peeper76
Cook
Do i still need to cook it for 5-6 hours if it is just a small roast? What is the best cooking method, and recipe?
ISO recipe for leg of lamb
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deelady
Executive Chef
This is the recipe I have used several times for Thanksgiving or Christmas along with a Turkey...we always had alot of meat eaters!! 
1 leg of lamb 7-8 lbs
1 1/2 sticks of butter, clarified into Ghee
2 tsps finely chopped rosemary
coarse Kosher salt
Ground cumin (freshly roasted then ground)
pre-heat oven to 375.
Prepare clarified butter: In small sauce pan melt sticks of butter over low heat until the milk solids from the butter settle to the bottom of the pan and seperates from the ghee. Carefully drain off or skim with large spoon the yellow liquid (ghee) and discard the residual milk solids.
Cool to room temperature and place in jar to refrigerate for future use if desired. This butter or ghee allows for cooking with buter at a higher heat.
Place lamb in roasting pan fat side up (trim off any excess fat if necessary leaving about 1/4 inch of fat). Cover with foil and roast for 1 1/2 hrs. Remove from oven, uncover and baste generously with ghee, season with rosemary, kosher salt and cumin. Cover again with foil and return to oven. Repeat basting with ghee 3 or more timesduring the next hour. After 3 1/2 hrs remove foil, increase heat to 425, cook until skin side is crisp and golden. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
1 leg of lamb 7-8 lbs
1 1/2 sticks of butter, clarified into Ghee
2 tsps finely chopped rosemary
coarse Kosher salt
Ground cumin (freshly roasted then ground)
pre-heat oven to 375.
Prepare clarified butter: In small sauce pan melt sticks of butter over low heat until the milk solids from the butter settle to the bottom of the pan and seperates from the ghee. Carefully drain off or skim with large spoon the yellow liquid (ghee) and discard the residual milk solids.
Cool to room temperature and place in jar to refrigerate for future use if desired. This butter or ghee allows for cooking with buter at a higher heat.
Place lamb in roasting pan fat side up (trim off any excess fat if necessary leaving about 1/4 inch of fat). Cover with foil and roast for 1 1/2 hrs. Remove from oven, uncover and baste generously with ghee, season with rosemary, kosher salt and cumin. Cover again with foil and return to oven. Repeat basting with ghee 3 or more timesduring the next hour. After 3 1/2 hrs remove foil, increase heat to 425, cook until skin side is crisp and golden. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
I stab holes all over my leg of lamb... and stick cloves of garlic in to those holes.
Rub meat with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley and oregano and then roast as you normally would...
YUMMMMMY!!!!!!!
Rub meat with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley and oregano and then roast as you normally would...
YUMMMMMY!!!!!!!
Uncle Bob
Chef Extraordinaire
Now I'm hungry for lamb..... Soon!!!
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
I may be too late but this is my favorite recipe. You can easily look up cooking times of lamb depending on the size. 5 to 6 hours is waaaay too long. You also want to use a shallow pan - maybe a 9 x 9 cake pan or a larger jelly roll pan.
LEG OF LAMB WITH ROSEMARY/MUSTARD PESTO (sort of)
5-6# leg of lamb
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 TBS soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 branches of rosemary with leaves stripped off
fresh thyme with leaves stripped off (5-6 branches - depending on size)
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or toasted walnuts or pecans
1. Toast pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans, in oven set on 375° F. or toast in dry skillet set on med-high and tossed until done.
2. In Cuisinart or blender add all of the ingredients except oil. Turn machine on and slowly drizzle in oil until everything is blended. You might not need to use all the oil, or you may need more, it just depends on how much rosemary you used, etc. You want it to be a little thick. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, rosemary, or garlic until it suits your taste. If it's a little strong that's OK because it will help flavor the lamb better.
Put lamb in shallow pan, cover with this mixture and bake. I bake mine at 325° until 140° as we like ours rare. Take your lamb out about 5° less than you like it and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Will continue cooking after you take out of oven and sitting will let the juices absorb back into the meat and not just run out.
LEG OF LAMB WITH ROSEMARY/MUSTARD PESTO (sort of)
5-6# leg of lamb
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 TBS soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 branches of rosemary with leaves stripped off
fresh thyme with leaves stripped off (5-6 branches - depending on size)
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or toasted walnuts or pecans
1. Toast pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans, in oven set on 375° F. or toast in dry skillet set on med-high and tossed until done.
