Lamb is a delightfully tender, moist, and flavorful meat… when prepared well. When people say that lamb’s flavor is too strong for them, they likely had mutton, not lamb. Or it was overcooked. Lamb is one of those meats that is most delicious at medium-rare. If your personal preference is to never see a bit of pink, then cook lamb to the fall-of-the-bone stage, as with pulled pork.
Roasting a leg of lamb is easy. And carving is even simpler than carving a chicken.
Super Simple Roast Leg of Lamb
5-7 lb bone-in leg of lamb, at room temp for 1 hour
3 T olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
1 T each chopped fresh rosemary & oregano
Rub lamb with oil; season well with salt & pepper. Place fat side down on wire rack in foil-lined roasting pan. Sear the top of the meat by placing pan a few inches from the broiler on high for 5 min. Turn meat over and broil another 5 min to sear the fatty side. Remove from oven. Reduce heat to 325°F and move rack to middle of oven. Sprinkle top of roast with garlic and herbs. Loosely tent with foil and place in middle of oven for 1 hour. Uncover and roast up to 15-20 min just until thermometer in thickest part of lamb (but not touching the bone) reads 125°F, which means the roast is rare. Remove from oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest at least 15 min before slicing across the grain.
KISS Tips: Another 5-10° will be added during the resting time, which brings the roast to medium rare. Remove from the oven at 130°F for a medium-done roast at serving time. You can also place 2 c of water in the roasting pan around the lamb and roast your choice of small potatoes, onion wedges, peeled carrots, and sweet peppers, even adding cherry tomatoes in final 20 minutes. Or roast your veggies separately and serve the carved lamb slices over brown or long-grain rice. For fall-off-the-bone lamb, let the lamb roast, covered, for 4 hours till it reaches an internal temp of 160°F. Tented, let it rest as the temperature rises to 175°F. With a bone-in cut of lamb, plan on ½ – 1 lb per serving.
