Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb (The Greek Way)
Feb 10th, 2013 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Easter, Featured, Garlic, Greek, Greek Wine, Herbs, Lamb, Lemon, Olive Oil, Roasting)
Greeks know their way around lamb and we unabashedly cook it well and I mean well done. Do not confuse well done with dry, hard to chew meat. You are not going to experience this here.
I treat a leg of lamb much like a lamb shank, brown the meat then place in a roasting pan with aromatics, seasoning and some braising liquid. The fat from the lamb leg melts way, the connective tissues break down and the braising liquid helps transform the muscular leg of lamb into a succulent, flavourful meat that is cooked well, juicy and very flavourful.
The flavour profile is classic Greek with the generous use of garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary and some bay leaves as well. The lamb is studded with slivers of garlic, sweet paprika balances the lemon juices and some olive oil and white wine bring the pan juices together.
While the lamb is roasting I baste it with pan juices, flip the leg to evenly cook and prevent any dryness and this foolproof recipe will please those who love lamb and even gain some new fans!
Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb
(serves 8-10)
1 leg of lamb (bone in) or 2 short-cut legs of lamb (6-8lbs.)
1 head of garlic
fine sea salt
fresh ground pepper
approx. 2 tsp. garlic powder
approx. 2 tsp. sweet paprika
2 medium onions, peeled & quartered
1 cup dry white wine
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
2-3 tsp. dried Greek oregano
2-3 bay leaves
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
hot water
salt and pepper to taste
- Peel the skins off the garlic clove and slice them into slivers. Stick a paring knife into the lamb and make a hole, then slip a sliver of garlic. Repeat and insert as many slivers of garlic as you can.
- Pre-heat your oven to 550F and place the rack in the middle position. Drizzle your lamb with some olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Place the leg of lamb in a roasting pan that just fits the leg. Place in your pre-heated oven and roast uncovered for about 10-15 minutes or until browned, then flip the leg and roast for another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the lamb from the oven and reduce the heat to 350F. Place the quartered onions around the lamb, add any remaining slivers of garlic, add the herbs (thyme, bay, rosemary, oregano) and squeeze in the lemon juice and pour the wine into the pan. Add the olive oil and enough hot water to cover third of the lamb.
- Cover and place the lamb back in the oven for 2 hours (add more hot water if needed), baste the lamb once an hour. After two hours, flip the leg of lamb (add more water if necessary and adjust seasoning of liquid with salt and pepper).
- After 3 hours, the leg of lamb shoulder be a deep brown and the bones will be exposed and the meat should show signs of separating from the bone.
- Remove the lamb from the oven, baste with liquid and allow to rest. Serve with Greek roast potatoes or pair with roast potatoes tossed in leg of lamb drippings.
- Pair with a Papaioannou Estate Agiorghitiko red Nemea.
*TIP: Have some peeled potatoes (quartered) to roast in another roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour enough pan juices from the lamb leg to come up a third of the way on the potatoes and toss to coat. Taste, adjust seasoning and crank your oven up to 450F and place the potatoes in the oven to roast for 35-40 minutes or until fork-tender (the lamb will stay warm covered in the roasting pan on the stove-top).
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© 2013, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
It looks so scrumptious and I bet it is exquisitely tender!
Cheers,
Rosa
It was Greek roast lamb that made me realise that I really don’t like rare lamb! It has so much more flavour cooked like this.
Well I don’t think anyone’s going to argue with that! Looks amazing!! :)
Julia
This sounds great. I have a leg of goat in the freezer and will use this recipe for it.
Kalimeras Peter; this is one great looking dish :) And I owe you a BIG thank you for recommending CanonS100 Powershot camera, I love it, so kind of you. Will be off to Istanbul shortly, will be thinking of you with the food!
Ozlem
Like the old Carly Simon song … “nobody does it better”!
Bravo sou.
I cook for a family during the summer months in the mountains of NC and this recipe made me so happy to see when I came across it. Thank you so very much for sharing, this recipe will def be on their table this next season.
Cooking this smells fantastic, you will drive your neighbours crazy.
Eating it is just perfection.
Many thanks
Takes me back to Crete
Kalafagas, great work loved it.
I made this recipe yesterday and it has got to be one of the most delicious meals I have ever cooked in my life! Absolutely amazing! The flavor is rich and complex and the meat just fell off the bone. I will never make lamb any other way! Thank you so much for sharing.
I have a 7.5 pound leg of lamb… is the cooking time still 3 hours? If the liquid dries out should I add more? Can I roast potatoes in the pan?
Hi Dina, your lamb will probably take around 3 hours…you may have to add water…check on occasion.
Thanks!
yeia sas peter! I’m going to try your recipe for sunday and have never been the one ‘in charge’ of the lamb before, so I feel some pressure! Your recipe looks wonderful, but since I am cooking for 14 people, will 8lbs be enough lamb? there will be many other things to eat as well but I am worried about how much meat to have and what the cooking time will b e… thanks in advance..
I made this last weekend and it is the best lamb I have ever tasted. Even my husband who has a swallowing disorder had no problem eating it and also loved it. I was a bit worried about the amount of garlic required but this was not a problem at all. Highly recommended.
Hi Peter. Can I use a lamb shoulder with this recipe? If yes, are any changes required to the recipe? Thanks.
Nina, as long as the shoulder still has the bone in it…indeed, you should get the same delicious results. Keep us posted!
” fat from the lamb leg melts way, the connective tissues break down and the braising liquid helps transform the muscular leg of lamb into a succulent, flavourful meat that is cooked well, juicy and very flavourful” –Wow! This description caught me off guard. It’s like telling us to try your recipe without telling it directly. You persuaded me. The Greek way of lamb slow roasting is surely interesting. Thanks for sharing your recipe.