2. In Cuisinart or blender add all of the ingredients except oil. Turn machine on and slowly drizzle in oil until everything is blended. You might not need to use all the oil, or you may need more, it just depends on how much rosemary you used, etc. You want it to be a little thick. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, rosemary, or garlic until it suits your taste. If it's a little strong that's OK because it will help flavor the lamb better.
Put lamb in shallow pan, cover with this mixture and bake. I bake mine at 325° until 140° as we like ours rare. Take your lamb out about 5° less than you like it and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Will continue cooking after you take out of oven and sitting will let the juices absorb back into the meat and not just run out.
deelady
Executive Chef
I wish I had the recipe of how my best friend's grandmother makes hers, they are Arabic so i know it must be some sort of Middle Eastern variation.....it litterally falls apart and melts in your mouth!!!
Fearless Kitchen
Cook
We usually roast our lamb in the Big Green Egg. Sometimes we stuff it with herbs (dill especially) and lemon slices and rub it with an oregano and thyme rub. Other times I'll marinate it in a pomegranate mixture first and then cook it low and slow. You can do either in your oven, it just won't have that wood-y taste.
3 hours would be enough to cook that size leg.
I like to use a yogurt marinade with my leg of lamb. I also like to serve it with naan to stretch the meal than just cut up by itself . We love any type of richly spiced gravy and this one is worthy of a drool (that's what my boys do when I cook something they like).
Moghulai Lamb (Inspired by the Moghuls)
Leg of Lamb - I like to rinse mine and pat it dry.
Make a Marinade
- 3 cups thick middle eastern yogurt
- juice of half a lime
- 1 tbsp of cumin seeds, toasted and powdered
- 1 tbsp of corrainder seeds, toasted and powdered
- 3 onions - Sliced thinly and then fried in oil until they are caramalized (they are crunchy and taste like sweet candy). Remove and drain on paper towels.
- 1 tbsp of paprika
- 1/2 stick of ginger
- 4 large cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tbsp of chili powder (less if you don't like spicy food)
- Freshly chopped cilantro (1/2 cup)
- Freshly chopped mint (1/4 cup)
- 2 boiled eggs sliced
- quarters of lime
- salt to taste
Tempering:
1/2 tbsp of oil
1 stick of cinnamon
3 bay leaves
4 cloves
3 cardamom pods
Grind yogurt, lime juice, onions, salt, garlic, ginger and spices in a blender. It should be a nice thick sort of a gravy . Put the lamb in an oven proof pan, pour the marinade on top and leave it in the refrigerator overnigh.
Next morning, heat some oil, when it's hot throw in the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods. Once they splutter pour the oil and the spices over the marinating lamb. Cover the entire pan with foil and place in the oven for 2 hours (350 is fine).
Open, and let it cook some more for another hour.
The leg should be tender and should almost fall apart. Remove the pan, add the cilantro, mint and eggs, stir slightly and serve with lime wedges, naan and plain or saffron infused basmati rice.
I like to use a yogurt marinade with my leg of lamb. I also like to serve it with naan to stretch the meal than just cut up by itself . We love any type of richly spiced gravy and this one is worthy of a drool (that's what my boys do when I cook something they like
). Moghulai Lamb (Inspired by the Moghuls)
Leg of Lamb - I like to rinse mine and pat it dry.
Make a Marinade
- 3 cups thick middle eastern yogurt
- juice of half a lime
- 1 tbsp of cumin seeds, toasted and powdered
- 1 tbsp of corrainder seeds, toasted and powdered
- 3 onions - Sliced thinly and then fried in oil until they are caramalized (they are crunchy and taste like sweet candy). Remove and drain on paper towels.
- 1 tbsp of paprika
- 1/2 stick of ginger
- 4 large cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tbsp of chili powder (less if you don't like spicy food)
- Freshly chopped cilantro (1/2 cup)
- Freshly chopped mint (1/4 cup)
- 2 boiled eggs sliced
- quarters of lime
- salt to taste
Tempering:
1/2 tbsp of oil
1 stick of cinnamon
3 bay leaves
4 cloves
3 cardamom pods
Grind yogurt, lime juice, onions, salt, garlic, ginger and spices in a blender. It should be a nice thick sort of a gravy . Put the lamb in an oven proof pan, pour the marinade on top and leave it in the refrigerator overnigh.
Next morning, heat some oil, when it's hot throw in the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods. Once they splutter pour the oil and the spices over the marinating lamb. Cover the entire pan with foil and place in the oven for 2 hours (350 is fine).
