Tom Kerridge Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder

Name: Cooking Healthier with Tom Kerridge: Lamb Shoulder & Greek Salad Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 20 min
Ingredients: 1 whole bone-in lamb shoulder, scored deeply on both sides; 3 cloves garlic cloves, grated; dried thyme; fresh rosemary, leaves chopped; rock salt, a good pinch; olive oil, a drizzle, plus more if needed; 500 ml chicken stock; 1 whole lemon, cut into chunks; peppers, cut into chunks; red onions, cut into quarters; 1 whole lemon, cut into quarters; 10 leaves bay leaves; 1 block halloumi cheese, cut into about 8 cubes; fresh rosemary, leaves picked, roughly chopped; fresh thyme, leaves stripped, roughly chopped; courgettes, cut into big chunks; 1 tin tinned chickpeas, drained; natural yoghurt; 2 tbsp mint sauce; pitted green olives; cucumber, raw, cut into chunky pieces

Source video by Chef Tom Kerridge on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This is Tom Kerridge's slow-roasted lamb shoulder, adapted for the slow cooker. The whole bone-in shoulder is scored and rubbed with a paste of grated garlic, dried thyme, fresh rosemary, rock salt and olive oil. It cooks low and slow with chicken stock and chunks of lemon. For the last stretch, Greek-style veg goes in: peppers, red onion, another lemon, bay leaves, courgettes, chickpeas and cubed halloumi tossed with more rosemary and fresh thyme. Served with a yoghurt and mint-sauce dressing, finished with raw cucumber and pitted green olives.

Slow cooker notes: Source is oven (160C for 3 hours then 190C for 1 hour with veg). Adapted to slow cooker: rub and sear-optional shoulder goes in with the stock and lemon on Low for around 8 hours (or High around 5). Veg, halloumi and second lemon added for the final 1-1.5 hours on High so they hold shape and absorb the lamb liquor. The standalone 'Greek salad' element in the title is not built in the transcript beyond cucumber and green olives as a finishing garnish, so no separate salad recipe is included. Servings not stated in source.

Ingredients

For the lamb and rub

1 wholebone-in lamb shoulder, scored deeply on both sides
3 clovesgarlic cloves, grated
dried thyme
fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
rock salt, a good pinch
olive oil, a drizzle, plus more if needed

For the slow cooker base

500 mlchicken stock
1 wholelemon, cut into chunks

For the Greek-style veg (added later)

peppers, cut into chunks (add late)
red onions, cut into quarters (add late)
1 wholelemon, cut into quarters (add late)
10 leavesbay leaves (add late)
1 blockhalloumi cheese, cut into about 8 cubes (add late)
fresh rosemary, leaves picked, roughly chopped (add late)
fresh thyme, leaves stripped, roughly chopped (add late)
courgettes, cut into big chunks (add late)
1 tintinned chickpeas, drained (add late)

For the yoghurt mint dressing

natural yoghurt
2 tbspmint sauce

To finish

pitted green olives
cucumber, raw, cut into chunky pieces

Method

In a bowl, combine the grated garlic, dried thyme, chopped fresh rosemary leaves, a good pinch of rock salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix to a paste; add a touch more olive oil if it looks dry.
Score the lamb shoulder deeply with a sharp knife in cross-hatch cuts on both the top and bottom, where most of the meat sits.
Rub the garlic and herb paste all over the lamb, working it into the scored cracks on both sides.
Pour 500 ml chicken stock into the slow cooker. Add the first lemon, cut into chunks. Sit the lamb shoulder on top.
Cover and cook on Low for around 8 hours, or High for around 5 hours, until the shoulder is tender. (Source cooks at 160C in the oven for 3 hours at this stage.)
~480 min
While the lamb cooks, prepare the veg. Cut peppers into chunks, red onions into quarters, the second lemon into quarters, courgettes into big chunks, and the halloumi into roughly eight cubes per block. Drain the chickpeas. Toss everything in a bowl with the picked rosemary and fresh thyme leaves and the 10 bay leaves.
Make the dressing by mixing about half a tub of natural yoghurt with 2 tbsp of mint sauce. Set aside.
Once the lamb is tender, gently lift it out with two forks. Tip the prepared veg, halloumi and chickpea mix into the slow cooker, then sit the lamb back on top. Cook on High for a further 1 to 1.5 hours so the veg roast-poach in the stock and take on the lamb flavour. (Source finishes at 190C for 1 hour.)
~75 min
Lift the lamb out onto a plate and rest for 10 minutes. Spoon the veg and halloumi into a serving bowl.
~10 min
Pour the cooking liquor into a pan, bring to a hard boil and reduce by about half to make a gravy.
Finish the veg with chunky raw cucumber and pitted green olives. Serve the lamb with the veg, the yoghurt-mint dressing and a jug of the reduced gravy.

Frequently asked

Can I use a boneless lamb shoulder instead?

The source uses a whole bone-in shoulder because the bone helps the joint hold its shape and adds flavour during the long cook. A boneless rolled shoulder will still work in the slow cooker but may need slightly less time and will give a softer, more pull-apart result.

Do I need to sear the lamb first?

The source goes straight from rub to roasting tray with no sear. For the slow cooker you can do the same, or brown the shoulder in a hot pan first if you want a deeper crust before it goes in.

When do I add the halloumi and veg?

Only for the final stretch. The source adds them for the last hour of cooking so they roast and absorb the lamb liquor without falling apart. In the slow cooker, add them for the last 1 to 1.5 hours on High.

What goes with this?

The source serves the lamb with the roasted veg and halloumi, a natural yoghurt and mint sauce dressing, raw cucumber, pitted green olives and a jug of the reduced cooking liquor as gravy.

Extraction notes (transparency): Most ingredient quantities explicit (3 garlic cloves, 500 ml chicken stock, 10 bay leaves, 1 tin chickpeas, half tub yoghurt, 2 tbsp mint sauce, 1 halloumi). Quantities not stated and left null: dried thyme, fresh rosemary, rock salt, olive oil, peppers, red onions, courgettes, fresh thyme (final addition), green olives, cucumber, lamb shoulder weight, yoghurt tub size. Servings not stated. Slow-cooker times are an adaptation of the source's 4-hour total oven cook.