Fall-apart massaman lamb shoulder

4.92 from 45 votes

Fall-apart massaman lamb shoulder

Recipe video above. Fall-apart succulent lamb smothered in a rich massaman curry sauce with melt-in-your-mouth potatoes that will take you 5 minutes to prepare.

This larger-format version of Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry is made for groups: make up to 4 shoulders at once (serves 25 - 30!), reheats 110% perfectly (unlike lamb leg!), it looks impressive and a crowd pleaser. Plus it's kid friendly because Massaman Curry isn't spicy!

Prep Time5

Cook Time4 30

Resting15

Course: Main

Cuisine: Thai-ish

Keyword: lamb shoulder, Massaman Curry

Servings: - 8

Calories: 478cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

2-2.25kg/ 4 - 4.5 lb lamb shoulder , bone in, excess fat trimmed (but leave thin fat layer on (Note 1)
114g/ 4oz (1/2 cup) Maesri Massaman curry paste (1 can) , or other brand (Note 2)
400g/ 14 oz can coconut milk , full fat (Note 3)
3 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium
1 onion , halved then cut into 1 cm / 1/2" thick wedges
2 cinnamon sticks (or 1/2 tsp powder)
2 star anise (won't ruin if you don't have this)
600g/ 1.2 lb small baby potatoes , whole (don't cut cubes, Note 4)

Garnishes / serving:

2 large red chillis , finely sliced diagonally (optional)
1 cup (lightly packed) coriander leaves & sprigs (cilantro) , highly recommended
Jasmine rice (basmati also excellent)

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Abbreviated recipe:

Whisk curry, coconut and stock, put lamb in upside down. Add spices and potatoes, foil cover, roast 1 hour at 220°C/425°F (200°C fan), 3 hours 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) or until fall-apart. Uncover, turn lamb, 30 minutes. Garnish, serve!

Full recipe steps:

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F (200°C fan-forced).
Whisk the curry paste, coconut milk and chicken stock in a pan until lump free. Put lamb shoulder in, turn to coat in the sauce then place it so it's upside down (ie meaty / fat side down).
Place the onion, cinnamon sticks, star anise and potatoes around the lamb. Cover with foil.
Slow-cook - Roast for 1 hour. LOWER the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) then roast for a further 3 hours. (Note 5)
Check - Remove foil and use forks to check the meat is virtually “fall-apart-tender”, it should be by this time. If not, cover and keep cooking.
Brown - Turn the lamb over, spoon over sauce. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until deep golden. (Note 6 for sauce adjustments)
Serve - Rest for 10 - 15 minutes. Spoon off as much or as little excess fat off surface, discard. Mix sauce well (it's quite runny, if it was thicker it'd be too rich). Transfer to a serving dish, if you like, sprinkle with chilli and coriander. Serve! (Note 7 for serving styles)

Notes

1. Lamb - Small lamb shoulders work too, but then there's less meat :) There's enough sauce for a shoulder up to around 2.5kg/5lb, bone-ine. Boneless shoulder also excellent, ~1.75 kg / 3.5lb, it should be fall-apart by about the 3 hour mark. Lamb leg (bone-in) will also work but because it's leaner, the meat is not as juicy.

Other meat that will work: boneless short rib, whole pork shoulder (bone-in), but please read in post for comments on these cuts. Chicken not recommended!

2. Massaman curry paste – best is Maesri brand, sold at most Woolworths (see here) & Coles in Australia, as well as Harris Farms and Asian stores. Also happens to be the cheapest at ~$2.10 a can.

Otherwise, use whatever brand you can find (my preferences: Ayam, Five Tastes and lastly Volcom).

3. Coconut milk - not all coconut milk is created equal. Look for brands that are at least 80% coconut for better coconut flavour (check the ingredients), I use Ayam which is 89%.

4. Potatoes - small ones ~3cm / 1.2" is ideal. Keep them whole or halve, with skin on. Don't use peeled cubes of potato, they will disintegrate and make the sauce grainy.

5. Oven temps - Initial high temp roasting is to get heat inside the lamb and liquid, cuts down on slow roasting time by an hour.

Slow cooker - 10 hours on low. Transfer everything to a pan (lamb upside down), 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) 30 minutes, turn lamb, 30 - 45 minutes until nicely coloured and sauce reduced (remove lamb and reduce in oven more if needed). Handy, but, oven roasting is better flavour (better caramelisation). :)

6. Sauce amount - If you don't have enough sauce when you remove the foil (eg foil not on properly, extra large pan, lamb was not as juicy, oven runs hot), just add water before browning the lamb. If there's too much / too thin, just pop the pan back into the oven without the lamb (once browned). It's so easy to adjust!

7. Serving style - See in post for suggestions, section above the video. Whole, or boneless whole, or shredded. Different occasions for each!

8. MAKE-AHEAD BRILLIANCE - One of the rare roasts that reheats almost 100% perfectly (in fact, the sauce flavour gets better with time), making it excellent for making ahead for gatherings. Use a ceramic or glass baking dish, fully cool (whole) then refrigerate overnight in the dish. Take out of the fridge a good 2 hours prior, cover loosely with foil, reheat at 180°C/350°F (160°C) for 1 hour (2 shoulders each in separate pans took 1 hour 15 minutes).

Nutrition per serving assuming 8 servings. It will serve 6 comfortably with rice and a single side salad (lamb meat + the sauce is pretty rich), up to 8 if you had a couple of sides.

Nutrition