Lamb potjiekos – Meltingly tender lamb falling off the bone

Rain and hail cannot stop South Africans from lighting a fire for a cosy braai or potjiekos cooking on the hot coals. This lamb potjiekos recipe is so tempting that you will want to start that fire right now!

Combined with rich red wine and an assortment of fresh herbs, this lamb potjiekos recipe will come together as a deliciously aromatic dish that will make your tummy rumble when you inhale the appetising flavours.

The best part of cooking lamb potjiekos is that there is not really much for you to do. The potjie does all the work. After browning the lamb cutlets and adding the wine, mutton stock, garlic, onions and herbs, you have to sit back and relax for an hour and a half. You should literally not touch the lamb no matter how tempted you are to start stirring or prodding the lamb.

The only task remaining is to cut your choice of veggies in chunks and add to the lamb potjieskos after an hour and a half when the meat is soft. And then within about 30 minutes, your meltingly tender lamb dish should be ready for serving.

Delicious Lamb Potjie

3 from 7 votes

Recipe by James Olivier Course: MainCuisine: South AfricanDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

2

hours 

Total time

2

hours 

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 2 mutton stock cubes

• 2 kg 2 lamb, cut up in big chunks

• 1 bottle 1 red wine

• 5 cloves 5 garlic, whole or roughly chopped

• 2 2 onions, roughly chopped

• assorted vegetable chunks of your choice (for example, pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, baby marrow, green beans, etc)

• 5 sprigs 5 of rosemary and thyme

• 5 5 bay leaves

• olive oil or butter for browning

Method

• Dissolve the stock cubes in about two litres of water and set aside.
• While the potjie is heating up and the coals are getting ready, toss the lamb in some flour, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil or butter, depending on what you’re using, to the pot and brown the lamb cutlets.
• Once browned, add the stock, wine, garlic, herbs and onions to the potjie along with the lamb.
• Let the potjie stew on low heat for at least an hour and a half. Don’t stir, but leave the potjie stew to cook on its own. If you see the liquid has reduced too much, add a bit more.
• After about an hour and a half, gently prod the lamb to see if it’s soft. If it is, add all the veggies, cover and cook until the veggies are soft. That should take about another 30 minutes.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @the.south.african on Instagram and hashtag it #recipes

Like this recipe?

Follow us @thesouthafrican on Pinterest

There are so many recipes to comfort you during the cold South African days. Check out our great variety of recipes by browsing our recipe page.

If you would like to submit any other recipe for publication, please complete our recipe form here.