GrillinFools
This was my first attempt at smoked lamb shoulder and thus I kept it relatively simple. The lamb shoulder was injected, seasoned and then smoked until it became pillowy soft perfection. Think pulled pork but better. Additionally, since it was my first time with this smoked lamb shoulder recipe, I tried three different rubs to decide what works and what doesn’t. Also, I carved a criss cross pattern on the fat cap to add some extra glorious bark to the lamb shoulder.
Scroll down for the step-by-step, picture-by-picture, foolproof grilling instructions of this spectacular recipe.
Smoked Lamb Shoulder Recipe Ingredients
- Superior Farms American Lamb shoulder, approximately 9 lbs
- Disposable aluminum pans
- Premade injection (feel free to use a custom injection)
- Your favorite BBQ seasoning (it could be for pork or beef), divided
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- Aluminum foil
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
- Buns
Shoulder is Shoulder
This recipe follows a lot of what I do for my pulled pork. Indeed, that’s exactly how I cooked these shoulders. And it worked perfectly. Thus, if you’re intimidated by lamb shoulder, don’t be. If you’ve done a pork butt before (same thing as pork shoulder), you can do lamb shoulder. The only change from my go-to pork butt recipe is that I swapped the garlic studding for injecting.
Superior Farms American Lamb
Before we get to the recipe, I want to point out that I’m using Superior Farms American Lamb whom I partnered with on this smoked lamb shoulder recipe. I’ve worked with them a lot recently on other lamb recipes. As a lamb junkie, I’m giddy to partner with Superior Farms as their product is the best lamb I’ve ever cooked, and of course I’m proud that it is made in the USA (just like the grill I will be using):
These lamb shoulders are specifically ‘square cut lamb shoulders.’
This is what a square cut lamb shoulder looks like on the bottom:
And from the side:
I have one of these lamb shoulders left that I plan on carving into the most epic lamb lollipops.
On the the meat side I carved a criss cross pattern every inch to create extra bark:
Now, back to the aforementioned injecting. I used the pre-made stuff I sometimes use in my spatchcocked Thanksgiving turkey and ALWAYS use in my pulled pork
Pro Tip ~ Leave the vacuum sealed plastic on the lamb while injecting
By leaving the plastic on, the injection won’t shoot all over the place as can happen when injecting.
Then, inject every couple of inches along the back and the sides:
Afterward, remove the plastic and season with your chosen BBQ rub. Since lamb is red meat, I went with my go-to for hearty red meat, salt, pepper and garlic (SPG seasoning). I also did a pork rib seasoning and a jerk seasoning.
I mean why not? Indeed, I love lamb and I love jerk seasoning…
I will reveal which one was best at the bottom. Sorry, but that’s how I gotta do it.
There will also be a couple sweet tips on how to get the most flavor out of pulled lamb.
The SPG seasoning:
Then, make sure to season the sides as I did here with the rib rub:
Finally, here’s the jerk seasoning:
If you are wondering what sort of trimming or cleaning I did to the American lamb shoulders, the answer is none. I didn’t trim an ounce of fat.
These were clean and ready to hit the kamado.
Once all three lamb shoulders are seasoned, let’s get that grill ready.
I sparked up my kamado with a load of lump charcoal and tossed in a couple chunks of hickory.
I put the plate setters between the fire and where my lamb shoulders will set during the cookout.
Target temp in the grill chamber is 275F (+/- 25F)
Standard Charcoal Grill
In a standard charcoal grill, bank the coals to one side, toss on a chunk of smoke wood and put the lamb on the far side from the hot coals and close the lid
Gas Grill
On a gas grill, turn on one burner at one end and remove the grill grate over that lit burner. Ignite a chunk of smoke wood and then place the grill grate back over the burner and set the smoldering wood on top. Adjust the heat of the burner to keep the wood smoldering, but not burning. Place the lamb on the far end from the lit burner and close the lid.
How to Smoke Lamb Shoulder on the Grill
The short answer is to cook it exactly like pork shoulder/pork butt. The longer answer is to inject the lamb shoulders and carve a criss cross pattern on the meat side of the lamb shoulder. Then, season and put on a 275F smoker (+/- 25F) and smoke. After 2 hours, spritz with equal parts Worcestershire/water and do so every 30-45 minutes until the lamb reaches an internal temperature between 150F-170F AKA the stall. Wrap in foil and put back on the grill until the lamb hits 203F-205F.
Step by Step Directions:
The first shoulder is the SPG seasoned lamb:
SPG and Jerk lamb shoulders:
I added an aftermarket upper rack to get a third shoulder in the kamado grill:
Close the lid and let the heat and smoke do their thing.
In the meantime, go make the spritz.
Our spray is nothing more than equal parts Worcestershire and water in a spray bottle:
Wait 90-120 minutes before using the spray.
After 90 minutes or so the rub sets which means it adheres completely to the meat and won’t wash off when sprayed with the Worcestershire/water mixture:
And here’s my favorite pic from this cookout, in context, which was about three hours in:
At four hours in our bark is perfect on two of the three smoked lamb shoulders:
The Stall
According to the temp check, we are officially in the stall and ready to wrap in foil:
Although, that was the case for only two of the shoulders.
