Lamb · Slow cooker adaptation

Baharat Pulled Lamb in the Slow Cooker (Jamie Oliver)

Jamie's Weber-barbecue pulled lamb dressed in Baharat spice rub, scored deep so the seasoning penetrates the meat. Original cooks low-and-slow on a gas grill at 120°C for 4.5 hours wrapped in butcher's paper with onions and garlic. The slow cooker version trades the bark and smoke for guaranteed soft-pulled lamb, then sits the joint under a hot grill for 10 minutes to recover some colour.

R By Richard · Adapted from Jamie Oliver · Published 8 June 2026
👁 139.5k source views ❤️ 2.2k source likes
⏱Prep 20 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 5 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
Slow Cooked Lamb | Jamie Oliver & Weber

Source video by Jamie Oliver on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Jamie's Weber-barbecue Baharat lamb adapted from a 4.5-hour indirect gas-grill cook into a slow cooker pulled lamb. The lamb is criss-cross scored every centimetre, rubbed with olive oil and a generous coat of Baharat spice blend (or any spice blend you fancy), then rested briefly to marinate. It sits on a bed of clanked-up onions and garlic in the slow cooker, with a small splash of water to start the steam. Eight hours on Low and it pulls apart with a fork. A 10-minute blast under a hot grill recovers some of the colour the barbecue would have given. Served with a charred aubergine and tomato salad, dukkah, tzatziki, chillies and warm flatbreads, the original Levantine spread, with the bark traded for tenderness.

Slow cooker notes: Original is a Weber gas-barbecue recipe: 10 minutes searing at 260°C, then 4.5 hours indirect-heat at ~120°C wrapped in butcher's paper with onions and garlic. Adapted for the slow cooker by laying the spice-rubbed joint on onions and garlic, adding 100 ml water for steam, and cooking on Low for 8 hours. You will lose the smoke and bark; a 10-minute blast under a hot grill at the end recovers colour. For the closest texture-match to the original, use shoulder rather than leg, it pulls more reliably than leg in a slow cooker.

Ingredients

Lamb
  • 2 kglamb shoulder, bone-in, deeply scored in a criss-cross pattern every 1 cm
  • olive oil, rubbed over the lamb before the spice
  • 2 tbspBaharat spice blend (or any spice blend you like), rubbed deep into the scored meat
  • sea salt, rubbed all over with the spice
Base
  • 3onions, clanked into big chunks
  • 1 headgarlic, broken into cloves, skin on
  • 100 mlwater
To serve
  • aubergine and tomato salad, aubergines and tomatoes charred and mixed with parsley, mint, garlic, olive oil and dukkah
  • flatbreads, warmed in a dry pan
  • tzatziki
  • fresh chillies
  • lemon wedges

Method

  1. Score the lamb shoulder in a criss-cross pattern, about 1 cm apart and 5 mm deep, on every face.

    ~5 min

  2. Rub the lamb with olive oil, then with a good coat of salt and Baharat spice blend, pushing the seasoning deep into the cuts. Rest at least 30 minutes (overnight is better; if marinating overnight, skip the salt and add a splash of lemon juice or vinegar to the rub).

    ~30 min

  3. Lay the chunked onions and garlic cloves in the bottom of the slow cooker as a trivet. Sit the lamb on top. Pour the 100 ml water down the side, not over the meat.

    ~3 min

  4. Lid on. Cook on Low for 8 hours (or High 5 hours) until the meat pulls apart with a fork.

    ~480 min

  5. Lift the lamb onto a tray and blast under a hot grill (or a 220°C oven) for 10 minutes to colour the surface.

    ~10 min

  6. While the lamb rests, char the aubergines and tomatoes (under a hot grill or on a dry pan), then mix with chopped parsley, mint, garlic, olive oil and a sprinkle of dukkah for the salad. Warm the flatbreads in a dry pan.

    ~15 min

  7. Rest the lamb for 15 minutes loosely tented in foil. Pull into chunks with two forks. Spoon over the soft caramelised onions and any pan juices.

    ~15 min

  8. Serve everything family-style: lamb on the board, salad, tzatziki, warm flatbreads, chillies and lemon wedges alongside. Build each bite into the bread.

    ~3 min

Frequently asked

Can I get a bark on the lamb in a slow cooker?
Not the same as a barbecue, no. The 10-minute hot-grill or hot-oven blast at the end is the closest you'll get, surface colour without the smoke.
What is Baharat?
A Middle Eastern spice blend, typically black pepper, allspice, cumin, coriander, cassia, clove, cardamom and nutmeg. Any warm Middle Eastern blend works (ras el hanout, harissa rub, dukkah).
Can I use lamb leg instead of shoulder?
Yes, but leg is leaner and won't pull as reliably as shoulder. Knock an hour off the slow cooker time and serve sliced rather than pulled if you do.
Can I cook from frozen?
No. Defrost fully in the fridge first; cooking lamb from frozen in a slow cooker leaves it too long in the food-safety danger zone.
What goes best with this?
Beyond the salad and flatbreads, anything fresh and acidic, pickled red onions, lemon-dressed couscous, or a chopped tomato and cucumber salad with sumac. The richness of the lamb wants brightness.
Extraction notes (transparency): Lamb cut and weight not stated in the source (cook references 'the meat' without specifying); set to lamb shoulder around 2 kg as the best slow-cooker match for the pulled-lamb endpoint. Baharat spice quantity stated as 'a good pinch'; set to 2 tablespoons for a 2 kg joint as a sensible interpretation. Onion and garlic counts not stated; defaults given. Aubergine salad, dukkah, tzatziki and flatbread quantities are not stated and are tracked as 'to taste' accompaniments rather than precise recipe steps.