Lesson: How to Make a Leg of Lamb

Another special holiday meal is a beautifully roasted leg of lamb. If your family and friends are a lucky bunch of bit@hes, you will go out of your way to make this special dish. There are basically two schools of thought on how to best prepare the lamb. The first is a slow and low cooking method where you keep the temperature even and the second is where you sear the meat at a high temperature and then lower the temperature to finish it. I have to tell you, I never really see a big difference between the two and if I had to pick one, I would go with the “searing method” because it’s a bit quicker. Whichever method you choose, the preparation steps are the same for both.

The rule of thumb for the size is about 1 lb per person if there is a bone, and .5 lb per person if there is no bone.

 

PREPARATION FOR BOTH METHODS

 

If your recipe calls for a marinade or rub, you will want to put the marinade in a bag and seal it overnight, or rub the spices on and let sit in bag overnight as well.

About an hour or two before cooking let meat come to room temperature. Allowing the meat to come to room temperature enables the meat to cook more evenly, so don’t skip this step bit@h.

Cut slits in the leg about an inch deep and slide slices of garlic into the slits. If your recipe calls for fresh herbs, you can slide those in as well.

Drizzle olive oil and your spices of choice onto the leg and then brush them evenly over the leg of lamb.

Now, here is where the differences start to become apparent, so pay attention damnit.

 

SLOW COOK, EVEN TEMPERATURE

 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Place the prepared leg of lamb in oven and cook it until the meat thermometer reads between 135 and 145 degrees. This will equate to about 25 minutes per pound.

 

SEARING METHOD

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Place the prepared leg of lamb in oven for about 20 minutes.

Lower heat to 300 degrees and continue to cook for another 40 minutes or so or until thermometer reads between 135 and 145 degrees.

 

AFTER IT’S COOKED

 

No matter which method you use, the process after it’s cooked will be the same.

Check to see if the lamb is ready by inserting a knife into the thickest part of the leg. The meat should be pinkish in color.

Leave the meat to rest about 10-15 minutes

Carve that bit@h and serve it!

You will find some great recipes for roast leg of lamb in the recipe section