By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 4
429 cal · 545 min
The Nasty Bits: Lamb's Head
Recipe GLPRd0f10dc788a529
A traditional British nose-to-tail dish featuring a whole lamb's head (tongue removed), roasted until the meat becomes tender and the skin crisps. The meat on the head, particularly around the cheeks and jaw, yields rich, flavorful portions. This rustic preparation celebrates responsible butchery and delivers robust, satisfying results. Serve with crusty bread and your choice of condiments or sauce.
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Ingredients
1 lamb's head, tongue removed
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Pat the lamb's head dry with paper towels and place it in a large roasting pan or Dutch oven.
Season the lamb's head generously on all sides with salt and black pepper, rubbing the seasonings into the skin and any exposed meat surfaces.
Roast the lamb's head uncovered in the preheated oven for approximately 8 to 9 hours. The meat should become very tender and the skin should brown and crisp. If the skin begins to darken too quickly, loosely tent the pan with foil and continue roasting.
The lamb's head is fully cooked when the meat separates easily from the bone and reaches an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) when measured in the thickest part of the cheek meat.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carefully extract the meat from around the cheeks, jaw, and skull using a sharp knife or fork, discarding any small bones.
Divide the cooked meat among four serving plates and serve hot with your choice of accompaniments such as crusty bread, pickles, or a light sauce.
Comments
Lamb's head is a genuine specialty item that requires a dedicated butcher stop—neither Harris Teeter nor Food Lion nor standard Walmart meat counters stock it routinely, and you'll need to call ahead to Kroger or seek out a dedicated halal or ethnic butcher. The actual hands-on time is perhaps 45 minutes (cleaning, breaking down, roasting), not 545 minutes, which conflates overnight soaking and slow cooking into the prep estimate and misrepresents what demands your attention. At $15–20 for the head and minimal seasoning, the cost per serving lands around $4–5, genuinely cheap for meat, but the dish requires comfort with whole-animal butchery and is definitively a same-night meal—no leftovers strategy works well. This recipe suits a curious cook willing to plan ahead and a household that embraces nose-to-tail eating, not a weeknight impulse.
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