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!!
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 lamb and seafood.
I was very tempted to share a salmon gravlax – have you ever made it yourself? It’s so insanely easy – gourmet food on a budget!! But because I shared a side of salmon recipe for Christmas (my mother’s Miso Marinated Side of Salmon!), I decided to go for lamb this Easter.
But not just any lamb roast. 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 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!!
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 Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes. They really are….well, crunchy!! 😉
- 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)
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Preheat oven to 220C/430F (fan forced/convection) or 240C/465F (standard ovens). (Note 2)
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Use a small knife to make around 25 incisions all over the lamb, with most on the top.
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Cut around 6 cloves into slivers and stuff them into the incisions.
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Sprinkle the lamb generously all over with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Drizzle with olive oil and rub all over the lamb.
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Place the lamb in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes or until it has a nice brown crust.
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Remove from the oven. Turn the oven down to 160C/320F (fan forced) / 180C/350F (conventional).
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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.
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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)
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Remove the roast from the oven and remove the lid/foil. Turn the lamb over so it is the right side up.
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Cover again and roast for a further 2 1/2 hours, or until you can pull meat apart with forks.
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Remove cover and roast for a further 20 - 30 minutes (to brown). (Note 3)
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Remove from the oven and transfer lamb to serving platter. Cover loosely with foil and rest for 30 - 40 minutes.
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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.
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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).
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.
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!
The Best!!! Even my fussy niece’s were raving about how yummy it was. And the stock/gravy, oh my god, amazing. Thank you so much!! This recipe is now a family favourite in our house!!
Hi Nagi, I made this over the weekend for house guests and it was just so delicious, tender, tasty and easy! I put it in the oven, worked with my study group for 3 hours, welcomed my interstate family and finished the dinner with creamy mashed potatoes (skin on with a finely chopped onion included at the end) and steamed greens…. everyone loved it! We had some left over and we had it in sandwiches and snacks and it is just fabulous cold the next day! Thank you for an outstanding recipe that I have already passed onto my visiting guests and sister 🙂
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Jane! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback! N x ❤️
Hi Nagi, which way is right way up?
Hi Jodie! The underside is more flat, the top is rounded 🙂 Look at the photos of the finished lamb so you can tell which way the right way up is! N x
Hi Nagi,
This looks fabulous. I’m doing it for a family gathering tomorrow however have two legs of lamb (3.5kg & 3kg) to feed the group. These will fit in one big roasting dish. Do I double everything else including the lemon juice and stock?
Hi hi! I made your recipe last night alllllll across the world in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was so tender and delicious and perfect! Thanks so much posting such great and easy to follow recipes. Also, I love the addition of your notes! Amid my ceramic photos, I posted a couple of photos of the lamb in progress and done!
https://www.instagram.com/foragestudios/?hl=en
I’m jumping over to check out the photos right now!!! N xx
I’ve got a BONELESS leg of lamb just under two kg. Cooking time?
So excited to make this!
Hi Hannah! Reduce the roasting steps 2 and 3 for the 2kg bone-in lamb by 30 minutes each ie overall cook time reduction of 1 hour.
oven over slow cooker Nagi?? thinking of taking the day and doing this for mum tomorrow. looks great!
Oven! 🙂 I usually choose oven over slow cooker if time permits! 🙂
I’ve got a half leg about 2kgs. Do I reduce all of the ingredients by half?
Hi Lisette! Not quite half, I’d do about 2/3 so you still have enough liquid for the lamb 🙂 Use the scaler and slide down until the garlic cloves changes from 12 to 8, then all the other ingredients will change!
I made this today! Followed the recipe exactly. Was the best thing ever! One of my guests doesn’t like lamb and went back for seconds. I told her afterwards that it was lamb! The potatoes were great as well. The whole dinner was fantastic!
So great to hear Audra!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
Will this work for a shoulder of lamb if I reduce the cook time?
Hi Alesha! Absolutely 🙂 It probably only needs around 1 hour less based on the weights provided in the table in the recipe N x
Hi Nagi,
I have this in the oven now for dinner and it’s been about an hour but just realised there may be too much liquid because it’s filled about half way up the lamb.. should I pour some out?? I’m not sure if hubby would like the lemon sauce so was going to do a separate gravy so not too worried about the sauce side of things but didn’t want to affect the outcome.. love your blog btw 😊
Delicious and tender.
That’s wonderful to hear Corinne! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this! N xx
i am cooking two BONELESS legs of lamb tomorrow. What alterations to the time would be needed? One weighs 5.87lbs and the other 6.2lbs.
Hi Carolyn! If you can fit them both on the same shelf or in one big pan without overlapping, I think the cook time for a 7lb bone in one should suffice for both of them. Allow an extra 30 minutes buffer just in case 🙂
Slow roasting for 6.5 hours for a 7lb leg of lamb seems way too long. Other recipes call for only 3-31/2 hours. Why so long?
Hi Angie! It needs it because it’s leg, most slow roasted recipes are for shoulder which cook faster. 🙂 It needs a looooong time in order to become super tender!
Nagi, I’m cooking a 6-7 lb. boneless leg of lamb this weekend for “Greek Easter.” How would you adjust the cooking times?
Hi George! There’s a table in the recipe with cook times for larger legs 🙂 N x
George: I’m cooking the same–boneless 7 lb leg. I’m going to use the longest cooking time on the chart, as she’s suggested. I’ve never slow roasted this way…curious to see how it goes. Keep us posted. Good luck!
I am trying this for Greek Easter this Sunday. I will let you know what the family thinks!
Hope everyone loves it! 🙂 N xx
Your recipe was a hit! The kids especially loved it over the traditional leg of lamb, as it was milder in flavor and ate like roast. The adults enjoyed it too, but missed the garlic pockets that they got in traditional sliced lamb. I loved how hands off it was and really fool proof. I will definitely do it again!
Yesssss! So glad you enjoyed it Didi! N xx
If like me you have a jug of stock left over after this lamb, which was delicious, it makes the best ever French Onion Soup. Waste not Want not!
Pure GENIUS!!!!
Ann:
I have a bunch of stock left…I can’t wait to try french onion soup!
This was the most delicious leg of lamb I have ever cooked and so simple. Even the re-heated leftovers were delicious!
Thank you.
Love hearing that Lesley! So pleased you enjoyed this so much! N xx