Black Garlic Lamb Shoulder Slow Cooked
Succulent Lamb Shoulder Slow Cooked – Guaranteed to melt in your mouth
Dive into the succulent flavours of our slow-cooked lamb shoulder, enhanced with rich black garlic, balsamic, and honey reduction that promises a melt-in-your-mouth experience.
Aged Black Garlic - Food as Medicine
Unlocking the Magic of Black Garlic in Reductions and Glazes
Cooking black garlic in a reduction or a glaze enhances its flavour, aroma, and texture, thus adding complexity and depth to sauces and dishes. The result is a sweet, savoury, and umami-rich glaze that can be used in many dishes.
- Flavour Enhancement: The flavour intensifies and becomes even more complex. The natural sugars in black garlic caramelize during cooking, contributing to a deeper and sweeter taste with hints of balsamic and molasses.
- Colour Transformation: Black garlic’s dark colour can deepen when used in a reduction glaze, adding to its rich, dark hue. This can eliminate the need for browning a joint of meat before cooking and adds a luscious shine to foods.
- Caramelization of Sugars: Black garlic contains natural sugars that can further dissolve and caramelize as the reduction cooks. Combined with honey and vinegar, as in black garlic reduction, it becomes a delicious sticky glaze. The liquid reduces, leaving behind the intense flavours.
Aged Black Garlic Health BenefitsBlack garlic is created through a special aging process involving heat and is packed with antioxidants. It offers great benefits for both livestock and human health. It's not just a flavour enhancer—it boosts animal health by improving feed efficiency and increasing disease resistance. For humans, incorporating black garlic into meals can help fend off diseases thanks to its rich array of health-boosting compounds. This superfood is an all-natural way to support well-being across the board. |
Aged black garlic benefits for humans & animals
Unforgettable Flavors: Lamb and Black Garlic’s Fusion
With its tender texture and distinctive flavour, Lamb is an ideal canvas for black garlic’s rich and sweet undertones. When slow-cooked, the Lamb absorbs the nuances of the black garlic reduction, resulting in a dish that blends the earthy, umami-rich qualities of black garlic with the succulent, juicy meat.
The sweetness of the black garlic cuts through the gaminess of the Lamb, creating a beautifully balanced flavour profile that is both indulgent and unforgettable.
Black Garlic Lamb Shoulder Slow Cooked Recipe
Spice Up Your Kitchen Routine: Creative Ways to Use Black Garlic Reduction
Beyond its traditional use as a glaze for meats, black garlic reduction can transform ordinary dishes into extraordinary delights. It can be as simple as drizzling a little of the reduction over your everyday meals :-)
- Vegetables: Roasted or grilled vegetables can benefit from a drizzle of the reduction, adding a sweet and savoury element. This is particularly popular with roasted root vegetables.
- Salads: It can be used to create unique salad dressings, adding richness and depth to your greens. Balsamic reductions are commonly used in salads.
- Cheese Plates: Try drizzling the reduction over goat’s cheese or blue cheese and serve on a cheese platter.
- Desserts: Stir in a little more honey and drizzle over poached fruits.
- Sandwiches and Wraps: Use as a spread or a condiment for sandwiches, wraps, and burgers, adding a unique and flavourful touch.
- Glazing Meats and Poultry: Black garlic reductions can be used to glaze any meats and poultry in the final stages of cooking adding a glossy finish and a burst of flavour.
Black Garlic Lamb Shoulder Slow Cooked
Black Garlic Lamb Shoulder Slow Cooked Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 – 2 kg lamb shoulder
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp black garlic puree
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- sprigs of fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
Instructions
- Stir balsamic vinegar, black garlic puree, honey, and salt together in a small nonstick saucepan.
- Add sprigs of rosemary and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer, and very gently boil for approx 30 mins.
- When the sauce has reduced by at least half (or 2/3rds), remove and allow to cool.
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Place the lamb shoulder in a baking dish, spoon over the reduction and top with rosemary sprigs.
- Cover with baking paper tucking into the sides.
- Place lid on baking dish or cover securely with foil so lamb is fully sealed in roasting pan.
- Bake in oven at 180C 30mins then reduce heat to 130-150C and roast for 4 to 6 hours.
- Remove and allow to rest (covered) 30 mins
- Gently remove the scapular bone and serve garnished with fresh rosemary
TOP TIPS:
Lamb shoulder cooked in a slow cooker with black garlic, balsamic & honey reduction
- Placing a cartouche, a generously sized sheet of baking paper, over the meat and tucking it into the sides ensures that both the juices and steam circulate effectively around the joint, ultimately guaranteeing a moist outcome.
- Adding the balsamic and black garlic reduction eliminates the need to brown the meat before roasting.
- The cooking time of the reduction will vary according to the simmering temperature. Ideally, reduce the liquid until the glaze coats the back of a spoon. It will thicken as it cools.
- There is no need for expensive balsamic vinegar after it is reduced and based on the lamb you won't be able to taste the difference.
- I prefer to present the Black garlic lamb shoulder with the scapular bone removed. If slow-cooked to perfection, it will easily slide away leaving the meat intact. The scapular is the large, flat, triangular bone at the back of the lamb’s shoulder.
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Do You Have Black Garlic in Your Kitchen Pantry or Medicine Cabinet?
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Why is my slow cooked lamb shoulder tough?
- Undercooking: If the lamb hasn’t been slow cooked long enough, the connective tissues and collagen may not have broken down sufficiently, leading to toughness.
- Cooking at Too High a Temperature: Slow cooking should be done at a low and steady temperature. If the heat is too high, it can cause the meat to seize up and become tough.
- Insufficient Moisture: Slow cooking requires a moist environment to break down collagen and connective tissues. Choose a deep baking dish with a lid or seal with several layers of alfoil. I also use a cartouche, which is a layer of baking paper placed over and tucked around the joint of meat.
- Not Resting the Meat: After slow cooking, it’s crucial to allow the lamb to rest for a while before pulling apart and serving.
Lamb shoulder cooked in a slow cooker with black garlic, balsamic & honey reduction
Why did my balsamic reduction get hard?
Reductions are made by simmering a liquid gradually to reduce its volume, intensifying the flavours. Ideally, the liquid should be reduced to about half or even a third of its initial quantity.
However, if the reduction goes too far and becomes overly thick, it has the potential to solidify upon cooling. In such cases, you can rescue it by gently reheating the mixture and incorporating additional liquid to achieve the desired consistency once more.
Lamb shoulder cooked in a slow cooker with black garlic, balsamic & honey reduction
Is balsamic reduction the same as a balsamic glaze
In essence, no! While it’s true that a balsamic glaze is frequently sweeter and thicker than a balsamic reduction, this distinction arises from the addition of more sugar in the glaze-making process.
Black Garlic Lamb Shoulder Slow Cooked Recipe
Conclusion
Slow cooking is such an effortless method of entertaining. Just pop the joint of meat in the oven and forget about it, as overcooking is nearly impossible.
Forget serving up individual portions of meat; present the whole joint on the table with tongs or forks and allow your guests to ‘pull’ as much as they desire. Once you realise how easy it's to achieve a succulent joint of meat, you will make this again and again.
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