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    You are here: Home » Food » The Smoker » Smoked Pulled Lamb Sliders

    Smoked Pulled Lamb Sliders

    October 13, 2017 By Mary 15 Comments

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    Smoked Lamb Shoulder is slow smoked to perfection, and then tenderly pulled making incredible smoked pulled lamb sliders.

    Smoked Pulled Lamb Sliders topped with slaw
    Pulled lamb slider with homemade slaw

    Living here in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) gives us access to amazing meat. And one meat that stands out to is lamb. Often seen in Australia or New Zealand, lamb is common among PNW restaurants and is prepared in so many ways. Well, we had to put our own spin on it, so today we’re talking about pulled lamb shoulder.

    Jump to:
    • The Cut
    • How to Trim a Lamb Shoulder
    • Best Seasoning for Lamb Shoulder
    • How to Smoke Lamb Shoulder
    • Lamb Slider Toppings
    • Wine Pairing for Pulled Lamb Sliders 
    • The Products We Used
    • More Smoked Lamb Recipes
    • Smoked Lamb Sliders

    You are familiar with using a pork shoulder, which is usually slowly smoked to perfection and then used to make delectable pulled pork sandwiches. But have you tried the same method with a lamb shoulder, and using that elegant, flavorful meat to make pulled lamb, then take that tender, juicy, delicious pulled lamb to make pulled lamb sliders?

    Smoked Lamb Shoulder
    A bone in lamb shoulder smoking before wrapping.

    And the results are fantastic.

    You get that same tenderness and juiciness like you would with pulled pork, but with that incredible flavor that only lamb meat could provide.

    The Cut

    Lamb shoulder is going to come from the same area of the animal as pork shoulder.  The primary difference is that most lamb you buy is smaller, and I find it runs a little leaner than a pig.  You can buy it bone-in, or you can ask for it boneless.  It is easiest to just get boneless, it will cost a little more for the butchering, but it saves you time.

    Going bone-in?  It can come in many ways, commonly will have the rack on it, or the upper portion of the ribs.  I will typically remove this along the rib line.  It doesn’t add to the meat at all when cooking, you can salvage some of it for cooking like a lamb rib or lamb lollipop.  Discard the rib rack, and focus on the meat that is remaining.

    Raw Lamb Shoulder
    Bone in lamb shoulder.

    In these pictures, and in the video we have a bone-in. But if you want to see both examples you can see that on a previous post we did on pulled lamb using both boneless and bone-in.

    How to Trim a Lamb Shoulder

    Lamb is smaller and it’s leaner than pork, so I like to trim a fair amount of fat off, and to score the side of the meat that you will see when the rib bone is removed. This is the fat cap.  Scoring will allow the fat to render more and I find it gets more flavor into the meat.

    Boneless – For a boneless roast, remove any silver skin. If there are large fat pockets (and likely their won’t be), then remove them too with a sharp boning knife.

    Bone-In – Gently remove the ribs by cutting along the underside of the rib bones, or the side where most of the meat is. Cut along the bone to get one large roast. Remove any cartilage that may be along the ribs.

    Raw Lamb Shoulder
    Seasoned lamb shoulder.

    Best Seasoning for Lamb Shoulder

    I love the taste of lamb, so in our case we keep it simple with salt, pepper, and garlic powder in equal parts.  The ole’ SPG rub.  You can add dried herbs too, like sage, oregano, thyme or rosemary. Because of how long we are cooking this, I stay away from fresh herbs as I have found they turn bitter over five plus hours of cooking.

    How to Smoke Lamb Shoulder

    It’s a shoulder and I find I follow my pork shoulder method.  Smoke – Spritz – Wrap – Rest – Pull.  What we’re doing is getting smoke and the initial bark going, then we are spritzing to get liquid and acidity onto the exterior.

    Place the seasoned shoulder on the smoker with the smoker set to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. This is when you insert a Bluetooth remote temperature probe like the Thermoworks Smoke Unit. It will monitor the internal temperature remotely while it cooks. Close the lid and smoke for 90 minutes.

    How to Smoke a Lamb Shoulder for pulled lamb sliders
    Place on smoker with temperature probes and water bath.

    Next mix together apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce in a food safe spray bottle. After the first 90 minutes of smoking start to spray the lamb every 15 minutes. Contrary to what you hear, a quick lid open and then spray/close will not loose a lot of ambient heat.

