Lamb · Slow cooker adaptation

Jamie Oliver Slow Cooker Stuffed Lamb Shoulder

Deboned shoulder of lamb opened out like a book, packed with a merguez-and-sourdough stuffing scented with sage and fennel, then tied tight and given a long, low cook. Original is an oven slow roast; here it goes into the slow cooker so the centrepiece minds itself while you are with family.

R By Richard · Adapted from Jamie Oliver · Published 7 June 2026
👁 569.5k source views ❤️ 5.1k source likes
⏱Prep 45 min
🍲Slow cook 10 hr (Low) / 6 hr (High)
🍽Serves 8
Slow Roasted Lamb | Jamie Oliver

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

Jamie's celebration shoulder of lamb adapted for the slow cooker. A boned 3 kg shoulder is opened out and packed with a stuffing of merguez sausagemeat, fennel, sage and torn sourdough bound with a glug of white wine. The roll goes into the slow cooker on top of the lamb bones and a head of garlic, with white wine and a splash of water in the bottom. Ten hours on Low and the meat pulls apart with a fork; the bones reduce down into an intense gravy. You give up the crisp roast surface for completely hands-off tenderness, which is the trade Jamie himself argues for in the original (be with the family, not the oven).

Slow cooker notes: Original method is a 4-hour slow roast at 150°C. Moved into the slow cooker on Low for 10 hours (or High 6). Basting and water splashes from the oven method are replaced by a 200 ml splash of water added with the wine, since slow cookers retain moisture. The stuffing is packed inside the rolled shoulder as in the original; the resulting outer surface is tender rather than crisp. For a crisp finish, transfer the rested joint to a hot oven (220°C) for 15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

Lamb
  • 3 kgshoulder of lamb, deboned, boned and butterflied open; reserve the chopped bones
Stuffing
  • merguez sausages, squeezed out of skins into chunks
  • 2fennel bulbs, stalks finely sliced, bulbs roughly chopped, fronds kept for garnish
  • 2onions, peeled and chopped
  • fresh sage leaves, torn
  • 175 mlwhite wine
  • 250 gsourdough bread, cut into 1-2 cm chunks, crusts kept
  • olive oil, for the pan
Seasoning
  • sea salt, generous
  • black pepper, generous
Slow cooker base
  • 1 headgarlic, broken into cloves, skin on
  • 200 mlwater

Method

  1. Squeeze the merguez out of its skins in chunks into a hot oiled pan over medium-high heat. Break up with a spoon as it browns.

    ~5 min

  2. Add the chopped onion, sliced fennel stalks and chopped fennel bulb. Tear in the sage leaves. Stir and let everything cook down for about 20 minutes until the veg is soft, sweet and the volume has roughly halved.

    ~20 min

  3. Pour in the white wine, raise the heat, and let it bubble away until almost gone.

    ~4 min

  4. Stir through the torn sourdough chunks. Take off the heat and let the stuffing cool completely.

    ~30 min

  5. Open the lamb shoulder out like a book. Season the inside generously with salt and pepper from a height, then pack the cooled stuffing over half of it.

    ~5 min

  6. Fold the lamb over to enclose the stuffing. Tie tight at 1-inch intervals with seven or eight pieces of butcher's string, starting in the middle and working out. It does not need to look chef-perfect, just secure.

    ~10 min

  7. Lay the chopped lamb bones and the broken-up garlic head in the bottom of a large slow cooker as a trivet. Sit the rolled lamb on top. Pour the water down the side (not over the meat).

    ~3 min

  8. Lid on. Cook on Low for 10 hours (or High for 6 hours) until a fork slides in and the meat pulls apart.

    ~600 min

  9. Lift the joint onto a board to rest for 20 minutes. For a crisp surface, transfer to a hot oven at 220°C for 15 minutes before resting.

    ~20 min

  10. Strain the slow cooker juices through a sieve into a pan, skim off excess fat, and reduce by about a third over high heat for a quick gravy.

    ~10 min

  11. Snip the strings off the lamb and carve into thick slices. Serve with the gravy and reserved fennel fronds.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Will the lamb hold its rolled shape in the slow cooker?
Yes, as long as it is tied tight every inch with butcher's string. The string stays on through the whole cook.
Can I use leg of lamb instead?
Yes, but leg is leaner and will not become as soft as shoulder. Drop the slow cooker time by an hour or two so it does not go dry.
What if I cannot get merguez?
Jamie names Cumberland or chorizo as direct swaps. Any well-flavoured fresh sausage you like works, squeezed out of its skins for the stuffing.
How do I avoid stale bread going gluey?
Use proper sourdough with structure (not soft sliced white). If your loaf is rock hard, refresh by soaking briefly in water or milk, squeezing dry, then stirring into the stuffing.
Can I prep this the day before?
Yes, Jamie does. Stuff, roll and tie the lamb on the day before, keep it covered in the fridge overnight, then drop it into the slow cooker first thing on the day.
Extraction notes (transparency): Merguez sausage, onion and sage quantities not stated in the source; left null and flagged. White wine stated as 'a glass' (~175 ml). Sourdough 250 g, lamb 3 kg, fennel 2 explicit. Original cooks the joint in an oven tray with lamb bones underneath as a trivet; adapted to slow cooker by laying bones in the bottom of the pot.