This meltingly tender Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma is the stuff food dreams are made of!! Slathered in a deceptively simple shawarma spice rub then slow cooked until fall apart, the flavour and fragrance of this lamb is absolutely heavenly. This recipe is ideal for butterflied lamb leg OR lamb shoulder.
While it takes time to roast, itโs a very straightforward recipe โ and will feed a crowd. Sensational for finishing on the BBQ!ย After more lamb centrepiece ideas? Browse all my roast lamb recipes!
Lamb Shawarma
This oneโs for everyone who doesnโt have a charcoal spit in the middle of their kitchenโฆ.. and for Australia Day!!!๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐บ
Quick to prepare but tastes like youโve been slaving away in the kitchen all day, this Lamb Shawarma is absolutely terrific for gatherings because itโs easy to make loads, can be cooked ahead then reheated. Or in the spirit of Australia Day, finish it on the BBQ!
This Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma is 100% me. Big hunk of meat. Big flavours. Simple, fast prep, with big pay offs. Meltingly tender, fall apart meat, dripping with the beautiful roasting juices. Food made for sharing with family and friends. Food to pile onto platters to let everyone help themselves, rather than using tweezers to daintily plate up.
Rustic. Thatโs how I describe my food. As opposed to refined and elegant! ๐
Just remembering how good this was is killing me as I sit here on the couch late on a Wednesday night sipping on aย green smoothie of all things. Suddenly, this spinach-kale-mango-pineapple-ginger smoothie is very unappealing. ๐ฉ
So, hereโs how this Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma goes down.
We start with a simple homemade Shawarma slather, my go-to mix that I use for my Chicken Shawarma and all things Shawarma on this site (Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup, One Pot Chicken Shawarma and Rice Pilaf). Nothing exotic in it, youโll find all the spices at the supermarket: coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne and cardamon. Plus olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix and slather.
Use butterflied lamb leg OR lamb shoulder
As forย what to slather, take your pick โ lamb shoulder or butterflied lamb leg.
In the recipe video, Iโve used lamb shoulder because I wanted to show how to pull the lamb apart in order to finish it on the BBQ. Also because I think lamb shoulder is not quite as popular as lamb leg but I rate it highly and I want to encourage people to try it! Itโs usually cheaper than lamb leg and itโs fattier which means juicier (and better for reheating), making it ideal for gatherings.
Lamb shoulder
Lamb shoulder has a bone through it, like pictured below. Because the shoulder is cooked to fall apart perfection, the meat slides off the bone in 4 or 5 large pieces which you can then either slice, shred or BBQ to get an extra tasty crust on it / reheat (see the video, it looks SO GOOD!).
Butterflied lamb leg
When making Lamb Shawarma with lamb leg, I prefer to use butterflied lamb leg because you can rub the Shawarma slather into the meat better. Even if you leave the lamb to marinate, a bone-in leg of lamb is very thick so the marinade doesnโt penetrate right through to the bone.ย Though having said that, there is plenty of heavily flavoured roasting juices to drizzle all over the meat once sliced or shredded.
Lamb leg is leaner than shoulder but in this recipe, itโs cooked until meltingly tender. One of the โprosโ of butterflied lamb leg is that it holds together in one piece even after hours of slow cooking making it easier to slice neatly. Also for handling on the BBQ โ one piece rather than the multiple pieces of shoulder youโll see in the video.
Whether you use shoulder or lamb leg, youโre going to end up with this โ incredible tender lamb. Sliceable but shreddable (I also show this in the video).
What to serve with Lamb Shawarma
Now for the hardest part โ choosing how to serve it. What will you do โ make Lamb Shawarma Wraps (Doner Kebab style!) or pile it on a platter with couscous? ๐ Here are some suggestions for what to serve this with:
Lemon Herb Couscous โ see recipe notes
Homemade Flatbreadsย โ add slices of tomato, shredded lettuce, raw sliced onion and a dollop of yogurt orย Hummus. You could also use a Lemon Yogurt Sauce (use the sauce in the Chicken Shawarma recipe)
For a side salad, try this Middle Eastern cabbage and carrot saladย (youโll love the burst of freshness from the mint) or this Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad (option to skip the chickpeas).
