LAMB: Shoulder or leg for shredded meat? How much time per lb amd what temp?

westernbbq

Making lamb shawwarma this weekend a la DDD sausage, shawarma and seafood episode
Looks like the guy at Street 360 in New Hampshire uses shoulder instead of leg of lamb   cooks it, boneless covered tight over a bed of sliced onions amd whole garlic cloves at 350F for 4 hrs, then shreds it and crisps meat up on flattop to replicate that vertical spit crust....

Question for the eggnation.  How would you go about making a lamb shoulder to get similar results as we get indirect on bge with pork shoulder and brisket?   Looking to skip the flattop step and just go shredded shoulder of lamb with some bark.....



Looking for time and temp guid amd whether leg of lamb is preferable to shoulder?

Met with butcher this AM who said lamb shoulder going on sale so id prefer to use that

Any guidance would be appreciated
Thanks!

fishlessman

i did this with the leg because some here years ago said it could not be done. im not a big fan of the taste of mutton but thats what it tasted like to me, others would enjoy it though. basically cook at 250 dome to 180 internal, wrap with some liquid (that onion they used on the show would work as it doesnt need much added liquid and add the flavor profile you want).  cook til tender which was a good 210 plus internal.  i think it was about 10 hours for a small boneless leg.  the shoulder would be more pullable. the fat intensifies the flavor on lamb cooked this way, it can get overpowering, i would cut off as much as possible.  i had not seen shwarma before so had no clue what to add to a sandwich which may have addressed my issues with this cook. since this cook ive done the kafta kabobs  thats been posted here, im sold on those

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Shoulder if you can get it. Lots of tendons and silver skin in the leg. 

GrillSgt

A shoulder will give you a better version. Leg is somewhat dry as it is basically a bundle of muscles. When I do a leg on the egg/grill I break it down into the seven muscles, marinate and grill with a good char and medium rare. 

westernbbq

Thanks brethren!  Shoulder it is.  Bnq bible steven raichlen has a pretty good bbq lamb shoulder recipe so that combined with what i could glean from DDD demo plus @fishlessman technique will morph into something i hope is tasty
Stay tuned.....

GrillSgt

Remember, pics or it didn't happen.

fishlessman

GrillSgt said:

A shoulder will give you a better version. Leg is somewhat dry as it is basically a bundle of muscles. When I do a leg on the egg/grill I break it down into the seven muscles, marinate and grill with a good char and medium rare. 

leg makes the best kabobs with the high char to med/rare ratio, seldom cook a whole leg anymore. you would be surprised how much hidden fat is in the leg muscle, the low and slow is pretty moist for something you would think would be dry. i was really surprised by that

CincyTiki

Pulled lamb shoulder is fantastic. If you buy the whole shoulder it sells for $2.99/lb around here in the Halal shops.  A whole shoulder weighs around 10 lbs. and will cook at the normal 1 hour per pound at 250-275,  I did this one with a mustard base later, a layer of SPOG and a layer of Dizzy Pig Mediterraneanish , came our fantastic.  Famity liked it so much I repeated 3 weeks later.

westernbbq

@CincyTiki

Now THAT'S exactly what i was looking for!   Thanks mucho.   I got two shoulders and will spice them up tonight.   Put em on BGE tomorrow morning and cook at 250F.   I am guessing the IT of yours was 195-200?  Please confirm


Im looking for ultra tender fall apart meat, nice exterior crust and subtle bbq flavor .  It looks like you hit all 3 on yours to perfection.

Putting these in pita bread with tzatiki, onions, lettuce and tomato...

Plus making chicken souvlaki so hopefully that turns out a winner....
Cant wait!

zahulio

I slow-cooked this yogurt rubbed lamb shoulder in my BGE. Full recipe here 

CincyTiki

@westernbbq. I pulled it off the egg at 200-205.  Hope you enjoy it, great flavor.

westernbbq

Thanks @zahulio

Did you leave yogurt on all night?   Seems to me like the meat would turn to mush....  I have two shoulders so maybe one with yogurt and one without

Sea2Ski

I see a new cook in my future......
Carry on

zahulio

westernbbq said:

Thanks @zahulio

Did you leave yogurt on all night?   Seems to me like the meat would turn to mush....  I have two shoulders so maybe one with yogurt and one without

Yes...overnight marinade. The meat didn’t turn to mush, but it did create a (excessively) dense bark. Next time, I’ll wrap it during the stall.

please post how yours turns out

westernbbq

This one is a WINNER
Bought shawarma spice mix from whole foods, dry rub overnight and put yogurt on 2 hrs before putting on the grill.

Smoked at 250F for 10 hrs

Amazing.  Made homemade tzatziki whichn was incredible.   Big time crowd pleaser

westernbbq

By the way i didnt have time to snap picts of the shoulders on the egg because guests kept coming to grill area for samples....so freaking good i cant believe it

Lamb shoulder cook is similar to pork shoulder.   More bones to deal with on lamb but thats OK.   Well worth the results....

Sea2Ski

Hmmmm...  this has been moved up on the list.. that looks fantastic. 

westernbbq

Sea2Ski said:

Hmmmm...  this has been moved up on the list.. that looks fantastic. 

Do it and you wont look back
I wish id hve done this sooner.  Unreal how great this is....

westernbbq

Making next weekend for a tailgate party.

Mark_B_Good

Shoulder would also get my vote. More fat, less tendons ... I think for shredding, it will turn out better.

scdaf

Did a shoulder a couple years ago.  It was special order, the nearest halal butcher being around 150 miles away.  Cost $10.99/lb!  Did not marinate, used za'tar seasoning, which I have not liked on anything else.  One of the best things I've ever cooked.
If I could get lamb shoulder for $2.99/ lb, we'd have it a LOT more often.