Stuffed Pre-Salted Lamb or 'Gigot de Pré-Salé Farci"

Gigot de Pré-Salé Farci

Or, more understandably, Pre-Salted, Stuffed Lamb

This is a little bit fiddly, but well worth the effort.

How does lamb get to be “pre-salted”? I hear you ask.

In Northern Brittany there are vast salt plains, particularly in the regions around Mont St Michel where the new season’s lambs are allowed to roam and graze on the salty pasture which gives them an already salted flavour. This is a genuine delicacy and can be shockingly expensive; not to mention that it’s all but impossible to find outside of France – they like to keep the best stuff for themselves, you know.

This recipe, though, gives a very decent impression of the true pré-salé flavour. It’s surprisingly light for a lamb dish and makes an excellent summer dinner dish.

I borrowed a jointing needle from our local butcher to help with this, so I could sew up the joint with string, making it look moderately professional; tying the joint is entirely possible without that specialist tool but if your butcher will lend you one, it’s much easier.


This recipe was broadcast on Insight Radio in conversation with Simon Pauley on his Morning Mix programme. Click the podcast icon below to hear the recipe and the chat.

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Ingredients to serve 6 (eight f you’re careful with the portion control)

1.5kg boned shoulder of lamb

2 cloves of garlic

3 large sprigs of rosemary, roughly broken into pieces

2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage

8 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

2 teaspoons chopped rosemary

4 shallots, finely chopped

half a teaspoon ground ginger

salt and black pepper.

What to do:

Lay out the lamb, skin side down on a board.

Slice one garlic clove and crush the other.

Put half the rosemary sprigs into a roasting tray.

Mix all the chopped herbs, the crushed garlic clove, ginger and shallots together with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a couple of generous pinches of salt.

Spread the resulting mix over the lamb and roll the joint, enclosing the stufffin as much as possible.

Here’s the fiddly bit: sew the joint so it can’t unroll using a butcher’s needle or tie securely with string.

Make lots of small incisions all over the meat and insert the sliced garlic clove piece by piece into the incisions.

Arrange the remaining rosemary sprigs on top.

Roast in a pre-heated oven at 350˚C / Gas 4 or 5 for 90 minutes; the meat should be pink on the inside.

Allow to rest for a few minutes before carving and serve with your favourite spring/summer vegetables and sautéed potatoes tossed in chopped parsley.

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To drink? This is just made for a light rosé – if the budget allows try a Tavel, just lightly chilled.