Roast Lamb with Anchovy, Garlic and Rosemary

I love lamb, but not pink.  I think the only time I can stomach lamb pink is fillet or rack of lamb.  There's just too much fat in lamb and particularly big joints it just doesn't render down and you are left with a lot of inedible fatty bits (unless you like fat which I know some people do).  I also prefer the meat more akin to Crispy Duck than large slabs of slightly chewy pink meat and so I go for whole shoulder.

For those of you that live in South London and don't know William Rose Butchers then I really suggest you try them out.  Their shop on Lordship Lane got so busy (you could queue for 30 minutes) they opened a second shop in Dulwich Grove.  http://www.williamrosebutchers.com/produce.html.  They make their own sausages on site and deal direct with farms and estates for all their meat poultry and game - and no I'm not on commission.

The shoulder of lamb was well hung, very dry layer of fat on the outside.  I made several slits in the skin/meat and  pushed an anchovy fillet into each whole along with a halved clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary.  The anchovy melts to nothing and adds a richness to the meat and especially the residue in the roasting tin for making gravy.
The lamb is cooked at a high heat for 20 minutes say 200 degrees and then turned down and cooked for a minimum of 2.5 hours at 150degrees.  If you cook it this way you can cook it for longer if you like.  The shoulder has so much fat that its hard to dry it out and you are left with beautiful succulent meat and lovely crispy bits and fat...

I am going to assume that everyone knows how to cook roast potatoes but I would say a few things.  

• Don't cut the potatoes too small
• Salt the water well so they get properly seasoned
• Par boil them from cold water until boiling for 3 minutes
• Give them a good bashing in the pan to fluff the edges slightly
• Make sure you put them in well heated oil and give them good coverage (Goose fat for those who don't care how fat they get)
• Make sure you baste them and turn them regularly.
• When they are brown they are cooked (40 minutes at 180 degrees)

When is a gravy not a 'jus'?  A gravy is something you make from the dripping left in the pan.  With lamb its really important to drain off as much of the fat as you can and bind the remaining fat with flour and cook until you have created a paste that includes all the delicious brown gooey 'marmite' on the tin.  Then add a decent splash of red wine, at least a 150ml glass worth and then a tablespoon of Red Currant Jelly (thanks Sam and John for yours!).  

I had made some home made stock from bones the butcher had given me (its a real shag and makes your house stink but the results are worth it.  Again it depends on how thick you want the gravy or how much you want to how much gravy you want .  For 4 people you need at least 1 pint of liquid so add that amount as this will all reduce down.  Important to check the seasoning before you add any as the anchovy will make it salty.

Once the meat has been rested and I would say a minimum of 15 minutes you can carve and serve.  The joint isn't easy to carve but cooked this way large chunks will do anyway.

We served with roasted carrots, green beans and gravy.  Very, very nice....