The main … posh lamb!

This is a dish I first mentioned way back in 2016 under the label on the blog “Posh lamb”. At that time I used lamb shanks – this time around I'm using shoulder of lamb and there's a step by step photo guide too. The dish also uses the dariole moulds for a savoury dish.

As a guide – a shoulder weighing 1.8kg. I asked my butcher to cut the shoulder into four pieces – it's much easier to brown and then fit into the slow cooker. Seal and season (with salt and black pepper) the pieces of shoulder on all sides and then place into your slow cooker with lamb stock and garlic paste if you wish and cook for six hours.

Whilst your lamb is cooking prepare the dariole moulds. Using a pastry brush grease the inside of the moulds. How many dariole moulds you want to use depends on how many you're serving. Two timbales per person is filling but you may want three if you've large appetites to satisfy. To be safe I prepared nine – any leftovers can be frozen for another time. Line each greased mould with cling film ensuring you've an overlap.

Take the lamb out of the slow cooker and set aside in a large dish – I used a foil version – to cool. Using a knife and fork, strip the shoulder and place on a sheet of foil. Discard the remaining bones and bits.

At this point wrap the stripped lamb in foil and fridge it. When time permits chop your lamb finely. Next up is a very useful piece of kit – a wooden pastry tamper, aka a pastry pusher – its actual use is to form tart shells with the large end and for mini baking tins for canapés or bite sized pies with the small end. In this instance it's the perfect tool to press the lamb tightly into the mould, you'll probably need to fill and press twice, so that each mould is two thirds full. When the moulds are full cover with the overlapped cling film. Return the moulds to the fridge and stack in twos.

Now for the Redcurrant and Port jus :

227g jar of redcurrant jelly

200ml of Port

Melt the jelly in a pan over a gentle heat, add the port and bring to the boil, uncovered for 10-12 minutes until syrupy. Leave to cool then cover and fridge until ready for use. You can freeze the jus ahead if you prefer, it will keep for a month. Defrost it at room temperature and re-heat to serve.

All prepped ahead and ready when I am!