, measured in a thick part not touching bone, will be approximately 185 degrees. The process can take up to 6 hours.
- Step 7
Remove the lamb to a clean rimmed sheet pan and set aside to rest.
- Step 8
Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a medium sauce pan set over medium heat, combine 1½ cups of water with the rest of the ingredients and stir well to combine. Allow the sauce to come to a boil, then reduce heat and let thicken slightly, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Step 9
Using tongs or two forks, begin to pull the lamb apart into pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. When all the lamb has been pulled, taste it, add extra dry rub to taste, and stir to combine. Serve with potato rolls or hamburger buns, with the sauce on the side.
Tip
- Lamb typically goes beautifully with a wide range of red wines. Simpler preparations are great foils for the best bottles of well-aged Bordeaux, northern Rhônes or Riojas. This pulled shoulder recipe, with its sweet and spicy flavors, is more appropriate for casual bottles that will please and refresh without requiring your full attention. A fruity Rioja crianza would work well, as would a Crozes-Hermitage from the northern Rhône. An easygoing Loire red would be terrific, as would a modestly priced Oregon pinot noir. Any number of Italian reds would be delicious: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, for one, and some lovely little-known grapes like teroldego from Trentino and lagrein from the Tyrolean northeast. For an afternoon meal outdoors, you could easily serve a good dry rosé. Chill lightly and enjoy. ERIC ASIMOV
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Billy
Best thing I've made on my 3mo old smoker, but def some notes:
-my guests felt the rub was too salty. Appreciate it's meant to act as a dry brine, but I would use 1/2 as much, esp if adding after cook.
-same w worcesteshire in the BBQ sauce. That's all we could taste. I jacked up all the other ingredients and it still overpowered.
-my lamb shoulder was originally 10.5lbs; probably 9 or 9.5 after trimming top fat. After 8 hrs of cooking at 225, it still wasn't "pullable" (internal temp was 180).
Luther
If you want to pull the pork or lamb you have to cook it to at least 190degrees. Cook to 200 degrees works best. Any thing less it will have to be served as sliced not pulled.
Mark
Made this this past weekend for an anniversary dinner for my wife and I and another couple. Yes, the smoke time for my 7.5 lb bone-in lamb shoulder was more like 11 hrs at 225-250 degrees on my Weber grill and I planned accordingly. I finished it in the oven, tented with foil until we were ready to eat. My friend, a trained chef said it was the best BBQ'd lamb he'd ever had. Served it with Emeril's dirty rice and zucchini fries. Even after 11 hrs the lamb was somewhere between sliced and pulled.
Matthew
Feeding the fire is an amazing book but from my experience the smoke time on this recipe should be much longer. Mine came out closer to roast lamb than pulled pork. I'm unsure why the recommended time is so much less than time suggested for pulled pork when both meats share the same size and structure. I'd smoke for 10-12 hours next time.
Peter Larson
This is terrific - - - but allow more time. After 7 hours on the Weber, it started raining, so I moved the roast inside to the oven at 250 and it took another 3 hours to reach 195. At this temp, it pulled apart easily. It was 1:15AM, but it pulled apart! Next time I'll let the roast get to room temperature before grilling it. And I'll start the roasting in the morning! Only change I made to the ingredients was to eliminate the salt from the sauce and used only a cup of water.
jon
Tim-You should have no problem cooking this on a gas grill. You can make up for the smokey flavor by adding an aluminum foil packet of soaked wood chips with holes punched in it onto your flavorizer bars. Just try to keep the temperature at that 250 degree range. You might also want to add a water pan beneath the leg so that you won't have flare ups. Enjoy.
KSWinCA
Or make it in a slow cooker? It wouldn't get the smoky flavor, but the rub looks pretty flavorful without smoke.