Open, and let it cook some more for another hour.
The leg should be tender and should almost fall apart. Remove the pan, add the cilantro, mint and eggs, stir slightly and serve with lime wedges, naan and plain or saffron infused basmati rice.
Scotch
Head Chef
I usually prefer to have the leg butterflied and then marinate it in olive oil, garlic, lemon, and herbs, then grill it like a big steak.
That may not be practical in Newfoundland in February, however, so perhaps you might like this very different recipe from Anthony Bourdain called Gigot de Sept Heures, or Seven-Hour Leg of Lamb:
Heat oven to 300 F (150 C)
Using a paring knife, make incisions all over the surface of a 6-pound leg of lamb and insert a thin sliver of garlic in each one (about 4 large cloves in all).
Rub the lamb with olive oil and season with salt and fresh ground pepper all over.
Place the leg in a dutch oven just large enough to hold it. Toss in 2 small onions (sliced), 4 peeled carrots, a bouquet garni, and 1 cup of white wine.
Mix together 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of water to make a dough; use the dough like grout or caulk to seal the lid onto the dutch oven.
Cook in oven for 7 (yes, seven) hours.
Remove and break the seal. The meat should be tender enough to eat with a spoon.
That may not be practical in Newfoundland in February, however, so perhaps you might like this very different recipe from Anthony Bourdain called Gigot de Sept Heures, or Seven-Hour Leg of Lamb:
Heat oven to 300 F (150 C)
Using a paring knife, make incisions all over the surface of a 6-pound leg of lamb and insert a thin sliver of garlic in each one (about 4 large cloves in all).
Rub the lamb with olive oil and season with salt and fresh ground pepper all over.
Place the leg in a dutch oven just large enough to hold it. Toss in 2 small onions (sliced), 4 peeled carrots, a bouquet garni, and 1 cup of white wine.
Mix together 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of water to make a dough; use the dough like grout or caulk to seal the lid onto the dutch oven.
Cook in oven for 7 (yes, seven) hours.
Remove and break the seal. The meat should be tender enough to eat with a spoon.
Claire
Master Chef
Yakuta, I might add, be careful about not over-marinating with yogurt. A leg of lamb should be fine over night, but I've made the mistake of doing something similar with with chicken parts and had the yogurt actually eat the meat and went to make kabobs only to find the chunks of meat were mush! It was really kind of funny. But yogurt IS alive, and don't forget it!
Hi Claire, actually yogurt has tenderizing enzymes but I have never found it to be a problem even marinating chicken in yogurt overnight (I normally use legs and thighs so it's tougher meat anyway). The thing I should caution about is ginger. Ginger has stronger tenderizing enzymes and it can turn meat into mush, so you most definitely have to be careful when marinating chicken breasts and/or fish or shrimp in it. It only needs an hour and that's plenty.
For lamb however overnight is highly recommended with both yogurt and ginger and you can use the same method for beef. I actually make beef tikka using a similar method. I use a high quality round cut and have the butcher cut it into smaller chunks. I marinate them overnight with ginger, yogurt and spices and then thread on skewers and grill. The meat comes out perfect not mush but just extremely tender and well seasoned.
But good thing to highlight.
For lamb however overnight is highly recommended with both yogurt and ginger and you can use the same method for beef. I actually make beef tikka using a similar method. I use a high quality round cut and have the butcher cut it into smaller chunks. I marinate them overnight with ginger, yogurt and spices and then thread on skewers and grill. The meat comes out perfect not mush but just extremely tender and well seasoned.
But good thing to highlight.
ChefJune
Master Chef
This is my all-time favorite way to cook lamb. Be sure to use a digital thermometer so you won't overcook the meat. "Well-done" lamb is a grave misnomer, because it is just terrible! 
Leg of Lamb with Garlic Sauce
makes 6 [or so] servings
1 5-pound leg of lamb, with the bone in
6 garlic cloves, slivered
12 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garlic Sauce:
24 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
1 cup dry red wine (such as Côte du Rhône)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (preferably flat-leaf)
1. Have your butcher prepare the meat by removing most of the fat and skin from the leg, and by removing most of the bare bone that protrudes from the leg. If you want a slightly smaller leg, have him (or her!) shorten it from the hip end. When you’re ready to roast it, trim lamb of any excess fat. Make many slits all over the lamb and insert a sliver of garlic and a piece of anchovy in each incision. Finely chop the rosemary and thyme and mix the herbs with sea salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the lamb with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the herb mixture. Let it stand for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the meat on a rack in a roasting pan, and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F., and cook for 40 to 45 minutes for medium rare lamb. The temperature on an instant-read thermometer should register 130 degrees F. (That’s how it¹s supposed to be!)
