This is how the Greeks make roast lamb – cooked until tender, half braised in a garlic lemon flavoured liquid that transforms into a luscious sauce – no mucking around with gravy!  This Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb takes hours and hours to roast, but it is EASY, virtually foolproof and very hands off. A perfect centrepiece for Easter, Sunday Roast or any other occasion for feasting!!
Fork-tender, authentic Greek Slow Roast Leg of Lamb
All around the world this weekend, there will be gatherings of family and friends to celebrate Easter. I was quite interested to learn that ham is very popular in America. Here in Australia, it’s all about roast lamb and seafood.
I love a good roast lamb! I’ve shared quite a few of them – from a classic Roast Lamb Leg, to a Slow Roast Leg of Lamb (fall apart tender!), Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder and even a Slow Cooker Roast Lamb.
But this one I’m sharing today is not just another lamb roast. It’s a Greek one. Rubbed with a simple spice mix, slow cooked until tender, half braised so it sucks up all the yummy lemony garlicky herby flavours.
No carving knife required. See?
Aussies love their lamb. In my family, Sunday Night Roast Dinners are an occasion that triggers fiery correspondence between us kids as we debate the menu. You can read one such dialogue in this Slow Roasted Rosemary Garlic Lamb Shoulder, along with my self proclaimed family title as Roast Queen.
The thing with roasting a leg of lamb is that unless (and even if) you have a meat thermometer, it is actually quite hard to cook the roast perfectly so it is blushing pink on the inside, moist and juicy. It can take just 20Â minutes for a leg of lamb to go from perfect to dry.
It can even overcook while resting. Truly. Been there, done that – cutting into the lamb straight out of the oven to take a peek, grinning smugly when I spied pink, set it aside to rest for 30 minutes, then when I carved it, there was not a hint of pink left.
I was temporarily dethroned as Roast Queen when that happened. I’d like to say I stepped down like a good sport, but no, I was overthrown 😤. I’m taking back the title for this Greek lamb though!!
Flavour, flavour, flavour, juicy, juicy, juicy, easy, easy, easy. That’s what this Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb is all about. As long as you allow for sufficient cooking time, it is really hard to go wrong with this.
In true Greek form, this lamb is packed with extra flavour by stuffing bits of garlic into incisions made all over the lamb, then it’s rubbed with paprika and garlic powder. Add a simple braising liquid to keep it beautifully moist and to infuse it with even more flavour, then cook it long and slow.
Oh! The other advantage of this Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb? NO MUCKING AROUND TO MAKE GRAVY! The braising liquid reduces down to an intensely flavoured sauce that needs to be generously poured all over the lamb. This is how it is supposed to be. And I’m not complaining!!!
This lamb does take hours to roast. Hours upon hours. 7 hours for a 3.5kg/7lb leg of lamb, to be precise. But it’s hands off, low maintenance time.
And at the end of it, look at what you get!! Now THIS is a step up from the usual Sunday night roast! – Nagi x
PS Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb is pictured here with my. They really are….well, crunchy!! 😉
Try these on the side
- Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes – outrageously crunchy!
- Greek Lemon Roast Potatoes – loaded with Greek flavours
- Lemon Potato Salad – skip the mayo, go for fresh lemon flavours
- Greek Salad – big, fresh and juicy
- Greek Lemon Orzo Salad (Risoni)
More Roast Lamb Recipes
I love a good roast lamb – so I’ve shared a few over the years!
- Classic Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy – the classic, perfectly blushing pink inside
- Slow Cooker Roast Lamb – fall apart goodness in the convenience of your slow cooker
- Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder – the juiciest, most succulent roast lamb you will ever have!
- Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma – flavour bomb! Your favourite Lamb Shawarma, slow roasted and piled over couscous or stuffed in pita bread
- See all Roast Lamb recipes
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Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 12 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 7 lb / 3.5 kg leg of lamb (Note 1)
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tsp paprika powder
- 3 tsp garlic powder (or sub with onion powder)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large onions, quartered (white, brown, yellow, red)
- 10 sprigs of thyme
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 3 dried bayleaves (or 5 fresh)
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml lemon juice (2 - 3 lemons), plus more to taste
- 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml white wine (or sub with chicken broth/stock, low salt)
- 2 cups / 500 ml chicken broth (liquid chicken stock)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 240°C/465°F (220°C fan). (Note 2)
- Use a small knife to make around 25 incisions all over the lamb, with most on the top.
- Cut around 6 cloves into slivers and stuff them into the incisions.
- Sprinkle the lamb generously all over with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Drizzle with olive oil and rub all over the lamb.
- Place the lamb in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes or until it has a nice brown crust.
- Remove from the oven. Turn the oven down to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
- Turn the lamb upside down. Pour / place all the remaining ingredients in the pan around the lamb (including remaining garlic cloves). Fill the roasting pan with hot water so it comes up about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way up the height of the lamb.
- Cover with lid or with baking/parchment paper then 2 layers of foil. Bake for 3.5 hours. (Note 3) Top up water if it dries out (e.g. Might happen if your lid is loose)
- Remove the roast from the oven and remove the lid/foil. Turn the lamb over so it is the right side up.
- Cover again and roast for a further 2 1/2 hours, or until you can pull meat apart with forks.
