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Home Collections Roasts

Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

By:Nagi
Published:23 Mar '16Updated:6 May '20
480 Comments
Recipe v Dozer v

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!!

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

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?

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

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 20 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!!

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

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.

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

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!!!

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

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

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

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Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 7 hrs
Total: 7 hrs 10 mins
Dinner, Roast
Greek
4.92 from 87 votes
Servings8
Tap or hover to scale
Print
In my books, there are only 2 ways to roast a leg of lamb - with a hint of pink so it's juicy (30 minutes per kg/2lb) or cooked loooooong and slow until tender. Anything in between = dry, tough meat. This recipe is the Greek way of roasting lamb - slow roasted until tender, braised in a lemon garlic thyme broth that reduces down to a sauce. The sauce is completely different to the thick gravy you are probably used to. This sauce is not thickened with flour, it is lemony, herby and garlicky so it cuts through the richness of the lamb. This is easier and far more foolproof than traditional roast leg of lamb because you don't need to worry about overcooking it.

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:

1. I used a full leg of lamb which is too long for most roasting trays. If you buy it from a supermarket, typically the shaft (bone) will be cut so it bends so it can fit into the pan. If you purchase it from a butcher, ask them to do this for you because you need the roast to fit flat in a roasting pan so it can lie submerged in the braising liquid.
2. Or as high as your oven goes if it can't go this high.
3. TOTAL COOK TIME:
4. Adapted from this Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb by Kalofagas.
Keywords: slow roasted leg of lamb
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

 


MORE ROAST LAMB

Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy – The most succulent lamb leg you’ll ever have!

The most succulent and easiest lamb leg ever, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg takes minutes to prepare. The gravy is incredible! recipetineats.com

Classic Roast Lamb – Perfectly pink and juicy inside, with a killer gravy!

A classic, perfectly cooked Roast Lamb Leg with a classic smooth, rich gravy. It's Lambalicious! recipetineats.com

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder – My favourite cut of lamb for roasting! Super tender, incredible flavour, and so forgiving!

Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder recipetineats.com


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!

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

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480 Comments

  1. Danita Klopper says

    January 20, 2021 at 4:33 am

    5 stars
    This is an epic recipe. We cooked it in the green egg and have been eating lamb shwarmas with tzatziki for the past 3 days. Delicious. Easy.

    Reply
  2. Helena Denel says

    January 11, 2021 at 8:00 pm

    You’ve done it again! Cooked this for Christmas lunch and the table was totally silent except for the munching and scraping of plates! Never happened before. Absolutely no left-overs. And, to top it off, we are on the land, so you have touched the hearts and stomachs of farmers.
    Thank you so much !!

    Reply
  3. Lyn Priester says

    December 27, 2020 at 12:52 pm

    Can this slow roasted lamb be done in the slow cooker, or better in oven??

    Reply
  4. Leacroft Green says

    December 27, 2020 at 5:12 am

    Not sure what happened, perhaps my foil was too much and acted like a pressure cooker. The lamb after only 4 hours was totally done. Overcooked to the point where the meat was almost mushy and there was little fat left in it. It must have been the amount of foil used cause I used a lot and sealed it really tight.

    Reply
  5. Christopher Leahy says

    December 13, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    Hi, what would be the cook time for a 3 pound boneless leg of lamb using this recipe?

    Thank you!!!

    Reply
  6. Simmi Chaudhari says

    December 12, 2020 at 7:17 pm

    I meant rub not tub!

    Reply
  7. Simmi Chaudhari says

    December 12, 2020 at 7:16 pm

    Hi there. Can I marinate the meat with the tub and then keep it in the fridge over night?

    Reply
  8. Rob says

    December 7, 2020 at 6:22 am

    Hi Nagy,
    I need to cook everything through for health reasons so I can’t have any pink meat.. could I sear it in a pan and then do the remaining time in a slow cooker ?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 7, 2020 at 4:58 pm

      Hi Rob – this is slow cooked and completely cooked through, it is actually cooked beyond being “done” so the meat starts to break down and become super tender. N x

      Reply
  9. Melissa says

    December 1, 2020 at 8:10 pm

    Hi Nagi. Will this recipe work with a boneless leg? If so, how would I adjust the cooking time?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 2, 2020 at 11:20 am

      Hi Melissa, it will, however cook time will need to be adjusted depending on the size of leg you have. N x

      Reply
  10. Clara says

    November 23, 2020 at 9:05 am

    This looks amazing… Wanting to make it for Christmas lunch so trying to figure out the timing to cook it without having to stay up all night on Christmas Eve… How would this go if cooked the day before??

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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