Serve this roast leg of lamb with cubed potatoes, mash, mint sauce, vegetables and gravy made from the lamb dripping for your Sunday roast dinners or Easter. Easter came early for us this year and I just have to share my simple roasted leg of lamb recipe with you all. Roasting huge meat like this can be daunting, it is actually simple although it requires some TLC this recipe is mostly hands-off. It also requires minimal prepping. Lamb can be roasted the conventional way, barbequed or slow roasted until it is tender, juicy, blushing pink and delicious. If you are looking for that special meat to cook for that next celebration party, let it be lamb. It is naturally flavourful and if cooked correctly, you won’t run afoul of overcooking this lovely meat. I love all my meat well done but I always make an exception for lamb. I don’t do blood on my plate though. If you would like yours rare, I will talk more about the right temperature to cook the meat on for the desired doneness.
Roast leg of lamb marinade
This recipe uses the most basic lamb marinade ever, but I promise you it is the best ever Rosemary fresh or dried Freshly ground black pepper, do not skip this Onions Whole garlic head Salt Olive oil Chicken stock substitute with vegetable or beef stock Lemon (this is optional, and I didn’t use it too)
How to make roasted leg of lamb
First, you need to bring the lamb out of the fridge one hour before prepping so it comes to room temperature. This helps the meat to cook evenly in the oven. No need to remove the fat of the meat as it adds to the overall flavour of the drippings that make the best lamb gravy ever. Prepare your roasting pan Preheat the oven at 190C/374F for a conventional oven or 170C/338F for a fan oven (30 minutes before roasting time is fine) Pat the lamb dry and score the fatty side some few times then add salt and pepper making sure you rub it all over the lamb Add rosemary, garlic cloves and olive oil to a small blender or mortar and blitz until marinade is coarse (you could finely chop the rosemary and garlic if you want) Cut the head of garlic and onions into 2 and place on the prepared roasting pan Rub the marinade all over the lamb including the scored bits and place it fat side up on top of the onions and garlic. Then add water and chicken stock to the bottom of the pan. Place it in the oven and roast for 1 hour, carefully take it out of the oven and turn it over to the other side and continue to roast for another 30 minutes, baste the lamb with its dripping at this time. Bring the lamb out of the oven one last time and turn it over then roast for additional 30 minutes (see notes for time and doneness) Carefully bring out the lamb from the oven, cover with an aluminium foil loosely and rest for at least 20 minutes before serving, the meat stays warm this way. Move on to making the gravy
Lamb Gravy
Skim off the oil from the dripping then transfer the content in the roasting pan into a saucepan, add one cup of water to the roasting pan and scrape all the bits remaining in it to the pan. Place the saucepan on medium heat and bring to boil for about 3 minutes. Whisk the flour into the sauce and mix to combine (don’t worry if there are lumps in it), add water if it is too thick. Continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes or until you get the desired gravy consistency. Take it off the heat Strain the sauce through a sieve until all the gravy is extracted. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Serve with lamb and other sides of choice
Roast leg of lamb cooking time per kg
for every 500g or 1 pound, cook for 25 minutes (medium) and 30 minutes resting time or 30 minutes per 500g (1 pound) for well-done lamb. E.g. if you are roasting 2kg of a leg of lamb and you want it to be well done, you would roast it in the oven for 2 hours plus 30 minutes resting time. Don’t let the length of time discourage you from making this recipe. It would all be worth it in the end.
Cooking temperature for this meat
rare lamb, the internal temperature would read 50-54C Medium rare, 55-59C / 130-138F Medium, 60-66C / 140-150F well done, 68-74C / 155-165F
Roast leg of lamb accompaniments
Serve this tender and flavourful meat with any the following Roasted potatoes Parmentier potatoes (French potatoes) Creamy garlic mashed potatoes Roasted cauliflower and broccoli Steamed asparagus cooked in an instant pot Steamed broccoli and carrots Coconut rice potatoes dauphinoise Brown sugar glazed carrots Use any or all of the following sauce on your lamb Redcurrant Jus Mint sauce Cranberry sauce Lamb sauce from drippings which can be made into gravy
Tips for cooking a leg of lamb faster
Remove the bone in the leg of the meat and use a butterfly technique to cook the meat, this is like spatchcocking a chicken if you are familiar with it. If you use this method, cook the meat half the time recommended for a whole leg.
Marinade the meat a day before roasting for more infused flavour
How to store
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days and up to 3 months in the freezer. Make sure the meat is completely cooked before storing. To reheat: let meat thaw in the fridge overnight, warm in the oven or in the microwave. Add leftover to curries or use in stir-fries.
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Instant pot turkey breast Roasted whole chicken If you made this easy roasted leg of lamb recipe, don’t forget to leave me feedback and rate it 5 stars. Tag me @thedinnerbite on Instagram and save away to your Pinterest. Please subscribe to the blog if you haven’t for free new recipes in your inbox DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE RATE IT AND LEAVE ME A COMMENT. USE #THEDINNERBITE OR TAG @THEDINNERBITE ON INSTAGRAM SO I CAN SEE YOUR PHOTOS, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS. THANK YOU!
