Do you love tacos? This Lamb tacos recipe is a must try! Mouth watering fragrant, slow cooked lamb shoulder, pulled apart with a couple of forks and wrapped in a fresh corn tortilla. Top with our roasted corn salsa and cool it down with a dollop of sour cream and guacamole, for a truly delicious taco feast.
Warning, you will be going back for seconds!
This recipe starts by rubbing a lamb shoulder in a delicious blend of spices, then slow cooking it to perfection. The lamb can be cooked early in the day or even the day before. The pulled lamb is then combined with some classic taco ingredients to add layers of spice, zing and texture. Creating a delicious dish and a great way to feed a crowd, enjoy!
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Taco ingredients.
- Lamb shoulder - you can use a bone in or out shoulder. You could also use a lamb leg, bone out, the cooking time would remain the same.
- Soft tortillas - we love using soft tortillas for taco's as they hold all the fillings and flavour together for you to enjoy.
- An onion and bulb of garlic to create a flavour base to place the lamb on.
- For the Mexican spice rub- a cinnamon stick, star anise, an orange, ground cumin, dried oregano, mild chilli powder, smoked paprika, a good pinch of salt and pepper and olive oil. All of these ingredients should be easy to find in your local supermarket and will create amazing flavour as your lamb slow cooks!
- For the roasted corn salsa- Corn kernels frozen (or tinned would work as well), a bunch of fresh coriander, juice of one lime, one deseeded and diced tomato, peeled and fine diced onion, half a red chilli finely sliced, oil and salt and pepper. Can be made ahead and stored in the fridge. Our corn salsa will add another zingy layer of flavour to this lamb tacos recipe, yum!
- Fillings - for this recipe we also add shredded white cabbage, sour cream, Mexican tomato salsa and guacamole.
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Mexican spice rub.
Using some classic Mexican flavour this spice rub is perfect for taco's and simple to make. Simply place all the spices, herbs, orange (zest and juice), salt and pepper and oil into a bowl and mix well. Then rub the mixture all over the meat, taking care to cover it well. It's that simple!
This is a great spice rub recipe to have to hand and can be used for a few different dishes. Rub over a whole chicken or rub the mix over some fresh market fish and grill. You can even take it vegetarian by using jack fruit as your replacement to the meat.
How to slow cook the lamb shoulder.
We love slow cooking lamb over a base layer of flavour, so we sit the lamb on top of onions and garlic. To create the rub, add all the spices, salt and pepper and oil into a bowl and mix well. Then rub the mix over the lamb, making sure to cover all the meat. In your roasting dish, create layers that will trap flavour but also let the heat around the meat. Start with a piece of baking paper in your roasting tray, then add the onions and garlic. Place the lamb on top, cover with another piece of baking paper and seal the whole dish with tin foil. Place the dish into a preheated oven and slow cook for 4 hours. Be ready for some amazing aroma to fill your home! Once cooked remove the lamb from the oven and allow to rest for 40 minutes.
Once rested shred the lamb with a fork, making sure your mix in the onion and garlic from the dish as well. And there you have it amazing pulled lamb, ready to fill your tacos!
Using the lamb leftovers.
If your lucky enough to have leftovers! You can use the slow cooked pulled lamb on top of nachos, wrapped in enchiladas or sandwiched between a couple of fresh tortillas and toasted for some tasty quesadillas.
Frequently asked questions.
For our lamb tacos recipe, we use a zingy corn salsa with shredded cabbage, tomato salsa, sour cream and guacamole. But you can also add black beans, tomatoes, avocado, coriander, chilli, flavoured rice and grilled veg to create delicious tasting tacos.
We love to use a soft tortilla to hold together all those amazing ingredients. Try and find an authentic brand for best flavour. We love Tio Pablo brand corn tortillas. They use masa harina flour, which is dried corn ground into a flour, creating the perfect flavour and texture for soft tortillas.
You cant beat the flavour and freshness of Mexican rubbed pulled lamb and roasted corn with a squeeze of lime and fresh coriander. Topped with the crunch of finely shredded cabbage all wrapped in a warm corn tortilla. YUM!
Hungry now... (we certain are) then its time to whip up this lamb tacos recipes and delight your family and friends, enjoy!
Love this dish? Please leave us a review below. And come join us on social, tag us in your delicious photos Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Hungry for more deliciousness? Subscribe to our newsletter, to receive our latest e-recipe book and never miss another ATK recipe!
Our goal is to share simple, tasty dishes created by Chef Shane and partner, Sara. Using Shane's understanding of flavours and knowledge of food, to teach and inspire you to create delicious food everyday and gain a new level of confidence in the kitchen. Sara understands what it's like preparing weekly dinners for a busy family of five and likes to create dishes that are easy, full of flavour and that the whole family will enjoy.
Happy cooking!
Originally posted 18th November 2021.
Recipe
Lamb Tacos
Ingredients
Method
- Pre heat oven to 150 °C / 302°F
- Grab your roasting dish and place a piece of baking paper on the base.
- Cut your onion into ¼, cut your garlc bulb through the middle and place into your roasting dish.
- In a small bowl add the cinnamon stick, star anise, zest and juice of your orange, ground cumin, dried oregano, chilli powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and oil. Give it a good mix and rub all over the lamb shoulder.
- Place the seasoned lamb onto your cut onion and garlic and cover with another piece of baking paper, then seal the dish with tin foil.
- Place into your pre heated oven for 4 hours to cook.
- Once cooked remove and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and paper from the dish, shred the lamb meat using a fork, make sure you mix the cooked onion and garlic through the meat as well.
- Defrost your corn kernels
- Heat a fry pan and add a little oil. Add the corn kernels to the hot oil and sautee to get some colour (careful as they will pop and spit a little).
- Once you have good colour, remove from the heat and squeeze in the lime juice. Add the diced tomato, finely diced red onion and sliced chilli. Roughly chop the coriander and mix through, add the oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Heat the tortillas as per the instructions, add a little bit of shredded cabbage, top with the pulled lamb, sprinkle over your roasted corn salsa.
- Add as much mexican tomato salsa and sour cream as you like and tuck in!
Tavo says
The taco recipe was delicious! A very nice twist to the Mexican carnitas!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
I love lamb shoulder but I've never used the meat in tacos. Definitely trying this!
Ieva says
Loved it! Lamb and corn salsa was a surprisingly wonderful combination, especially with the smoked paprika notes! Simple, yet luxurious tacos! Highly recommend this recipe 🙂
Tony says
Great recipe. Very simple to make. The meat was rich and flavoursome, balanced with the corn sweetness and smokiness, and the lime and coriander just set it off beautifully. It will be added to our menu rotation.