I_That_Wanders: A neat trick to skim the fat off of the roasting liquid is to drag a few slices of sandwich bread along the top – the bread will soak it right up. Then you can toss the bread in a skillet, and fry it up – eat as is, or cut it into crispy croutons for salad, dressing, etc.
speedylee: **[Slow Roast Leg of Lamb](http://www.recipetineats.com/slow-roast-leg-of-lamb/)** by RecipeTin Eats
*Prep Time: 15 mins, Cook Time: 4 hr 59 mins, Total Time: 5 hr 14 mins*
**Ingredients**
* 2.25 kg / 4.5 lb leg of lamb , bone in (or shoulder) (Note 1)
* Salt and pepper
* 1.5 tbsp olive oil
* 1 whole garlic head , unpeeled, cut in half horizontally
* 1 onion , quartered (unpeeled is fine)
* 2 rosemary sprigs (2 = whisper of rosemary flavour, 4 sprigs = stronger flavour)
* 3 cups / 750 ml beef broth , low sodium
* 2 cups / 500 ml water
*Gravy:*
* 4 tbsp / 50g flour (white)
* 1 cup / 250 ml water
* Salt and pepper , to taste
**Instructions**
1. Preheat oven to 170C/335F (standard) or 150C/300F (fan/convection).
2. Place garlic, onion and rosemary in a metal roasting pan.
3. Place lamb leg right side up in the pan. (Note 2)
4. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and rub it in.
5. Turn lamb over and place it so it mostly sits on the garlic and onion. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, rub it in. (Video helpful here)
6. Drizzle lamb with olive oil. Pour broth and water around the lamb – it won’t cover it, that’s ok, the lamb sinks into it. Cover with foil (don’t use a lid, you want a bit of liquid to steam out).
7. Place in the oven and roast for 4.5 hours. (See Notes for roasting time table)
8. Remove from the oven, remove foil. Turn lamb over. Check it to ensure the meat is tender (pry a bit off with a fork). If not, return, covered, to oven.
9. Return uncovered lamb to oven for a further 45 minutes or until well browned.
10. Remove lamb, spoon over pan juices generously. Transfer to serving platter, cover loosely with foil while you make the gravy (stays warm for 1 – 1.5 hours).
*Gravy:*
1. Use a large spoon to skim off some of the fat from the surface of the liquid.
2. Place pan on the stove on medium high. When the liquid bubbles, add flour.
3. Use a whisk to mix it in – this may take a few minutes as the liquid reduces.
4. Once it looks like sludge (see video), whisk in 1/2 – 1 cup of water until it becomes a gravy consistency to your taste. Adjust salt and pepper to taste – I rarely add extra salt.
5. Strain gravy into a bowl, pressing juices out of the onion etc.
6. Pour gravy into jug.
*Serving:*
1. The meat is tender so you will only need tongs to tear the meat off. Serve with gravy.
**Recipe Notes**
1. LAMB CUT: This recipe can be made with a leg or shoulder of lamb. Shoulder has more fat running through it than leg, so you can actually roast it uncovered (here’s my Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder recipe), but this recipe will also work with shoulder. This recipe is designed for lamb leg because it’s leaner, so it benefits greatly from slow roasting partially submerged in liquid so it doesn’t dry out. Cooking it this way also infuses it with flavour.
2. The upper side of the lamb leg has more meat so we want to roast that partially submerged in the liquid for most of the cooking time. The upper side of the lamb is rounder and usually has more fat. The underside has less fat and is more flat.
3. See [Roasting Times](http://www.recipetineats.com/slow-roast-leg-of-lamb/#wprm-recipe-container-23734)
Anebriviel: That’s a really long roasting time.. Tried my hand at a leg of lamb this easter. Less that 3 hours on about 160 C for a 3 kg leg. Rested it for an hour, was perfectly pink (not red).
Trodamus: You’re missing some opportunities for layering and deepening the flavors of this roast, so here’s some additional instructions …although the following is more of a braise rather than just roasting.
First: replace your roasting tray with a large, heavy, ovenproof pot with a heavy lid.
Heat some olive oil on medium/high heat. Sear lamb (seasoned with S&P) on all sides. Remove from pan.
Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and onion (addtl: 2 shallots, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk). Cook until soft, ~6min. Add tablespoon tomato paste, cook for a minute, then add 1/2 cup of red wine and deglaze the pan.
Simmer wine until almost entirely reduced, then re-add the lamb (taking care to also add any juices that were released) and add enough broth to *almost* cover the meat. Bring to a simmer then place in the oven, turning once halfway through.
Once done, transfer the lamb to a cutting board and pour the liquid through a mesh strainer into a saucepan (press down on solids to extract all juice), and simmer until thickened — 30 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper.
PM_ME_2DISAGREEWITHU: Never met the lamb that couldn’t be helped by a few sprigs of Rosemary.
Other than that. I think I’m buying a leg of lamb this week.
InactiveBeef: Lamb is the new turkey, calling it here.
Prax150: You have no idea how much I needed this recipe in my life. Gonna suggest it to my parents for Christmas.
gitykinz: I needed this after that chicken parm gif used 1 fucking clove of garlic.
victoryforZIM: This is definitely overcooked, if you’re gonna do a leg of lamb to super tender levels it’s much better to just get your butcher to cut it into cubes for you and make a stew. Leg of lamb as a roast should be cooked to medium rare. This recipe will just be dry and kind of tough.
