To enjoy our lamb at its best, cooking should be simple. We like our lamb with rosemary and garlic but dispense with the garlic if any guest really hates it. Used sparingly most people will never notice it and just enjoy the flavour!
Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb, weighing about 5lb/2.2kg
- several sprigs of rosemary
- a few cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil or a softened knob of butter
Preparation
Take the leg of lamb out of the refrigerator about an hour before cooking so it comes up to room temperature. This helps faster and more even cooking of the meat. If you prefer not to do this, please add more cooking time than we show here.
Rub the lamb all over with the oil or butter, this will help the skin crisp up.
Make small incisions all over the lamb joint with the point of a sharp knife and insert a sliver of garlic and a sprig of rosemary into each.
Our Lamb Is Already Tender – Don’t Overcook It!
While the lamb reaches room temperature, preheat the oven to the temperature you require. These timings will provide you with a table pleasing range of meat from well done but juicy at the narrow end, to slices that are still a little pink in the middle at the fat end. Add or subtract 15 minutes for a more well done or pinker results.
For best results use a meat thermometer so that you can check that the internal temperature has reached your desired degree of doneness.
Oven 180°C – Fan 160° C – Gas 4
- Pink – 20 minutes per 500g, plus 20 minutes
- Medium – 25 minutes per 500g, plus 25 minutes
- Well done – 30 minutes per 500g, plus 30 minutes
Put the lamb in a roasting tin and then into the oven. Open a bottle of burgundy and pour yourself a drink, or if you want to get more praise from your guests start preparing your veg.
When the lamb is done, remove it from the oven and put it on a serving dish with a raised edge to catch the juices that will seep out, you can use these to help make your gravy along with a splash of burgundy if you haven’t drunk it all.
Place the lamb in a warm spot out of any draughts to rest for half an hour or so, covered with a clean kitchen towel – or a loose tent of foil – if the foil is too tight the lamb may continue to cook, and you will loose the crispness of the skin as it sweats. While you wait for the lamb to rest take the time to crisp up your roast potatoes.
