Smoked Pulled Lamb Shawarma

Juicy smoked pulled lamb shawarma cooked low & slow on the BBQ then braised until melt in your mouth tender. This lamb is full of flavour & makes the best kebabs!

This smoked pulled lamb shawarma is juicy, incredibly tender & packed full of flavour. It’s a twist on a classic shawarma that’s made by marinating a whole lamb shoulder in homemade shawarma paste, which is then slow cooked in a barbecue to form a deep bark before being braised in lamb stock until the meat’s melt in your mouth tender!

Traditionally, lamb shawarma tends to be made by cooking slices of marinated lamb on a vertical, charcoal spit before it is thinly sliced, to serve. Unfortunately, I don’t have a spit at home, so I’ve made use of a charcoal barbecue & used a whole, bone in lamb shoulder. It’s not entirely traditional but it sure is tasty & makes for the most amazing homemade kebabs when served with salad, pickles & garlic sauce.

This pulled lamb is incredibly easy to make & can even be cooked in an oven if you haven’t got a barbecue (or if it’s raining!). Lamb is a hugely underrated meat to smoke but once you try it, it might just become your new favourite.

If you’ve ever wondered where the “smoke” part of this blog’s name comes from, it’s from this style of cooking! Cooking outside, over a live fire is easily one of my absolute favourite ways to cook & it doesn’t get much better than this barbecue lamb shawarma. For more barbecue recipes, like pulled pork & grilled chicken, take a look at our main course recipe collection!

What Is Lamb Shawarma?

Lamb shawarma originates from the Middle East & is made by marinating thin slices of fatty lamb (usually shoulder) in a blend of spices like paprika, cumin, coriander, fennel, ginger & sumac, along with fresh garlic & lemon. Traditionally, the marinated slices of lamb are stacked onto a vertical spit & slow cooked before being carved into thin slices and served on flatbreads or pita.

This smoked & pulled version of a lamb shawarma takes the same flavours & cut of lamb but takes a slightly different approach. Instead of slicing the lamb, the shoulder is left whole then is cooked on a barbecue until it’s pull apart tender.

Instead of being sliced to serve, the smoked meat is shredded into chunks of flavourful pieces. Both versions are juicy, tender & delicious but smoking is a lot easier & is great for people that don’t have specialised equipment like a spit, at home. It’s a fantastic way to replicate the flavours of a traditional lamb shawarma at home, using a BBQ.

Ingredients For Smoked Pulled Lamb Shawarma

Here’s everything that you’ll need to make a tender, smoked lamb shawarma at home! This includes which cut of lamb to use, what you’ll need for the homemade shawarma marinade & what type of charcoal or wood is best for smoking,

• Lamb Shoulder – For maximum flavour, it’s best to use a whole lamb shoulder, with the bone left in. A 2.5kg shoulder will make at least 10 generous portions of shawarma. A leg of lamb will work as well as it has plenty of fat but I find that using shoulder makes the juiciest, most tender pulled lamb.
• Marinade – We’re making a classic shawarma marinade with toasted cumin & coriander seeds, fresh garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper & plenty of dried spices (we’re talking paprika, sumac, cloves, turmeric & ginger). These are all classic shawarma flavourings that work great with lamb!
• Charcoal – Using a really good hardwood charcoal is key to cooking great barbecue! I used charcoal made from hornbeam which imparts a sweet, smokey flavour but feel free to experiment with different varieties. Ash or birch would be some other good options.
• Lamb Stock – We’re using stock to braise the meat once it has been smoked. A stock cube dissolved in hot water will work well or you can use homemade. If you haven’t got any lamb stock, beef, pork or chicken stock will work as well.
• Vinegar Spritz – This is used to spray the meat as it smokes, which makes the lamb take on more smoke & colour. We’re making our spritz with 1 part apple cider vinegar & 3 parts water.

A Note On Barbecues

I cooked my lamb shawarma on a Weber smokey mountain but this recipe can be cooked on any barbecue, as long as you can cook on it indirectly. If you’re using a charcoal barbecue, I’d recommend cooking over a really good hardwood charcoal, for the best flavour!

