Name: Épaule d'Agneau de 7 Heures
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 7 h
Total time: 7 h 25 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 lamb shoulder on the bone, about 2 kg; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp fine sea salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 2 onions, thickly sliced; 4 carrots, thickly sliced; 1 head garlic, halved across; 400 ml white wine; 300 ml chicken stock; 4 bay leaves; 6 thyme sprigs; 4 rosemary sprigs; 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped; Flaky sea salt

Épaule d'Agneau de 7 Heures

Lamb shoulder cooked for seven hours until it can be served with a spoon. No knife on the table, which is the traditional test.

7 hr 25 min total Serves 6 servings Easy

Seven hours at 130°C / 266°F is not an exaggeration for effect. Shoulder is full of connective tissue that only converts to gelatine after a very long time below simmering point, and at four hours it is merely well-done lamb — the transformation into something spoonable happens in the last two. Keep the dish tightly sealed so nothing evaporates; the small amount of liquid at the bottom is meant to steam the meat, not reduce.

The Method for Épaule d'Agneau de 7 Heures

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Heat the oven to 130°C / 265°F.
Rub the lamb with the oil, salt and pepper and brown it all over in a hot pan, 8 minutes.
Lay the onions, carrots and garlic in a deep casserole and sit the lamb on top.
Pour in the wine and stock — it should come no more than a third of the way up the meat — and tuck in the herbs.
Cover with a sheet of baking paper pressed onto the meat and then the lid, or a double layer of foil crimped tightly.
Cook 420 minutes without opening it, until the meat pulls away from the bone at a touch.
Lift the lid, raise the oven to 220°C / 430°F and give it 12 minutes to colour the top. Skim the juices, scatter with parsley and serve with a spoon.

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A Few Pointers

The full seven hours. At four it is merely well-done.
Seal it tightly — the liquid should steam, not reduce.
Twelve minutes at high heat at the end for colour.

Common Substitutions & Variations

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

What to Serve With It

Boulangère potatoes · Flageolet beans · A glass of Languedoc red

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Boulangere Potatoes, Bretzel Alsacien, Brioche Buns.

Storage

Refrigerated for 4 days and outstanding reheated. It freezes for 3 months.