Name: How to Cook a 12-Hour Lamb Shoulder
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1.5-2kg bone-in lamb shoulder, square cut or oyster cut; 20-25g salt, for the dry brine (1-1.5% of the raw weight); 2 heads of garlic, halved; 2 lemons, quartered; A good handful of dried Greek oregano (rigani); Olive oil; 400ml water or stock; 1kg waxy potatoes, halved (optional)

This is a from-scratch recipe for a 12-Hour Lamb Shoulder. If you have bought a prepared Providoor dish, use its product instructions instead; the raw ingredients and cooking times below do not apply to reheating it.

Recipe yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1.5-2kg bone-in lamb shoulder, square cut or oyster cut
20-25g salt, for the dry brine (1-1.5% of the raw weight)
2 heads of garlic, halved
2 lemons, quartered
A good handful of dried Greek oregano (rigani)
Olive oil
400ml water or stock
1kg waxy potatoes, halved (optional)

Method

Dry brine overnight. Rub the measured salt over the whole shoulder and leave it uncovered on a rack in the fridge overnight. The salt seasons the meat through and dries the surface so it can colour.
Brown it hard first. Heat the oven to 220C. Roast the shoulder on a rack for thirty to forty minutes until the fat cap is properly coloured. Browning at the start avoids trying to crisp a joint that is already falling apart.
Build the tray and drop the heat. Reduce the oven to 100C. Put the halved garlic heads, quartered lemons, oregano and 400ml of water or stock in the tray beneath the lamb. Add the potatoes now if using, under the meat.
Cover and leave it alone. Cover tightly with foil or a lid and cook for twelve hours at 100°C. Keep sufficient liquid in the tray and check if the oven or pan requires attention.
Uncover for the last hour. Take the foil off for the final hour so the surface dries and darkens. Cover again if it colours too fast.
Check tenderness. Check that the meat pulls apart readily. If it needs longer, continue cooking while checking the liquid and preventing the surface from drying out.
Rest and pull apart. Rest for twenty minutes, then pull the meat apart with two forks and spoon the pan juices back over it.

Serving and preparation notes

Cooking times depend on your equipment and ingredient size. Keep raw-food preparation separate from ready-to-eat food and follow appropriate storage directions. This recipe is distinct from the product sold below.

Prefer a prepared dish?

12-Hour Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder is a separate product with its own ingredients, serving count and preparation. Check the current page and latest packaging before use.

For prepared meals, use the reheating guide. Explore the current menu and postcode delivery.

For another published low-temperature approach, see RecipeTin Eats’ 12-hour shoulder method.

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Providoor Editorial Team

Content and food research at Providoor. We write about premium frozen meals, Australian food delivery and the chefs behind the dishes, drawing on direct relationships with our chef partners — Marco Pierre White, George Calombaris, Silvia Colloca, Christine Manfield and Anna Polyviou — and check every claim against the live menu before publishing. Nutrition and food-safety statements are checked against Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the Australian Department of Health.