How To Make Smoked Pulled Lamb Shawarma

This smoked lamb shoulder is cooked a similar way to a classic smoked pork shoulder for pulled pork. This isn’t a quick recipe to make, we need to marinate the meat overnight in a homemade shawarma paste, cook it slowly in a smoker until it forms a deep bark then braise in lamb stock until pull apart tender. It’s worth the wait though! This smoked pulled lamb shawarma is tender, juicy & packed full of flavour.

1. Make The Shawarma Marinade

To make the shawarma marinade for the lamb, we grind toasted coriander, cumin & fennel seeds into a coarse powder (in a pestle & mortar) then mix in salt, pepper, paprika, sumac, turmeric, ground ginger, ground cloves, grated garlic, lemon juice & olive oil.

Tip: Toasting the cumin & fennel seeds intensifies their flavours, therefore adding more flavour to the lamb. This only takes a couple of minutes but makes all the difference!

2. Marinate The Lamb

Next, we lightly score the lamb’s fat in a criss-cross pattern then coat the entire lamb shoulder with the marinade. This then gets left in the fridge overnight. We’re leaving the bone in the lamb shoulder, so this is all the prep we need to do!

Tip: Scoring the fat lets more marinade in, adding even more flavour! It also helps the fat render properly as the lamb cooks.

3. Light Your Barbecue

The next day, we light our barbecue with charcoal or wood (depending on the type of smoker you’re using), set it up for indirect cooking then leave to preheat to 275°f/135°c. It’s key to preheat your barbecue thoroughly, ensuring that the smoke is clean before adding in the lamb. This will cut down the cook time & give the lamb the best flavour.

4. Smoke The Lamb

Once the barbecue is fully up to temperature, we add in the lamb (fat side up) then leave it to smoke for 3 hours, undisturbed. After 3 hours have passed, we continue smoking the meat but you’ll need to spray the lamb with a vinegar spritz every hour, until it has taken on a decent amount of colour & the internal temperature is at least 165°f/74°c. This will roughly take another 2-3 hours. Make sure to maintain a consistent barbecue temperature at all times, as this will cut down the cook time & avoid dirty smoke.

Tips: Spritzing the meat as it cooks helps it take on more smoke, improving the bark & flavour! You don’t want to spritz too often though as the temperature of your smoker will drop too much. Cooking the lamb fat side up allows the fat to render back onto the meat, essentially basting it!

5. Braise In Lamb Stock

Next, we transfer the smoked lamb to a large roasting tin, add in a litre of warm lamb stock then wrap in foil. We then continue cooking the lamb (at the same temperature) until it is tender, either in the smoker or in an oven. This will take another 2-3 hours (roughly). You’ll know when the lamb is cooked when it probes soft, like butter. Your lamb won’t take anymore smoke flavour on at this point, so it doesn’t matter if you use a smoker or oven for this.

6. Rest Before Pulling

Once cooked, we let the meat rest for at least an hour, loosely covered in foil. This lets the meat relax & the juices redistribute which makes the lamb more tender & juicier once pulled. It’s key not to skip this step as your lamb will be dry!

7. Pull The Meat & Serve

Once the smoked lamb shoulder has rested, it’s time to shred the meat! You can either do this with 2 forks or with your hands (use gloves!). Once all the meat has been pulled, I like to mix a generous amount of the braising lamb stock through the meat then serve straight away.

Serving Suggestions Pulled Lamb Shawarma

A really good homemade kebab is easily my favourite way to serve pulled lamb shawarma, so I’ve included how to make them in this recipe! This smoked lamb is good for loads of other things though, which we’ll dive into as well, including sandwiches, salads & pizza. You can pretty much use pulled lamb the same way as pulled pork.

Pulled Lamb Kebabs

Homemade kebabs are my favourite way to serve pulled lamb shawarma! There’s fluffy homemade flatbreads, sweet pickled cabbage, tahini garlic sauce, a fresh veggie salad & a sprinkle of sumac. It’s proper tasty! The recipe for this is also included in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

What You’ll Need

Here’s what I used to make a pulled lamb kebab! The great thing about kebabs though, is that you can customise them to suit your tastes. Instead of flatbreads, you could use toasted pita. Other good kebab toppings would be baba ghanoush, tabbouleh salad, grilled vegetable (courgettes & onions would be great!) or homemade hummus.

