lamb shoulder dry brined, slow cooked and smoked

There’s nothing quite like getting your hands into a slow cooked lamb shoulder and pulling it apart. There’s little pockets of meaty goodness everywhere. You will find the process very similar to cooking/smoking a pork shoulder so similar methods apply. Lamb shoulder can be served with a large variety of sides and is great for sandwiches and salads the next day. Drizzling a little honey over your pulled lamb will take it to the next level.

ingredients

• Lamb shoulder (they usually weigh around the 2.5kg mark)
• 2.5 tsp kosher salt for dry brining
• 1/4 cup Mary’s lamb rub 

directions

1. Sprinkle the Kosher salt over the lamb and leave for 24 to 36 hours. As I’ve mentioned in previous smoking related posts (smoked pulled pork, smoked beef rib) dry brining has been a game changer for me when it comes to cooking meat. It not only enhances flavour, it also enhances the moisture levels within the meat. For the scientific explanation you can read Meathead Goldwyn’s explanation here.
2. On the morning of the cook liberally rub the meat with Mary’s lamb rub. 
3. Fire up you smoker, aiming for 300f/150c. When the temperature reaches 195f/90c start to probe the shoulder with your digital thermometer. If the meat probes with little resistance then take it off, wrap it in foil and let it rest for at least an hour. Lamb shoulders can be stubborn things that’s why I run a little hotter at 300f/150c.

After the bark is well formed on a lamb shoulder (or pork shoulder, brisket) you have the option of wrapping the meat in foil or peach paper. The reasons and benefits behind wrapping are as follows…

1. To avoid ‘the stall’. Most tough cuts of meat that require low and slow cooking will hit a certain temperature, usually somewhere between 160f/71c to 170f/77c and sit at that temperature for hours. One way to avoid the stall is to wrap the meat in foil. You can read Meathead’s discussion on the topic here.
2. To keep the meat moist. As well as being wrapped in the foil the meat is spritzed with a liquid such as apple juice, apple cider vinegar or even water.

The downside to wrapping is that the liquid and steam will soften the bark and potentially you will lose some of it so work carefully when wrapping and unwrapping.

For our pulled pork recipe click here.