Roast Leg of Lamb

This recipe calls for a deboned leg of lamb. Legs vary in size with an average leg being 4.5 pounds for a locally raised deboned leg of lamb.

The cooking time will be a bit longer if you have a leg with the bone it it, but use a thermometer to ensure the doneness of your meat.

Butterflied simply means that the bone has been removed or the meat was sliced away from the bone. Simply fold the two ends in and flip the lamb leg over before placing in roasting pan.

Preheat oven to 450°F

1 4.5 lb lamb leg – deboned

For the rub:4 garlic cloves minced¼ cup of rosemary leaves4 sprigs of thyme - leaves removedjuice of one lemon

For deglazing the pan:1 cup red wine1 cup stock - beef or lamb or chicken2 onions minced

Make a paste mixture of minced garlic, lemon juice and rosemary & thyme leaves. Season the meat with salt and pepper and rub the lamb all over with paste. Smooth it evenly all over the surface of the meat. Allow the lamb to rest for one hour with the paste/seasonings at room temperature.

Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and cook for about 1 hour longer, or until the internal temperature of the lamb is 135° (rare) or 145° (medium). Be sure the thermometer does not touch the bone (if there is one). Remove from the oven and put the lamb on a platter; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest for about 20-30 minutes before slicing.

While the lamb is resting, deglaze the pan:

Using the pan that the meat was cooked in, place the pan over the burner and turn on the burner to medium. Pour in the wine and stock and mix with the drippings. Add the minced onions to pan, and stir to combine. Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to release any meat particles, then stir continuously to cook and reduce. Reduce over high heat until it forms a sauce consistency. Slice lamb and serve with sauce drizzled over the top.

Photo Credit:  Jeremy Keith