Instant Pot Lamb Shoulder Roast

Ingredients:

About 2.2 lb / 1kg lamb shoulder without a joint, rolled or unrolled
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
A handful of fresh thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon of honey
1 + ½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup water
3 cloves of garlic
A few thyme sprigs
1–2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon of lemon zest or finely sliced rind
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds (optional)
2–3 lemon wedges

Directions:

If the lamb shoulder comes rolled and tied with a string, remove the string carefully (or cut it if you have extra butcher’s string to tie the meat back later on). Unroll the meat and season with a teaspoon of salt, some pepper, and then spread the thyme sprigs and leaves and garlic slices all over. Drizzle with the honey.

Now, carefully roll the meat back together to secure all the seasonings and herbs inside. Use the same butcher’s strings (or fresh ones) to tie the roll back together. It doesn’t need to look pretty or tight as we will unroll it again once it’s cooked. The string is only required to keep the flavors inside the roast meat.

Add a cup of water to the Instant Pot and add a few garlic cloves and a few thyme sprigs. Place the rolled piece of meat in the water. Place and lock the lid, making sure the pressure valve is pointing to Sealing.

Press Manual function, HIGH pressure and adjust the time to 40 minutes. After 3 beeps, the Instant Pot will begin building up the pressure and start the cooking process. Once the timer goes off, the Instant Pot will switch to Keeping Warm setting and it will start to release the pressure naturally. At this stage, you won’t be able to open the lid. Allow 10 minutes for this natural pressure release (NPR) and in the meantime, preheat the oven to 430 F/ 220 C.

After 10 minutes of NPR, release the rest of the pressure manually by turning the pressure valve to Venting. Watch out for the steam jet! Once the pressure is completely released, open the lid and using kitchen tongs or gloves, carefully remove the meat to a roasting try. Please note, the meat is quite soft at this stage so it’s a little fragile. If it breaks apart, don’t panic! Simply transfer all the pieces to the roasting tray.

Cut and remove the butcher’s string and allow the meat to unroll naturally. It should hold its shape slightly now that it’s cooked, anyway. Place the tray in the oven, middle shelf, for 10 minutes (maybe 15) until the meat is browned up slightly.

While the lamb roast is in the oven, prepare the garnishes for the finishing touches. We used some pomegranate seeds as they go well with lamb and look lovely, but you could also sprinkle some blueberries, olives, or sun-dried tomatoes instead.

Serve the dish topped with fresh parsley, lemon rind or zest, and any other garnishes you like. A side of lemon wedges is recommended to drizzle the lamb on the plates.