What to do with a lamb shoulder

Chef Sam Parish shows us what we can do with a lamb shoulder

Hi, I'm Sam and I'm going to show you what you can do with a delicious lamb shoulder. Today I'm using grass-fed New Zealand lamb hand-picked from Maimoa. This cut can be used straight from the fridge and cooked in minutes or given the full treatment with a 20-hour slow roast. Cooked long and slow on the bone, this meat can be pulled and served as is or shredded and used in pasta fillings, for starter toppings or tossed through a warm salad.

Alternatively, the lamb shoulder can be deboned and then stuffed and slow cooked for a beautiful roast or can be thinly sliced and cooked over high heat for one to two minutes for an easy stir fry or barbecue option.

To debone the lamb, turn the meat to reveal the ribs. To remove the ribs and vertebra as one piece, use your knife hard up against the bones to remove and leave as much meat behind as possible.

Use your fingers to map where the shoulder blade and arm bones are inside the meat. Then find the edge of the blade bone. This is a large flat triangular shaped bone, and it runs along and through the shoulder. Then we cut down the centre of the large bone to reveal the blade bone. Gradually use your knife to cut along and around the bone, pulling as you go and separating it from the meat. Once we reveal the surface of the whole blade bone, cut down and around the bone, then it should easily come away.

Next, do the same to remove the arm bone that ran into the blade. Run the knife along following the shape of the bone to separate it from the meat and remove it completely. The arm bone, blade bone, the ribs and the vertebra, can all be kept for stock, soups and sauces. Now that we've removed all the bones from the meat, we're going to trim away the fat and remove the gland that sits in the middle of the shoulder.

Once we've trimmed the shoulder of the fat and the gland, we're going to butterfly it out, so it has the same thickness across. Once deboned, you're left with many options for you to choose from.

Here we've wrapped with vine leaves, with a chickpea and halloumi filling, and served with a celeriac puree, lamb jus and hot grapes.

Or we can transfer to a Cryovac bag and sous vide for 20 hours over a low heat. Then the meat can be pulled and turned into croquettes. I served mine with a potato foam and a mint gel.

Lamb shoulder is a must in any commercial kitchen, working both on and off the bone from canapes to main courses. Order your Maimoa lamb shoulder today and plan it into your menu.