Susan Schneider
I had never tried pulled lamb before. Did it in the oven for 6+ hrs. Also cut the rub down, less salt and volume. It pulled beautifully when still warm. My butcher cut the shoulder to size for me - enough for two meals. I will serve this again soon.
tom
Smoke to 200 to break down the connective tissue
Willow
Had neither a grill nor a smoker so did this in the oven, at 140C for a few hours in a roasting tin with a lid. It was so, so good, absolutely my go-to lamb shoulder recipe now. The juices all collected in the bottom of the tin and when I poured in a little bit of the given sauce to thin it out it became the absolute best sauce. In the sauce I only used half the Worcestershire and none of the salt, but I only used a splash in the end so I don't know if I'll bother making it when cooking this way
Sara Brookhyser
You know that cooking experience where you screw up the recipe but you love the result? I, um, added the entire extra cup of dry rub to the sauce cuz I swear that’s what I read? So, the sauce was VERY intensely flavored, and I opted to throw in more brown sugar to counter it. And, voila-superb gravy for the amazing meat! I will never crock pot my pulled meat recipes ever again. (Will cook this again so I can taste the sauce as written.)
Step one
Can you taste the coffee in the rub? I'm definitely not a fan of anything coffee!
Carmine
How finely ground are the espresso beans? I can imagine the flavor will be great, but the couple of times I tried using coffee grounds I did find them gritty (As David described below). I switched over to instant espresso or even coffee liquor if I need some sweetness as well. (Tip: Try Patron XO Cafe to help the rub stick to baby backs or pork shoulder!) Any thoughts? I am planning to cook this next weekend.
Carmine
Another question - Anyone try this with leg instead of shoulder? I think the cuts are similar enough in characteristic and it’s easier to find leg than shoulder where I live...
bonnie
why wont' my sauce thicken? runny like water. I even added 1/2 the amount of water said to add
Carmine
Looking at the list of ingredients, this looks like it will be more of a mop than a sauce.
Kim
Thank you for this recipe! I mistakenly ended up with a nine pound bone-in lamb shoulder instead of the boneless lamb shoulder I needed for a Passover recipe. I froze the bone-in lamb shoulder and bought more lamb for my recipe. Will definitely cook this at the weekend!
Olympia Farm
This was amazingly good - one of my guests had theee servings! I agree with other comments indicating that it needs longer time. This will be a definite repeat!
Tom
What wood would you recommend with which to smoke the lamb?
David Brociner
Hickory, Oak, Cherry or Apple. Any of these would be fine. Or use a blend of any or all of the above. Remember that with smoke, a little goes a long way.
Kelly
I made this with 4 pound lamb shoulder which I cooked all night and half the next day. It was delicious but it never got to the pulled point. I sliced it, we loved it and would make it again. By the way we raise our own lambs.
Susan Schneider
I had never tried pulled lamb before. Did it in the oven for 6+ hrs. Also cut the rub down, less salt and volume. It pulled beautifully when still warm. My butcher cut the shoulder to size for me - enough for two meals. I will serve this again soon.
David Bertan
Sorry, this was NOT a hit. The lamb was tough enough that I couldn't pull it apart, even after 6 hours on the Weber. The flavor was OK, not great, even though I followed the recipe to a T, and the bark was gritty from the ground espresso beans. I'll stick with grilling a butterflied leg of lamb. Less time-consuming, better flavor.
Christine Kolm
I roasted mine in the oven at 200 for about 14 hours. Came out great! But then I remembered I'm not a big fan of the gamey taste of lamb... Lamb lovers loved the dish, but I think I'll stick to pork shoulder.
Christine Kolm
Help! The lamb shoulder at the store is really really bony - not lots of meat. I bought lamb shoulder steaks instead. Will that still work? Thanks!
Peter Larson
This is terrific - - - but allow more time. After 7 hours on the Weber, it started raining, so I moved the roast inside to the oven at 250 and it took another 3 hours to reach 195. At this temp, it pulled apart easily. It was 1:15AM, but it pulled apart! Next time I'll let the roast get to room temperature before grilling it. And I'll start the roasting in the morning! Only change I made to the ingredients was to eliminate the salt from the sauce and used only a cup of water.
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