This lamb shoulder is the kind of dish that makes your kitchen smell like the holidays. Red wine, dried cherries, and herbs melt together into a glossy, aromatic sauce that clings beautifully to the tender slices of lamb. It’s simple to make – just sear, add everything to a pot, and let the oven do the work.
The best part is you can and should make it a day ahead (or the morning of). The whole dish only gets better as it sits. Make it the day before, let the flavors settle, skim the fat with no stress, then gently reheat and slice right before serving.
Ingredient highlight
Lamb! Is a very underrated protein that also happens to be extremely nutrient-dense. It’s loaded with vitamin B12, selenium, zinc, iron, and healthy omega-3 fats.
Servings 6
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 4 hours Ingredients
- 3.5-4 lb boneless lamb shoulder, tied in twine*
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large or 2 medium yellow onions, halved, thinly sliced
- 4-5 carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 ½ cups water or stock
- ½ cup dried cherries (I used bing cherries)
- Zest from one orange (optional)
- 4-6 sprigs fresh thyme (or use 1 tsp dried)
- 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
- Red wine vinegar or lemon juice, to finish
- Fresh parsley, for serving
- Pomegranate seeds, for serving (optional)
- Mashed potatoes, cooked couscous, cooked rice, or pasta, for serving
- *Lamb shoulders should come already wrapped in twine, so just don’t remove that twine. It keeps the lamb whole so you can get nice slices. If you can’t find one wrapped in twine, that is fine, it will just be more of a shredded lamb situation vs slices.
- *Use a beef chuck roast if you don’t like lamb.
- Note: ~ if your lid is not super tight, place foil under the lid before braising in the oven.
Make ahead:
- The day before: ~ braise the lamb as usual (in the oven, covered). When it’s done, remove the pot from the oven.Leave the lamb in the pot WITH the braising liquid. Let it cool for 30–45 minutes at room temp. Cover tightly and refrigerate the lamb whole, submerged about halfway in the cooking liquid for at least 4 hours or up to 24.
- The day of: ~ preheat the oven to 300°F. Remove as much of the solid fat layer from the top. If any bits come out with it, you can just warm it up and scoop them out. Cover the pot and bake for 60–80 minutes, until warmed through (internal temp of about 140 ideally). Remove the lamb from the liquid. Transfer to a board, tent with foil to rest for 5-10 minutes. Simmer the braising liquid uncovered for 5-10 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened. Follow the recipe as is.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Pat the lamb dry with a paper towel. Season the lamb all over with a generous amount of salt and pepper (about ½ teaspoon salt per pound).
- In a large dutch oven (or heavy bottomed pot with a tight fitting lid) over medium heat, warm the oil. Place the lamb in the pot and brown on all sides (this will take around 2-5 minutes per side). Transfer the lamb to a plate or cutting board.
- To the pot over medium heat, add the onion, carrot, celery, and about ½ teaspoon salt. Give it a stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until softened, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the pot. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute or two, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the red wine and scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the water, cherries, orange zest (if using), and thyme.
- Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Then nestle the lamb back into the pot (fat cap side facing up). The liquid should reach about ⅓ way up the sides of the lamb. Tuck the garlic into the liquid.
- Cover with a tight-fitting lid, transfer to the oven and bake for 3-4 hours or until a fork inserted slides in with almost no resistance. If it pushes back or feels tight, it needs more time. More time is better for this, so aim for at least 3 hours or up to 4 is ideal.
- Transfer the lamb to a large cutting board to rest for 30 minutes. Simmer the sauce until it has reduced and thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Taste and add more salt or a dash of soy sauce if needed. Season with a splash of vinegar or lemon (about 2-3 teaspoons).
- You can try to skim some of the fat from the top of the sauce, but this is much easier to remove if you let it cool completely, then reheat (see make ahead notes).
- Cut the twine and remove it from the lamb. Slice into 1-inch thick rounds and arrange it on a serving platter. Alternatively, you can shred it into more irregular chunks/pieces. Don’t worry if you don’t get perfect slices.
- On a large serving platter, scatter the carrots/celery/cherries, etc… all around. Arrange/nestle the lamb over top. Spoon some of the sauce over the lamb, saving most of it for serving. Scatter parsley and pomegranate seeds (if using) over top. If you’d like, you can top with some orange zest strips as well.
- Serve the lamb over your starch of choice and spoon that remaining sauce all over.
Stovetop method:
- The oven is more fool-proof, but if you need to only use the stove: instead of transferring to the oven, reduce the heat to maintain the lowest possible simmer for 3.5-4 hours.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Season the lamb (let sit in the fridge uncovered overnight)
- Thinly slice 1 large or 2 medium yellow onions
- Cut 4 carrots into 1-inch chunks
- Cut 3 stalks celery into 1-inch chunks
- Make the full recipe
- Chop fresh parsley
- Prep pomegranate seeds or chopped orange/blood orange, for serving (optional)
Substitutions:
- You could make this recipe with pork shoulder or a beef chuck roast instead of lamb.
Storage:
- Store leftover lamb in the sauce to keep it from drying out. It will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or you can freeze it for up to 2 months.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Rewarm gently covered in a 300F oven for 20 minutes, gently rewarm covered on the stove, or use the microwave.
- Serve over starch of choice.
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