The SPG seasoned shoulder was taking longer than the other two, hence I wrapped two of the shoulders in foil (right over the double aluminum pans):
And our SPG seasoned lamb shoulder gets a little longer in the smoke as it didn’t have the color I like in the bark and wasn’t as far along in terms of temp as the other two:
Keep spraying the unwrapped shoulder even though the first two are in the foil:
About an hour later, the SPG seasoned lamb shoulder had the bark I like and was also in the stall so into the foil it went:
An hour later, or a full six hours into the cook, my bottom two lamb shoulders are temping between 203F-205F:
I removed those two to let them rest and left the SPG shoulder on the cooker to finish up.
What if a Lamb Shoulder takes Longer than the Others?
It’s perfectly OK for one shoulder to be late. I can leave my first two in a room temperature oven, microwave or cooler for hours and they will stay warm and juicy. In fact, I recommend letting the shoulders rest in an unlit oven/microwave or empty cooler or Cambro for at least an hour. I can pull the third shoulder off while I take the other two out of the oven (or whatever I used to rest them) and start pulling and serving while the third smoked lamb shoulder rests. In other words, the first two shoulders can rest for hours while the third one catches up.
This begs the question:
How long does it take to Smoke a Lamb Shoulder
For a 9 pound lamb shoulder in a 275F grill, the cook took right around 6 hours in the kamado plus an hour of rest time in a room temp oven, microwave or cooler. Keep in mind this is only a guideline. If your lamb shoulder is larger or smaller, has a different fat content, or the fire is hotter or colder, the cooking time could be very different. Thus, cook to temp, not time.
Here is our smoked lamb out of the foil and ready to be pulled.
The bark is magnificent:
Interestingly, there are more bones than a pork shoulder which just has the scapula.
This is the hickory smoked lamb scapula:
Along with an arm bone:
And rib bones:
Time to pull the smoked lamb:
Check out the smoke ring:
Another THICK smoke ring from the second shoulder:
One thing to mention, when pulling the scapula from a pork shoulder it slides out like butter.
The scapula of a lamb shoulder has a knob on the end of the bone that doesn’t come loose as easily as pork:
Prop Tips ~ Sorry, no pics of this. First, take whatever seasoning you used to coat the outside of your lamb shoulder and sprinkle some more in your pan of shredded meat to re-season it. Also, drizzle over some of that juice from the pan or aluminum foil the lamb cooked in.
Next, make a pulled, hickory smoked lamb sandwich.
Pile up the lamb high, drizzle with some Carolina Gold, mustard based BBQ sauce (or whatever BBQ sauce you prefer) and make a sando:
Smoked Lamb Shoulder Recipe Rundown:
So how was it? I’ll say it again, it was exactly like pulled pork but better. Thus, it’s got all the same consistency, tenderness and juiciness, but there’s just something extra. So much so, that next year for my Memorial Day BBQ, it very well might be lamb instead of pork shoulders.
As promised, the results of the three different rubs. I thoroughly enjoyed all three. I probably liked the jerk the best, but I’m as much of a jerk junkie as I am a lamb junkie. But all three were fantastic. Hence, you just can’t go wrong with this smoked lamb shoulder recipe.
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Smoked Lamb Shoulder Recipe Card:
Smoked Lamb Shoulder Recipe
Equipment
- disposable aluminum pans 2 per shoulder
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 1 Superior Farms American lamb shoulder Approximately 9 pounds
- Premade injection Feel free to make your own injection
- Your favorite BBQ seasoning Pork, beef or jerk will work (and rhyme)
- ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup Water
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
- Buns
Instructions
- Inject the shoulder with the injection
- Carve a criss cross pattern every inch or so along the meat side of the lamb shoulder
- Place the lamb shoulder into a double layer of aluminum pans
- Season with your favorite BBQ rub
- Prepare the grill for two zone or indirect grilling with a target temperature inside the grill of 275F (+/-25F)
- Place the shoulder in the grill/smoker and close the lid
- While the shoulder smokes, combine the Worcestershire and water in a food safe spray bottle
- After 90-120 minutes on the grill, and the rub sets, spray the shoulder every 30-45 minutes with the Worcestershire/water mixture
- When the smoked lamb reaches 150F-170F wrap in foil and put back on the grill
- Once the smoked lamb reaches 185F-195F remove from the foil and put back on the grill to firm up the bark - optional. You can also take it all the way to 203F-205F in the foil.
- Once the lamb reaches 203F-205F remove from the heat and put it in a room temperature oven, microwave or empty cooler for at least an hour
- Shred the smoked lamb and dust with your favorite BBQ seasoning and drizzle some of the juice from the pan or foil
- Assemble some succulent pulled lamb sandwiches utilizing your favorite BBQ sauce and those buns
Video
Additionally, I have some bonus pics of the Smoked Lamb Shoulder Recipe:
THIS says it all:
And one more smoke ring shot:
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