Cooking lamb that falls off the bone

Question

I'd like to cook my mother a nice lamb shoulder roast (cooked in the oven), I've cooked lamb before but always with mixed results. I want Lamb that's juicy, tender, flavourful and falls off the bone. How do I achieve this?

My questions:

1. What temperature should I cook it at?
2. How long should I cook it for?
3. How do I make sure the shoulder retains it's moisture and doesn't become dry? I hear a lot about low and slow, would this help me achieve my goals?
4. Do I tent the lamb in foil at the beginning, middle, end? Or at all?
5. Do I have to put any liquid in the roasting pan along with the lamb so it doesn't dry out? Any other suggestions would be welcome. Thanks!

Answer 1

Brown the lamb on the stove top, or high temp oven. Then, braise rather than roasting. That means 2/3-3/4 of the pan is filled with liquid after you put the lamb in first. For flavorful liquids, consider beef, chicken or veg stock. In Malaysia I see a lot of grape juice substitutions for wine in traditional Italian recipes that call for braising. But I would dilute it, so it's not overly sweet. Perhaps some tomato juice would work as well.