SMOKED LAMB SHOULDER

Use a light coating of Dijon mustard all over the lamb as a binder for your rub of choice. (See notes for recommendations) Apply liberally all over the shoulder, patting the rub into the meat on all sides. Allow to sit for a few hours, giving time for the spices to penetrate and impart flavour into the meat.

Once the meat is ready, get your BBQ of choice set up for indirect cooking and running at a consistent temperature around 275f/135c.

When the temperature is stable and the meat has absorbed the rub for a few hours, place the shoulder onto the barbecue bone side down with the meat facing the fire/heat source. Leave untouched for 2 hours, then check the surface of the lamb for any dry areas. Spritz with water if necessary and continue cooking for another 45 minutes to an hour, repeat the process and cook for a further 45 minutes to an hour. TL@A TIP – Ensure the nozzle of the spritz bottle is set to a light mist and not a jet once the trigger if pressed! After approximately 4 hours into the cook, the rub should be set on the meat, forming the bark. A good way to test this is touching the surface with your finger and if the rub doesn’t come off, you know it has set. (If the rub comes off, continue to cook for 30 minutes and test again) At this stage, it’s also time to check the internal temperature of the lamb. This can be done with an instant read thermometer, or a temp probe supplied with your BBQ. It should be around 165-170f/74-77c. With the bark set and the internal temperature within range, it’s time to wrap.

Using 2 layers of thick aluminium foil, add 2 knobs of butter, place the lamb bone side down onto the foil and wrap the shoulder tightly. Place back onto the BBQ in the same position as before, bone side down and continue cooking at 275f/135c.

Once the lamb is back on the BBQ, the temperature can be increased to 300f/150c to help speed the cook up, however, it is not necessary if time is not an issue. After 1 hour cooking post wrap, probe the lamb in 2 different spots. It should be around 195f-200f/90-94c. Once it reaches this range, begin checking every 20 minutes until the probe slides in and out of the shoulder without resistance in both spots. When this happens, remove the lamb from the BBQ, unwrap the foil slightly and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes. This avoids steaming the lamb. Ideally it should then be recovered and rest in an insulated cooler for around 1 hour to allow the meat to relax and re absorb some of the juices.

Once rested, unwrap just the top of the foil, keeping the lamb and juices inside. Grab yourself some cotton gloves, then put a pair of nitrile gloves on top. The blade bone should come out clean and the juicy, tender meat will pull apart. Mix in the rendered fat and melted butter for some mouth watering, delicious smoked lamb to serve in wraps, with rice, salad or as part of a platter!