    Spritzing the lamb shoulder on the smoker

    That liquid helps in adding more smoke flavor as the smoke adheres to the liquid. Continue to spritz in 15 minute increments until the internal temperature of the shoulder is 165 – 170 degrees F. Remove the probe from the shoulder and in a large pan, pour the remaining spritz in the pan, and cover with foil. Return to smoker, insert the meat thermometer probe again into the thickest part of the meat and continue smoking.

    The final step is to continue smoking until the internal temparature reaches 190 degrees F. At that point, use an instant read thermometer and probe the shoulder at a few points. If the probe easily goes into the meat like room temperature butter it’s time to remove the lamb. Lamb cuts will all vary in size and marbling, so the lamb may be done anywhere from 190 degrees F up to 205.

    After removing the lamb, let it rest in a cooler with no ice for one hour. This allows the meat to slowly settle and retain its juices. Then remove and pull with a couple of forks.

    Pulled Smoked Lamb Meat
    Use a couple of large forks to pull the meat after it has rested.

    Lamb Slider Toppings

    After pulling we make the sliders. We strongly encourage a brioche bun for the buttery soft flavor. But any bun you like will do.

    You may hear that mint and lamb are a thing….but frankly I am not a mint fan with my lamb, so we use a simple rosemary aioli with a little garlic. For the aioli, we simply take a cup of mayo, add one finely diced garlic clove, and add ½ tablespoon of finely diced fresh rosemary, and then squeeze a little lemon in there. That easy.

    Want a variation for the topping? Try our jalapeno chimichurri.

    Then add a simple coleslaw. Either buy a premade mix, or try your own homemade version.

    Chef’s Tip: If you don’t have a sharp knife, mince the garlic using a fine mesh grader.

    Pulled Lamb Sandwich topped with aioli and slaw

    Wine Pairing for Pulled Lamb Sliders 

    Lamb has so many amazing wine pairing options. This is one where you should go with your gut. It’s great with Rhone style wines, but it’s also fantastic with Italian wines like Chianti. One of my favorites is Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero in Spain. My default is usually a bigger style Pinot Noir (the obvious reason for that is that I live in Oregon’s Pinot country). But try to find something that can show some fun fruit characteristics mixed with some earthy notes to match the gamey flavors of the lamb, with a touch of herbal notes.  Stay away from the big heavies like Cab or Zin as they will overpower the gorgeous flavor of that meat.


    The Products We Used

    In the video and some of these photos you’ll find a few of our favorite products such as the:

    ThermoWorks ThermaQ Blue Digital Thermometer

    There are a lot of wifi and blue tooth thermometers out there.  First, we are huge fans of the durability and craftsmanship of all ThermoWorks products.  This one has great range and most importantly connects with an app for your phone so you can track and save your cook.

    These Insulated Silicone BBQ Gloves

    Durable gloves for cooking are key, you are grabbing meat off the smoker that may be 200 degrees or more.  So these insulated gloves are great because they are dishwasher safe.  I made the mistake of using a pair that was not, and the interior of gloves gets mildewy and gross after a few uses. One downfall is that they’re pretty bulky so you don’t have a lot of fine motor skills to do detailed work, but they’re good for the price.

    These Heat Resistant Gloves

    Great for open fire. I can physically touch a burning log and move it to an appropriate place in the fire chamber. I can also touch a scolding hot cast iron pan and wouldn’t feel it. They’re no good for directly touching food, but pretty awesome for everything else that’s hot.


    More Smoked Lamb Recipes

    Like lamb? You’ll love these additional lamb recipes.

    • Smoked Lamb Burgers with Rosemary Aioli and Pickled Onions
    • Bone-in Leg of Lamb Roast with Garlic Butter
    • Smoked Lamb Meatballs
    • Boneless Leg of Lamb with Herb Crust
    • Smoked Lamb Shoulder and What to do with it
    • Smoked Lamb Chops

    This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you click on the link, we may receive a small commission if you purchase through the link. We partner with brands we know and love and use and it helps keep the blog going!

    If you like this recipe we’d truly appreciate it if you would give this recipe a star review! And if you share any of your pics on Instagram use the hashtag #vindulge. We LOVE to see it when you cook our recipes.

