Lamb shoulder was made for low and slow cooking. Smoke first. Build the bark. Tray it with onions and stock until it softens right down, then rest it properly before pulling.

This version uses TEMPER, apple wood smoke, garlic yoghurt, pickled red onions, fresh herbs and charred lemon. Rich lamb, soft flatbreads, sharp onions, cool yoghurt and a clean hit of citrus at the end.

The lamb is cooked on the Kamado Joe, then the flatbreads are finished on the FlexFlame while the meat rests. Simple setup. Big result.

Step 1 – The Night Before: Prep the Lamb

Trim any loose or scruffy bits from the lamb shoulder, but leave a good amount of fat in place for flavour and moisture.

Lightly score the fat cap if needed, then season the lamb all over with TEMPER. Make sure the rub gets into the edges, folds and scored sections.

Place the lamb on a rack or tray and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight. This helps dry the surface, lets the seasoning settle in, and sets you up for better colour and bark the next day.

Step 2 – Take the Lamb Out

Take the lamb out of the fridge while you light and stabilise the Kamado Joe.

Leave it on the rack or tray while the BBQ comes up to temperature. You are not trying to bring it fully to room temperature, just taking the fridge chill off while you get set up.

Step 3 – Set Up the Kamado Joe

Set the Kamado Joe for indirect cooking and stabilise it at 120–130°C.

Add 1–2 chunks of apple wood to the charcoal. Let the smoke clean up before the lamb goes on. You want thin, clean smoke rather than thick white smoke.

Apple wood gives a softer smoke that works well with lamb and lets the TEMPER seasoning come through.

Step 4 – Smoke the Lamb

While the pork is smoking, blend the drained roasted red peppers with the orange juice, orange zest, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, and chilli flakes until smooth.

Place the lamb on the Kamado Joe over indirect heat. If one side has more fat or scoring, place that side facing up.

Close the lid and let it cook. This first stage is about smoke, colour and bark. The lamb will not be tender yet, so avoid opening the lid too often.

Step 5 – Build the Bark

Transfer the smoked pork belly strips to a foil tray. Add the butter, honey, soft dark brown sugar, and apple juice.

Hold the Kamado Joe at 120–130°C and smoke the lamb for around 3–4 hours.

Start checking properly when the internal temperature reaches around 65–70°C.

You are looking for good colour, a set rub, a surface that no longer looks wet, fat starting to render and bark beginning to form.

Do not wrap based on temperature alone. Move to the tray stage when the bark and colour look right.

Step 6 – Tray and Wrap the Lamb

When the lamb is around 70–75°C internal and the bark has formed, move it into a foil tray.

Add the sliced onions to the bottom of the tray, then place the lamb on top.

Pour 300–500ml stock around the lamb rather than over the top, so you do not wash off the rub and bark.

Cover the tray tightly with foil and return it to the Kamado Joe.

Once covered, you can let the pit run slightly hotter at around 130–140°C to help push the lamb towards tenderness.

Step 7 – Cook Covered Until Tender

Pour 300 ml of the reserved braising liquid into a pan and add the BBQ sauce, honey, apple juice, and apple cider vinegar.

Keep cooking the lamb covered until it becomes soft and ready to pull.

Start checking tenderness from around 90°C internal. It will likely finish somewhere around 93–96°C, but temperature alone is not the final call.

The lamb is ready when a probe slides in with little resistance, the meat feels soft, the bone wiggles, and the shoulder looks like it will pull apart easily.

If it still feels tight, continue cooking.

Step 8 – Rest the Lamb

Once the lamb is tender, keep it covered and rest it for at least 1 hour.

You can rest it in the covered tray, wrap the tray in towels, place it in a cool box, or hold it in an unheated oven.

Resting helps the meat relax and keeps the juices in the lamb.

Shut down the Kamado Joe vents once the lamb comes off.

Step 9 – Make the Garlic Yoghurt

While the lamb rests, mix the Greek yoghurt, grated garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt in a bowl.

Taste and adjust if needed. If the yoghurt is too thick, loosen it with a small splash of water.

The sauce should be creamy, sharp and fresh to balance the richness of the lamb.

Step 10 – Make the Flatbread Dough

Mix the self-raising flour, Greek yoghurt, salt and olive oil in a bowl.

Bring everything together into a dough, then knead briefly until smooth enough to roll.

Rest the dough for 20 minutes.

Divide it into 6–8 balls, then roll each one to around 2–3mm thick.

Step 11 – Preheat the FlexFlame

Set up the FlexFlame with the pizza stone and preheat it to 280–300°C.

Let the stone heat all the way through before cooking the flatbreads.

The hot stone helps the flatbreads puff, colour and cook quickly while staying soft in the middle.

Step 13 – Cook the Flatbreads

Cook each flatbread directly on the dry pizza stone with no oil.

Cook for around 60–90 seconds per side until they bubble, puff slightly, get brown spots and pick up a little char.

Stack the cooked flatbreads under a clean tea towel as they come off. This helps them steam slightly and stay soft.

Step 13 – Char the Lemons

Cut the lemons in half and char them cut-side down on the FlexFlame, griddle or another hot surface until they pick up colour.

The charred lemon adds acidity and a light smoky edge, which helps balance the richness of the pulled lamb.

Step 14 – Pull the Lamb

Open the tray and save the juices.

Pull the lamb into chunks and strands, keeping some texture rather than shredding it too finely.

Mix a little of the tray juice back through the meat to keep it moist. Taste before adding more seasoning or extra juice.

Step 15 – Build the Flatbreads

Start with a warm flatbread, then add a smear of garlic yoghurt.

Top with pulled TEMPER lamb, pickled red onions, fresh herbs, a squeeze of charred lemon and optional chilli oil.

Add a small spoon of tray juice if needed, then serve while the flatbreads are warm.

Ingredients

Lamb / BBQ

1 whole bone-in lamb shoulder, around 2.6kg
TEMPER rub
2 onions, sliced
300–500ml stock
1–2 chunks apple wood
Charcoal

Flatbreads

300g self-raising flour
250g Greek yoghurt
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Extra flour, for rolling

Garlic Yoghurt

250g Greek yoghurt
1–2 garlic cloves, grated
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt

To Build

Pickled red onions
Fresh mint, parsley or coriander
2 lemons, halved and charred
Chilli oil, optional
Reserved lamb tray juices