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet, and cook the 24 garlic cloves slowly for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft (don’t let the edges get crisp—or brown). Set aside in a small bowl.
4. Remove lamb to a warmed platter, and turn off the oven. Cover with an aluminum foil tent and set it in the oven to keep warm while you prepare the sauce. On top the stove, put wine into the roasting pan, scraping the bottom well to loosen any brown bits or caramelized juices, and cook the wine over a high flame to reduce it by about one-third. Add the reduced liquid to the garlic cloves. Mash well with a fork, and add sea salt and pepper to taste.
5. Slice the lamb and grind some fresh black pepper over it. Spoon on the sauce, and sprinkle it all with freshly chopped parsley.
Teacher’s Tips: 1. If you live anywhere near an Italian butcher, buy your lamb for this dish from him! The Italian-style leg will have the long bone left intact, and it allows for an extremely attractive presentation not possible with the standard American cut.
2. Roasted Potatoes and Garlic, are an excellent accompaniment.
Wine Tip: There are two wines that pair magnificently with this dish.
Not surprisingly, they both come from Provence: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (my favorite is Clos des Pape), and Bandol Rouge (I love those from Domaine Tempier inordinately!) If you are on a budget, a Côte du Rhône will do admirably.
Leg of Lamb with Garlic Sauce
makes 6 [or so] servings
1 5-pound leg of lamb, with the bone in
6 garlic cloves, slivered
12 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garlic Sauce:
24 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
1 cup dry red wine (such as Côte du Rhône)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (preferably flat-leaf)
1. Have your butcher prepare the meat by removing most of the fat and skin from the leg, and by removing most of the bare bone that protrudes from the leg. If you want a slightly smaller leg, have him (or her!) shorten it from the hip end. When you’re ready to roast it, trim lamb of any excess fat. Make many slits all over the lamb and insert a sliver of garlic and a piece of anchovy in each incision. Finely chop the rosemary and thyme and mix the herbs with sea salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the lamb with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the herb mixture. Let it stand for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the meat on a rack in a roasting pan, and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F., and cook for 40 to 45 minutes for medium rare lamb. The temperature on an instant-read thermometer should register 130 degrees F. (That’s how it¹s supposed to be!)
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet, and cook the 24 garlic cloves slowly for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft (don’t let the edges get crisp—or brown). Set aside in a small bowl.
4. Remove lamb to a warmed platter, and turn off the oven. Cover with an aluminum foil tent and set it in the oven to keep warm while you prepare the sauce. On top the stove, put wine into the roasting pan, scraping the bottom well to loosen any brown bits or caramelized juices, and cook the wine over a high flame to reduce it by about one-third. Add the reduced liquid to the garlic cloves. Mash well with a fork, and add sea salt and pepper to taste.
5. Slice the lamb and grind some fresh black pepper over it. Spoon on the sauce, and sprinkle it all with freshly chopped parsley.
Teacher’s Tips: 1. If you live anywhere near an Italian butcher, buy your lamb for this dish from him! The Italian-style leg will have the long bone left intact, and it allows for an extremely attractive presentation not possible with the standard American cut.
2. Roasted Potatoes and Garlic, are an excellent accompaniment.
Wine Tip: There are two wines that pair magnificently with this dish.
Not surprisingly, they both come from Provence: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (my favorite is Clos des Pape), and Bandol Rouge (I love those from Domaine Tempier inordinately!) If you are on a budget, a Côte du Rhône will do admirably.
Claire
Master Chef
Yakuta, chances are I was using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and may have even cut them into kabob style before soaking in yogurt. Also may have had ginger in the mix! It was such a disaster! It was many moons ago, when I was first learning Indian cooking. A Pakistani friend also warned me against overly marinading some meats in yogurt, but now that I think of it, they don't eat red meat, so maybe it's just those IQF chicken breasts that can't take the yogurt! As I said, I wouldn't hesitate with an entire leg of lamb. Yummm yumm. Reading this line got me right down to the grocery store to see what lamb they had (it is lamb time of the year) and bought some chops and some ground lamb. Let's see what I do with the latter (chops I'll just season, sear, and serve with couscous or rice pilaf of some sort!).
