Cyril Lignac's lamb shoulder recipe

© Yann Deret © Cyril Lignac et Aude Rambour  

Chef Cyril Lignac, the favorite chef of the French, is the ultimate savior of family meals ! His "Fait Maison" (homemade) books are always best-sellers, dealing with recipes as elegant as they are easily achievable. Today, our food radar has stopped at a recipe that will surely impress your guests : confit lamb shoulder. A delight...

For 2 people

• 1 shoulder of Aveyron lamb, 800 g to 1 kg
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 2 cloves of garlic with the skin on
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Olive oil
• Fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper

For the cooking juice :

• 300 g veal or lamb stew
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 1 onion
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• Neutral oil

For garnish :

• 1 piece of preserved lemon peel
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• ¼ bunch fresh coriander

1. To prepare the cooking juice, in a hot sauté pan, add a dash of oil, then the meat cut into small cubes, brown them well and mix to ensure even cooking. Add a generous knob of butter to increase caramelization and finely chopped onion. Then add thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Pour in water to cover half of the meat and let it cook over very low heat for at least 1 hour (make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan).
2. Ask the butcher to prepare the lamb shoulder by removing excess fat and the blade bone, but you can keep the bone at the end. Preheat your oven to 130 °C (266 °F). Season the meat with fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper. In a hot casserole dish, add a dash of oil and begin to brown the meat on all sides. Add the butter and continue browning, then add the crushed cloves of garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, and baste the meat.
3. Pour the meat juice into the casserole dish, covering the meat, and cover the casserole. Bake for 5 hours. Remember to check the cooking progress regularly to prevent it from burning at the bottom of the casserole. You can add a little water if necessary.
4. At the end of cooking, set the oven to grill at 200 °C (392 °F), remove the shoulder from the casserole dish and place it in a dish, strain the juice through a sieve and pour it over the shoulder. Grill the shoulder for about 10 minutes. Baste with juice.
5. When serving the shoulder, top it with a fine julienne of preserved lemon peel, previously toasted sliced almonds, and coriander leaves. Serve the shoulder with a salad, mashed potatoes, or couscous.

Also, discover croissants with burrata granola to enhance your brunch and the recipe for pan-fried chicken with ponzu sauce.