๐ฆ๐บHAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!! ๐ฆ๐บย โ Nagi x
More Roast Lamb Recipes
I love a good roast lamb โ so Iโve shared a few over the years!
Classic Roast Lamb Leg with Gravyย โ the classic, perfectly blushing pink inside
Slow Roast Leg of Lambย โ infused with garlic and rosemary flavours, slow roasted until fall apart tender!
Greek Butterflied Leg of Lamb โ quick to cook on the barbecue, or stovetop and finish in the oven
Slow Cooker Roast Lambย โ fall apart goodness in the convenience of your slow cooker
Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lambย โ garlicky lemony fall apart deliciousness
Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulderย โ the juiciest, most succulent roast lamb you will ever have!
See all Roast Lamb recipes
PS Jeez, my hands look extra small compared to that giant platter!!! ๐
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Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma
Ingredients
- 2kg / 4 lb lamb shoulder (bone in) or 1.7 kg / 3.5 lb butterflied lamb leg (Note 1)
Shawarma Paste:
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground cardamon
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (1/2 tsp = not spicy)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika (ordinary also ok)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 โ 3 tbsp / 40 โ 60 ml lemon juice
Cooking:
- 2 cups / 500 ml water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan forced / convection).
- Place Paste ingredients in a bowl, starting with 2 tbsp lemon juice, and mix. It should be a wet paste that can be slathered onto the lamb (see video).
- Place lamb in a large roasting pan. Slather all over with paste. Optional: Marinate 24 hours (not mandatory, I usually skip).
- Position the lamb with the fat side up. Pour water around, cover tightly with foil.
- Roast 3 hours, removing from the oven 2 โ 3 times to spoon over pan juices (ie baste).
- Remove foil. Meat should be tender โ check with 2 forks.
- Baste again, then return to oven for 30 minutes to get a nice crust.
- Remove lamb from roasting pan โ reserve juices.
Finish on BBQ, Optional (Note 2):
- Cool the lamb for 20 minutes or so (so it firms up slightly, easier to handle).
- If you used shoulder, pull the meat off the bone in 4 or 5 chunks (see video).
- Preheat BBQ to medium and oil if required.
- Coat lamb in pan juices. Sear on both sides until deep golden and a crust forms. Dab with pan juices on both sides.
Serving:
- Slice or shred lamb, as desired. Drizzle with plenty of juices.
- Make Lamb Shawarma wraps by serving with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and minted yoghurt (Note 3) or pile over Lemon Herbed Couscous (Note 4) and garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley or chopped coriander/cilantro (if desired). Both pictured in post.
Recipe Notes:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
Someone is happy that Iโm so terrible at butterflying lamb legโฆ. plenty of meat left on that bone!
Dear Nagi, thank you for this wonderful recipe! I followed this recipe to roast a 4.5 lbs butterflied leg of lamb for the New Yearโs Eve dinner, and it came out so tender and flavorful. I served it with pearl couscous mixed with sautรฉed mushrooms and parsley. I removed fat from the pan drippings, and used the preserved drippings to reheat the leftovers. What an amazing recipe!!! Happy New Year and my best wishes to you and Dozer.
Hi Nagi, your receipt looks delicious and would like to make it on new yearโs eve. Would you recommend using over broiler in place of a grill?
Hi Nagi, I have a 1.4kg lamb shoulder โ do I need to reduce the cooking time? Thank you! x
Iโm looking at making this recipe for new year at the end of this week, have you done this in an instant pot yet? is it possible to?
Hi Nagi, making this recipe for Christmas and I just marinated it. If it stays in marinade for over 24 hours (36-ish) would that ruin the meat? Should I follow your make ahead recipe instead?
