The slow-roasted leg of lamb is so juicy and tender, it literally melts in your mouth! This delicious roast will impress your family and friends during a festive lunch or a BBQ party.
The current recipe has been tested and prepared by our contributor Stanka Stoyanova.
The roasted lamb meat is traditional around the Easter holidays in Bulgaria. And from seasonal point of view this is the time when the lamb is still very young and has the best taste.
About the recipe
The lamb leg is low in fat and high in proteins. Due to its size it requires slow cooking at a low temperature in order to become tender.
The current recipe is very easy. It requires some patience which is totally worth it, considering the great result. You will have a perfectly juicy lamb leg that easily separates from the bone.
How to Marinate the meat
The first step is to prepare the meat and to marinate it. This step should not be missed or underestimated as it is crucial for the great result.
Ideally the leg should be marinated on the night before roasting it so that the meat can absorb perfectly the flavors of the herbs and spices.
Using a sharp knife, remove the parts of the meat that are very fat. You don't need to remove all the fat, just the excess.
The second step is the larding: make cuts in the meat with the knife and place in each a garlic clove and a fresh rosemary branch.
Last but not least: rub the meat all around with a herb mixture made of parsley, rosemary, garlic, paprika, pepper, oil and spearmint leaves (if you have).
At the end sprinkle the lamb all around with lemon juice.
Place the leg in a large pan, cover it with plastic wrap or aluminium foil and let stay in the fridge for 10-12 hours.
Before roasting it, leave it for about 30 minutes at room temperature.
Place the leg on the baking paper coated with butter Cover the leg with more butter
How to prepare the meat for roasting
Place two large sheets of aluminium foil on the kitchen counter. Place two large sheets of baking paper on top, crossing one another.
Spread some butter on top of the baking paper and sprinkle with salt.
Place the marinated lamb leg on the butter and arrange more butter slices on top.
Wrap very well the meat in aluminium foil.
How to roast
The best is to grill the leg of lamb in a gas barbecue. You can also roast it in the oven and the steps are the same.
Heat the grill or the oven to 480º F/ 250º C. Place the wrapped leg on top of the gill or on the oven rack.
If using oven: place a large pan under the rack to avoid leaking.
Bake for about 40-50 minutes and then lower the temperature to 250-260º F /120-130º C. Depending on the leg size, it would need 2,5 to 3 more hours for the leg of lamb to be completely ready and tender.
Using a meat thermometer will make it much easier to understand when it is ready: it should be 165-167º F or 74-75º C inside.
Take the leg of lamb out of the barbecue or the oven and unwrap it carefully. Most of the juices from the baking should be inside the paper. Don't discard them but use them as a gravy: with a large spoon transfer them to a bowl.
If you want your meat to have a nice crust, put it back in the barbecue or oven unwrapped. If using oven, switch to top baking only (or grill option). Bake for few more minutes, brushing from time to time the meat with the sauce that was just transferred in a bowl.
Surely you would love this recipe if you try it! Let us know in the comments what you think of it!
Here are few nice side dishes you can serve with this delicious lamb roast:
- Asparagus and Boiled Eggs Salad
- Cheese Stuffed Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Bread Rolls
- Shopska Salad
- Tarator
- Simple Patatnik
Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 10 garlic cloves
- 10 rosemary springs small
For the marinade:
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 rosemary spring finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh spearmint finely chopped (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- juice of 1 lemon
For roasting:
- 4 tablespoon butter approximately
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the leg of lamb in a large pan. Using a sharp knife remove the excessively fat parts from the meat. Leave some fat for taste.
- Make about 10 small but deep cuts on the leg and place inside each a garlic clove (whole or halved, depending on its size) and a small rosemary spring.
Marinade:
- Combine the finely chopped herbs with the garlic, paprika, pepper, oil and salt. Mix very well.
- Rub the leg with the mixture all around. Sprinkle with the lemon juice on top.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap or aluminium foil and let stay in the fridge for 10-12 hours, ideally overnight.
Roasting:
- Remove the leg from the fridge and let it stay at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the barbecue or the oven to 480º F/ 250º C.
- Cut two large sheets of aluminium foil, long enough to coved the leg. Place them on the kitchen counter crossing one another.
- Place two similarly large sheets of baking paper on top, following the same pattern.
- Spread some butter on the top baking paper sheet that will be on the meat. Alternatively arrange the butter in thin slices. Season with some salt.
- Place the lamb on top of the butter. Arrange the rest of the butter over the lamb. Sprinkle some salt.
- Wrap the leg very well first in the baking paper, making sure all the butter touches the meat, and then in aluminium foil.
- Place the leg of lamb on the grill or if you are using the oven, directly on the rack with a large pan placed underneath to collect any leaked sauce.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes and then lower the heat to 165-167º F / 74-75º C. Bake for additional 2,5 - 3 hours at this temperature, depending on the size of the leg. Check with a meat thermometer if you have one: the meat is ready when its internal temperature is 165-167º F / 74-75º C.
- Remove the leg from the oven or the barbecue and carefully unwrap it. You should find its juices inside the paper: transfer them with a spoon into a bowl.
- Return the leg unwrapped to the heat for few more minutes, increasing the temperature. If using an oven, switch to top baking only. Leave the meat for few more minutes inside, until it forms a nice crust. Brush from time to time with the collected sauce.
- Serve the leg of lamb with a nice seasonal salad, potatoes or another garnish.
Notes
About the author
Stanka
Stanka Stoyanova is a wife and a mother, a social entrepreneur, a person in love with the food, an experimenter and a creator who brings harmony, beauty and love around herself through the food. She uses mainly seasonal and local ingredients to prepare real, delicious and healthy food.
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