    Smoked Pulled Lamb Sliders

    Smoked Lamb Sliders

    Slowly smoked lamb shoulder pulled and then turned into a savory and delicious sandwich.
    3.40 from 5 votes
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 8 hours
    Resting Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 8 hours 45 minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 361kcal
    Author: Mary Cressler | Vindulge
    Cost: $25.00

    Ingredients

    To Smoke the Lamb Shoulder:

    • 4-5 lb boneless lamb shoulder or 6-7 lb bone-in lamb shoulder
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • ¼ cup beef rub The beef rub is equal parts kosher salt, granulated garlic, and coarse black pepper.
    • 10 ounces spritz

    For the Spritz:

    • 4 ounces Worcestershire sauce
    • 6 ounces apple cider vinegar

    Rosemary Aioli

    • 1 cup mayonnaise
    • 1 clove minced garlic
    • ½ tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
    • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice About ½ a lemon.
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, we use oak wood for lamb. Add a water bath for moisture in the smoker.
    • Trim excess fat off of the lamb. Coat with olive oil and dry rub. Place lamb on smoker uncovered for 90 minutes.
    • After 90 minutes of smoking begin spritzing with a spray bottle every 30 minutes until the internal temperature of the lamb shoulder is 165 degrees. This could take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours.
    • At 165 degrees place the lamb shoulder in a foil pan, with the rest of the spritz liquid and then cover tightly with foil.
    • Place back into smoker until the internal temperature of the lamb reads 200 – 205 degrees F, or your meat thermometer goes into the lamb like soft butter. This will take roughly 2-3 more hours (but remember, cook to temperature not time).
    • Remove from smoker and let rest for 30 minutes, it is best to place into a cooler (that does NOT have ice) for an hour allowing the meat to rest and the liquified fat to redistribute within the meat.
    • Pull lamb and serve with slaw, rosemary aioli and your favorite bun, we go brioche for the bun.

    Easy Rosemary Aioli

    • Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to incorporate.

    Video

    Notes

    After pulling we make the sliders. We strongly encourage a brioche bun for the buttery soft flavor. But any bun you like will do.
    You may hear that mint and lamb are a thing….but frankly I am not a mint fan with my lamb, so we use a simple rosemary aioli with a little garlic. For the aioli, we simply take a cup of mayo, add one finely diced garlic clove, and add ½ tablespoon of finely diced fresh rosemary, and then squeeze a little lemon in there. That easy.
    Want a variation for the topping? Try our jalapeno chimichurri.
    Then add a simple coleslaw. Either buy a premade mix, or try your own homemade version.
    Chef’s Tip: If you don’t have a sharp knife, mince the garlic using a fine mesh grader.
    Find the perfect wine pairing at the Vindulge Wine Shop

    Nutrition

    Calories: 361kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 319mg | Potassium: 739mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 92IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 5mg
    Tried this recipe? We would love to see!Mention @vindulge or use the hashtag #vindulge

    « FEAST 2017 Smoked! Photos
    Smoked Hazelnut Nutella (recipe and video) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Hillary Harper says

      October 15, 2017 at 10:04 pm

      These look incredible! We normally braise a lamb shoulder or shanks, but I’ve never thought to smoke it and make sliders! Definitely going to have to try these soon.

      Reply
    2. Kelsey says

      October 14, 2017 at 11:13 pm

      Oh that sounds so fantastic! My husband and I love Greek seasoned lamb and have been wanting to experience with other flavors. This looks like a great option!

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 18, 2017 at 9:58 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    3. Pech says

      October 14, 2017 at 12:03 am

      Wow, never would have thought to use lamb this way but with the more intense flavor of Lamb this would be great on sliders to make mini sandwiches that stand up to the bread and meat ratio well!

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 18, 2017 at 9:58 pm

        Yes we love this as sliders too, it’s a great combo!

        Reply
    4. MK says

      October 13, 2017 at 8:23 pm

      This looks so amazing! I can imagine sipping on a Tempranillo in between bites with those spices used. Rosemary aioli is an interestingly delectable choice.

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 18, 2017 at 9:56 pm

        Thank you! The rosemary aioli is so awesome as a backdrop to the lamb.

        Reply
    5. Erin (Platings and Pairings) says

      October 13, 2017 at 2:19 pm

      Oh my goodness this looks good! I just so happen to have a lamb roast in my freezer too… I may need to make these sliders!

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 13, 2017 at 5:22 pm

        Get on it, girl!!! Go smoke it on your Big Green Egg!!!!

        Reply
    6. Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife says

      October 13, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      Ooh I love lamb too – I think more than pork, lamb can really bring out fragrant herbs and spices. This looks so delicious!

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 13, 2017 at 5:21 pm

        Thanks 🙂

        Reply

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