- Remove cover and roast for a further 20 - 30 minutes (to brown). (Note 3)
- Remove from the oven and transfer lamb to serving platter. Cover loosely with foil and rest for 30 - 40 minutes.
- Strain liquid into a clear jug. The fat will rise to the top. Scoop/pour most of it off - I get 3/4 - 1 cup. There should be 2 - 3 cups of Sauce left. Adjust salt, pepper and lemon to taste.
- Serve lamb with the Sauce on the side and Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes (heat oil while lamb is in the oven, then cook potatoes when the lamb is resting).
Recipe Notes:
4. Adapted from this Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb by Kalofagas.Â
MORE ROAST LAMB
Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy – The most succulent lamb leg you’ll ever have!
Classic Roast Lamb – Perfectly pink and juicy inside, with a killer gravy!
Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder – My favourite cut of lamb for roasting! Super tender, incredible flavour, and so forgiving!
LIFE OF DOZER
Oh, look who made an appearance when I pulled this out of the oven. Sorry Dozer, no lamb for you! Too much garlic – bad for you!
I wanted to cook this ahead for a lunch party next weekend. I also wanted to allow it all to cool, so I could scrape of the thick layer of fat – I used shoulder as many kleftiko recipes call for that rather than leg. I cooked for 8 hours in the slow cooker with all the listed ingredients, but it doesn’t seem to have a lot of flavour. What can I do now the lamb is all cooked?
This looks delicious! If I roast 2 legs at the same time, do I keep the liquid requirements and roasting time the same? Thanks so much!
Hi there! Can this be done on a hooded BBQ? Thanks!!
Hi. I have a 1kg 1/2 leg joint. What cooking time would you recommend
Hi. I am cooking this tomorrow for all my family. I couldn’t get a lamb leg the size of yours so I’ve got 2 X 2kg legs. Would the cooking time be the same as a larger leg??
Hi Ant, you’re cooking them as a 2kg piece as they are separate. The rimes are listed in the recipe notes. Enjoy!! N x
Hi Nagi, 180C seems a high cooking temp for such a long time. Am considering doing the Greek slow lamb for a family celebration (about 2.5kg) and I would have thought that it would be overcooked at 5 hours in that baking temp. ???
I await the Yoda response. 🙂
PS: love your recipes.
Hi Peta, it’s slow cooked – so the meat goes past the point of being overcooked where the protein starts to break down and become tender 🙂 N x
An excellent recipe – coming from a Greek
Thank you Nagi. Not sure which way I will go but will let you know.
I want make this for my son’s birthday dinner. I have read some recipes for Greek Lamb where the lamb is cooked on top of the potatoes. Have you tried this Nagi? I like the idea of everything cooking in the one pan but thought the
Potatoes might overcook.
Hi Jennifer – you can definitely do that if you prefer, I just like my roast potatoes crispy so I do them separately 🙂 N x
I have tried a few different versions for slow cooked lamb, but this was the best! I cooked it in a Dutch oven so the seal is perfect, and it cut down on the cooking time by an hour. Super tender, full of flavour, and just came apart with a fork. Yum!
Hi Nagi. Can i make this in a french oven?
Yes 100% Phaedra!! N x
Hi Nagi,
Can this be made in a slow cooker? What would cooking time be? Thanks! Can’t wait to make it!
Hi May, you can, use this method here: https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooker-roast-lamb-leg/ N x
I made this because I knew the long cook time would heat up our chilly weatherboard house on a 2 degree morning! Not only did it warm the house, it smelt amazing too!! I only had a 1kg lamb shoulder, so I adjusted the times as stated in your recipe and it was stunning! I also made the Greek Lemon Roast potatoes along with a fresh Greek salad and it was a Sunday roast to be remembered! I love the tradition of an Aussie Sunday roast with family, and I love that you do too, Nagi!
I marinated the lamb at 8am on a Saturday morning, it looked so good that I was temped to eat it just raw, but saved it until Sunday morning, the whole house smelled so nice all day, but I had a heavy cocktail night on the Saturday so I was still seing double the day after (never again) and my vision must have been blurred because I didn´t put the wine in with the lamb, thought it was going in the sauce, I´m still kicking my self for behaving like a teenager in my 40’s.. however the whole meal was to die for. I was born in Iceland but moved to the UK in my 20’s and I have struggled to find lamb as good as the Icelandic lamb, but this was amazing and I´m going to make it again soon when I´m not rough as toast from cocktails. Thank you Nagi x ps. it meant that I had a full bottle of un-opened wine just sitting there, couldn´t let it go bad, so I drank it as hair of the dog 🙂
Great recipe. Very easy to do and taste absolutely amazing. I put potatoes and carrots in when you turn the leg over. Yum!
I love this recipe. I’ve made it three times. The only thing I’m finding is that the spice mix on the bottom for that first 30 mins goes black…should I be leaving it for less time perhaps or placing the lamb in a roasting rack in the roasting tin?
I would like to know the answer to this also
Hi Nagi, I’m going to cook this on Sunday and I was wondering if I could prep the lamb the night before and leave it in the fridge or would you advise me to just do it on the same day? Thanks x
You can definitely prep the night before Rakel. Enjoy! N x