Hi Anu! Nope, that will be fine to stay in the marinade until then. Lamb is a tough cut of meat, it can withstand a long marinade time! N x
I love this recipe โ itโs my favourite way to cook lamb shoulder.
Hi Nagi. What a beautiful recipe. Iโm planning to make two 2kg lamb shoulders (bone in) for Christmas. How would you adjust the cooking time? Thank you for your wonderful website
Hi Isabella, cook as per the recipe if the weight is the same โ as they are two separate pieces, not one large piece (which would take longer to cook) N x
1 Tbs ground cardamom??
Are you sure? That sounds like an awful lot
Yes thatโs correct Claure! Itโs absolutely amazing! N x
Delish! Since I didnโt barbecue the lamb at the end, I skimmed off the oil, thickened the sauce with cornstarch and added a little brown sugar and lemon into the gravy. Used this gravy, salad and garlic yoghurt in my wrap and it was perfect!
I think this would be great to serve all wrapped in foil for parties. Thanks Nagi!
Wow, this turned out so great! We got a 3lb boneless shoulder from our butcher and cooked it for 8 hours using the slow cook mode on our pressure cooker. We turned it after 2 hours, cut the strings and turned again at 4. After 6 we sliced it into sheets about 1โณ thick and removed the unrendered fat chunks. At 8 hours we seared it on the gas grill, then pullet it apart and soaked it in the juice for a few. We drained some of the fat first, but it wasnโt too bad. The flavor and texture was awesome, weโll definitely make this again..
Oh my lordy this was delish. The flavour was amazing. The smell devine. Lamb so soft. Iโve now tried quite a few of your recipes โ huge fan. Thank you for sharing with us.
Hi Nagi,
Im a big fan of your recipes๐
Being Lebanese and growing up around lots of shawarma, i was wondering if you tried tahini sauce with it. Basically once the lamb shawarma is on the pita bread, you add diced tomatoes, chopped cucumber pickles, chopped flat parskey and finally the tahini sauce which is made from some tahini, little lemon juice, water and salt. Some add tiny bit of yogurt into the mixture. I think youโll like it๐
Thanks for all these beautiful recipes,
Marie
Hey Nagi! Made this for my grandparents in the slow cooker and they loved it soo much! I didnโt serve it with the pan juice though because it was so oily, it didnโt look like yours at all. Is there any changes I can make to reduce the amount of oil at the end?
Hi Sharon โ if you drain the pan juices and then pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes, the fat will rise to the top and freeze. Youโre then able to scoop it off discard. N x
Cooked this recipe with butterflied leg of lamb in the slow cooker last night. Amazing taste, meat is tender and juicy and the fragance of the spices in the entire house while cooking is mouth-watering. Used a good half spoon of Cayenne pepper and that is exactly the right amount of oomph for us. Thank you for this recipe!
Really excited to try this recipe Nagi. One question i had was the cooking times, iโve got a butterflied lamb leg (no bone) that weighs around 2.5lbs. would you alter the cook times and if so to what degree?
Ridiculously good!! Perfect for a dinner party or a cosy night in. The lamb is soft, juicy with tonnes of flavour โ just delicious!!
Amazing recipe! Lamb fell apart, our house smelled amazing while it was cooking, and kids and adults alike devoured it! Will be making this one again.
Made this last night for the meat eaters of the house and they loved it! I used a leg of lamb and did in the slow cooker. Didnโt bbq at the end but the left overs were re heated that way for lunch and worked well. Thanks Nagi!
Hi Nagi does the shoulder or leg have to be bone in? I donโt get fall apart when using boneless so wondered if that was the reason
Hi J, I use bone in as it has more flavour, but if you donโt get it when youโre using boneless, you just need to cook it longer until it gets to that break down stage. N x
Another Nagi Winner โ this was so perfect for an โeast coast lowโ rainy weekend dinner. You rapidly becoming my kitchen Khaleesi ๐
Re your lamb shawarma recipe. Will be trying. Re the accompaniments, garlic tahini sauce is delicious and traditional , also pickles (usually a fluorescent pink)