Slow Roast Leg of Lamb

This Slow Roast Leg of Lamb is going to take your next Sunday roast to a whole new level! It’s ULTRA EASY and very forgiving. It does take patience, but you’ll be rewarded with tender lamb leg that can be pulled off the bone, served with a wickedly delicious rosemary garlic infused gravy.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – lamb leg should either be roasted exactly such that it’s blushing pink inside, or long and slow so it’s ultra tender. Blushing pink = meat thermometer or holding-your-breath-cross-your-fingers for that moment when you carve, hoping for juicy lamb rather than grey and dry.

And if blushing pink perfectly roasted lamb is what you’re after, try my Classic Roast Leg of Lamb – and yes, you really need a meat thermometer.

THE EASIER WAY TO ROAST LAMB LEG

If you’re after a much easier, less stressful way to roast lamb leg, cook it long and slow. You won’t need a knife to carve this. Just pull the meat off the bone with tongs.

And it’s Amazing. With a capital A!

Ahhh, lamb, how I love thee! Some people love learning how to do fancy cake decorations. I admire from afar – I highly doubt you’ll ever see a towering 3 tier cake on here.

But big hunks of meat slow roasted until the meat is so tender, you can pry it off with a fork, then drown it in a gorgeous gravy infused with garlic and rosemary flavours? THAT you will find here! 🙂

HOW TO MAKE SLOW ROAST LEG OF LAMB

The leg of lamb is roasted on a bed of onion, garlic and rosemary which serves three purposes:

1) to keep the lamb elevated out of the pan juices for even cooking;
2) flavour the flesh that’s in contact with it; and
3) flavours the pan juices which is used to make the gravy.

All the lamb needs is a sprinkle of salt and pepper, drizzle of olive oil. Add beef broth/stock and water into the pan (keeps everything all nice and moist + makes pan juices for gravy), cover then slow roast until tender and fall apart and finish by roasting uncovered for a bit to get a beautiful brown crust.

HOW TO MAKE GRAVY FOR ROAST LAMB

Just set the pan on the stove, mix in flour, then the pan juices and water Cook until it becomes a gravy consistency, then strain. I doubt you’ll need extra salt but add a good grind of pepper if you’re so inclined.

A great gravy comes down to the flavour in the pan juices and this one knocks it out of the park!

I promised this was easy, and I meant it. It’s forgiving because if the meat’s not tender enough, you can just stick it back in the oven until it is – and you can cook for even an hour beyond necessary and it’s still going to be juicy.

If the gravy gets too thick, no dramas, just add a splash of water. If the gravy is lumpy, no worries, because in this recipe, it’s strained.

In short – it’s pretty hard to stuff up. If you’re a roast lamb first-timer, just give yourself a couple of extra hours because this lamb reheats great in the microwave or oven, as does the gravy.

Sunday night roast is never going to be the same again! – Nagi x

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Slow Roast Leg of Lamb

Prep

15 mins

Cook

4 hrs 59 mins

Total

5 hrs 14 mins

 

Recipe video above. A very forgiving, very easy way to roast a leg of lamb. It's not the carving sort - the meat is so tender, you can pull it off the bone with tongs. Lamb leg is actually quite lean, so the best way to slow roast a leg of lamb is to partially submerge it in liquid and roast it covered for most of the time. This way, the flesh is infused with flavour and absorbs moisture. 

Course: Main

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: Roast Lamb Leg, Slow Roast Leg of Lamb

Servings: 8

Calories: 605 kcal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

• 2.25 kg / 4.5 lb leg of lamb , bone in (or shoulder) (Note 1)
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole garlic head , unpeeled, cut in half horizontally
• 1 onion , quartered (unpeeled is fine)
• 2 rosemary sprigs (2 = whisper of rosemary flavour, 4 sprigs = stronger flavour)
• 3 cups / 750 ml beef broth , low sodium
• 2 cups / 500 ml water

Gravy:

• 4 tbsp / 50g flour (white)
• 1 cup / 250 ml water
• Salt and pepper , to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170C/335F (standard) or 150C/300F (fan/convection).
2. Place garlic, onion and rosemary in a metal roasting pan.
3. Place lamb leg right side up in the pan. (Note 2)
4. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and rub it in.
5. Turn lamb over and place it so it mostly sits on the garlic and onion. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, rub it in. (Video helpful here)

6. Drizzle lamb with olive oil. Pour broth and water around the lamb - it won't cover it, that's ok, the lamb sinks into it. Cover with foil (don't use a lid, you want a bit of liquid to steam out).

7. Place in the oven and roast for 4.5 hours. (See Notes for roasting time table)

8. Remove from the oven, remove foil. Turn lamb over. Check it to ensure the meat is tender (pry a bit off with a fork). If not, return, covered, to oven.

9. Return uncovered lamb to oven for a further 45 minutes or until well browned.
10. Remove lamb, spoon over pan juices generously. Transfer to serving platter, cover loosely with foil while you make the gravy (stays warm for 1 - 1.5 hours).

Gravy:

1. Use a large spoon to skim off some of the fat from the surface of the liquid.

2. Place pan on the stove on medium high. When the liquid bubbles, add flour.
3. Use a whisk to mix it in - this may take a few minutes as the liquid reduces.
4. Once it looks like sludge (see video), whisk in 1/2 - 1 cup of water until it becomes a gravy consistency to your taste. Adjust salt and pepper to taste - I rarely add extra salt.
5. Strain gravy into a bowl, pressing juices out of the onion etc.
6. Pour gravy into jug.

Serving:

1. The meat is tender so you will only need tongs to tear the meat off. Serve with gravy.

Notes

1. LAMB CUT: This recipe can be made with a leg or shoulder of lamb. Shoulder has more fat running through it than leg, so you can actually roast it uncovered (here's my Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder recipe), but this recipe will also work with shoulder. This recipe is designed for lamb leg because it's leaner, so it benefits greatly from slow roasting partially submerged in liquid so it doesn't dry out. Cooking it this way also infuses it with flavour.

2. The upper side of the lamb leg has more meat so we want to roast that partially submerged in the liquid for most of the cooking time. The upper side of the lamb is rounder and usually has more fat. The underside has less fat and is more flat.

3. TRY THIS WITH Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes!

4. MORE ROAST LAMB: Ultra Tender Slow Cooker Roast Lamb, Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder, Classic Roast Lamb with Gravy (i.e. it's blushing pink inside) and Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb (delish lemon garlic flavours!).

5. Roasting Times (this cook method is pretty forgiving so round up to determine cook time eg if your lamb is 1.8kg, use the 2 kg cook times):

6. Calories in the nutrition are higher than actual because I do not know how to adjust for the fat that is skimmed off the liquid before making the gravy. I usually throw out about 1/3 cup which means the calories is probably closer to 500 calories per serving, and that's assuming all the gravy is consumed.

Nutrition Facts

Slow Roast Leg of Lamb

Amount Per Serving (322 g)

Calories 605 Calories from Fat 342

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 38g 58%

Saturated Fat 15g 75%

Polyunsaturated Fat 2.8g

Monounsaturated Fat 17g

Cholesterol 198mg 66%

Sodium 809mg 34%

Potassium 712mg 20%

Total Carbohydrates 6.5g 2%

Dietary Fiber 0.5g 2%

Sugars 0.8g

Protein 56g 112%

Vitamin A 0.2%

Vitamin C 1.5%

Calcium 0.4%

Iron 26%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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