You've been making lamb wrong! This is the secret ingredient you need (2025)

Millions of Britain's will tuck into a lamb roast dinner on Sunday as families gather to celebrate Easter.

Lamb, the traditional meal for an Easter lunch, makesshow-stopping centrepiece that's excellent for feeding a crowd and keeping them happy.

Speaking exclusively to FEMAILJack Stein, Chef Director at Rick Stein Restaurants, shared his top tips for making the meat - including a very unusual seasoning.

Jack is the son of TV chef and restaurateur Rick Stein and oversees the restaurant menus at the group.

From what cut of lamb you should choose to what seasonings go best with it, Jack tells FEMAIL how to do Easter feasting right.

Jack recommends lamb shoulder for Easter, which can easily feed between six to eight people.

Lamb shoulder is particularly good for slow cooking, as it becomes more tender and cooks over a long period of time.

The chef said to choose lamb shoulder that has plenty of fat, as that's what makes it so delicious and tender.

'The fat will meld with the seasonings and it will become the best thing ever,' he adds.

To prepare the lamb before cooking, Jack recommends making small incisions all over the lamb shoulder with the tip of a sharp knife, before studding it with anchovies, garlic and thyme.

Rosemary is the typical herb of choice with lamb, but Jack swears by thyme instead.

'Thyme is my favourite herb, it just pairs so well with everything, especially lamb,' he explains.

Anchovies add an 'amazing savoury quality' to the meat, as they are full of salty, umami goodness.

And, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to let the meat come up to room temperature after being in the fridge before cooking it.

'You can if you want to, but it doesn't make too much of a difference.

'What's important is your oven temperature.'

Lamb shoulder lends itself well to low and slow cooking, but getting it into a very hot oven at the start is the key to deliciousness, Jack says.

He advises getting the lamb into an oven heated to 220C for the first 30 minutes of cooking, before dropping the temperature straight down to 100C for another two hours.

'The meat will be falling off the bone,' Jack says.

This means that, in total, the lamb will need to be cooked for two and a half hours, so ensure you get it into the oven early in the day.

Once it's in there, you can go about making any sides and sauces you fancy - Jack highly recommends making your own mint sauce by mixing together 50g of finely chopped mint leaves, 100ml of vinegar and 25g of sugar.

Asparagus season is starting and it's a great accompaniment to lamb shoulder, Jack says.

However, his method of cooking asparagus is quite unusual.

Rather than blanching or sauteeing the asparagus spears, Jack says that poaching them in oil is the best way to cook them.

'In a small saucepan, add a generous amount of olive oil or rapeseed oil and poach the asparagus in that for three to four minutes in the hot oil,' he says.

'If you boil asparagus in water, it loses a lot of its flavour. This method preserves so much flavour, simply serve with a bit of salt and hollandaise sauce or Parmesan.'

Aside from asparagus, Jack is also a fan of wild garlic, which is coming to the end of its short season in the UK.

Wild garlic has become hugely trendy in recent years among foodies, particularly as they can be foraged from woodland floors.

The green leaves and white flowers, which are both edible, have a distinctive garlicky smell and flavour.

If you can get your hands on any wild garlic, Jack says making a compound butter with the plant is the best way to eat it with Easter lamb.

Simply put wild garlic, some Marmite and apple cider vinegar, and softened butter into a food processor and whizz the mixture until combined.

'You can freeze the butter and use it throughout the year,' Jack says. 'It goes with everything - lamb, scallops, pasta, toast.'