• Homemade Flatbreads
• Tahini Garlic Sauce
• Sweet Pickled Cabbage

Other Serving Suggestions

Pulled lamb shawarma makes for a fantastic sandwich filling! I made a sandwich with the smoked lamb, picked red cabbage, za’atar & honey glazed halloumi and garlic sauce. Sort of like a lamb kebab but inside a burger bun. This lamb shawarma would also work really well in a salad, for an easy lunch or dinner dish. I’d go with some fluffy couscous, fresh salad leaves, grilled veg or basmati rice. As lamb shawarma originates from Turkey, Middle Eastern flavours work especially well here!

How To Store & Reheat Leftover Lamb Shawarma

Any leftover lamb shawarma should be stored in the fridge & will keep for up to 3 days. If you have a vacuum packer, vacuum sealing the lamb will extend the shelf life by a couple of days. You can also freeze cooked lamb shawarma for up to 3 months but make sure to store it in an airtight container/food bag to avoid freezer burn. You’ll need to let the lamb defrost fully before reheating & serving.

The best way to reheat pulled lamb is to place it in an ovenproof dish with a splash of water, cover with foil then bake in a 180°c/356°f oven until it’s piping hot. This way, the meat will still be tender & juicy. Alternatively, place the lamb into a saucepan then warm up on the stove.

Smoked Lamb Shawarma Tips, Tricks & Troubleshooting

Tips & Tricks

• Use A Bone In Lamb Shoulder – For the best flavour, use a bone in lamb shoulder! Make sure to score the fat, to let more marinade in. This also helps the fat render properly as the lamb cooks.
• Marinade Overnight – For maximum flavour, let the lamb marinade in the fridge overnight.
• Use Good Charcoal – Using a really good charcoal is best for smoking meat. Hardwood charcoals like oak, hornbeam, birch or ash are best for lamb, as they will impart a sweet smokey flavour that won’t overpower the meat.
• Maintain A Consistent Temperature – One of the most important parts of cooking in a smoker/barbecue, is maintaining a consistent low temperature throughout the entire cook. Temperature fluctuations will affect how long the meat takes to cook.
• Leave To Smoke Undisturbed – As the saying goes, if you’re looking you ain’t cooking! Try to open your smoker as little as possible as this brings the temperature down, increasing the cook time.
• Spritz The Meat – Spritzing the lamb as it smokes, helps the meat take on more smoke & colour.
• Braise In Lamb Stock – Braising the lamb after smoking, makes the meat super tender & keeps it moist & juicy, as well as adding extra lamb flavour.
• Use A Temperature Probe – A digital food probe is a crucial bit of kit when cooking barbecue. This allows us to cook the meat to perfection!
• Rest well – Once cooked, it’s best to rest the smoked lamb for at least an hour before shredding. This lets the meat relax & the juices redistribute which makes the lamb more tender & juicier once pulled.

Troubleshooting

• My lamb shawarma is tough – Smoked lamb shawarma will be tough if it wasn’t cooked for long enough, at a low temperature. To avoid tough meat, cook the lamb gently until a food probe slides into the meat with little to no resistance, like butter. Make sure to rest the lamb for at least an hour before pulling!
• My smoked lamb tastes too smoky – A strong smoky flavour happens if your smoker wasn’t burning wood cleanly (a light blue, almost invisible smoke). If your wood is burning dirtily & is producing thick, white smoke, it will impart a bitter flavour to whatever your cooking. To avoid this, make sure that your wood is burning properly (not smoldering) & ensure that the fire gets proper air flow.
• The pulled lamb is dry – Smoked lamb will be dry if it was overcooked or pulled before the meat rests. To avoid this, stop cooking the lamb once it probes like butter & let it rest for at least an hour before pulling.
• The lamb shawarma turned too dark – If your bbq/smoker is too hot, your lamb can burn. Make sure to cook the lamb gently, over a low heat.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Smoking & BBQ Recipes To Try!

• Smoked Pulled Pork
• Smoked Beef Short Rib, Guinness & Bone Marrow Pie
• Brisket Style Smoked Pork Belly
• Irn Bru Smoked Spare Ribs
• Black Garlic Hanger Steaks
• BBQ Lamb Kofta Meatballs

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