An afternoon BBQ mutton shoulder

I was given a wonderful shoulder of mutton from my friends at Pitmans Farm with the caveat that it was one of their older sheep, and would take a lot of cooking, so I thought what better way to treat this large hunk of meat but cook it low and slow on the hot smoker for the afternoon.

I made up a wet rub with an ancho chilli, some oregano, sea salt, a couple of allspice berries, some black pepper, a little white wine vinegar and some water to loosen the mix. I blitzed this in my spice grinder and then rubbed into the mutton.

I fired up the smoker and hot smoked the shoulder for 7 hours until it reached a temperature of 170 deg F and so was well done, usually I’d go for medium for lamb, but this needed some proper cooking. I would ideally have liked to cook it a little more, up to 190 deg F, but the meat was so tasty, succenlent and tender I was more than happy.

It was perfect served with home made flat breads, coleslaw, and some “Holy Fuck” chilli sauce.