Simplest Roast Lamb Recipe

There is nothing better then the delicious taste of a Sunday Roast! It’s that Great British traditional that conjures up feelings of nostalgia and a wonderful feeling in your belly. This is the simplest, most basic recipe to get a tasty roast leg of lamb for the dinner table this weekend.

How To Roast a Leg of Lamb

10 servings, depending on size of the leg

What You Need

Ingredients
2.25kg to 3kg lamb leg, bone-in
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic
3 stems fresh rosemary or a tablespoon of dried rosemary

Equipment
Roasting pan, with rack
Aluminium foil
Carving knife

Method

1. Take the lamb out of the fridge. At least an hour before cooking this allows it to come up to room temperature. This makes cooking faster, and gives more even cooking.
2. Rub the lamb with olive oil. Set the lamb on a rack inside the roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil over the fat and meat. Season with salt and pepper. Rub the oil and spice in to the lamb, covering every part of the fat and meat.
3. Grill for 5 minutes.Turn the grill on at a high heat and position the lamb so that the top of the meat is a few inches from the grill element or flame. Use racks to make higher if needed. Grill the lamb for 5 minutes or until the top of the lamb leg looks seared and is browned on top. This will begin to render the fat.
4. Flip the lamb over and grill the under side. Grill the bottom of the lamb for another 5 mins to sear.
5. Top with garlic and rosemary.Take the lamb out of the oven. Turn off the grill and set the oven temperature to 170°C or gas mark 3. Re-position the oven rack so the lamb will rest in the middle of the oven. Finely chop or press the garlic and mince the rosemary leaves. Turn the lamb leg over  so the fat is facing up again and rub the top with the chopped garlic and rosemary. To get more flavour in to the roast you can also make small incisions in to the flesh and push the garlic and rosemary in to them.
6. Cover the lamb loosely with foil. This will keep the garlic and rosemary from burning. Put the lamb back in the oven and cook at 170°C for  an hour.
7. Remove the foil after an hour . You can check how well done the meat is with a thermometer. For medium rare, an internal temperature of 55 – 60ºC. For well done lamb, an internal temperature of 65 – 70ºC.
8. If needed, continue cooking the lamb until done.Continue cooking the lamb uncovered until it reaches your preferred internal temperature. Check the temperature every 20 minutes until done.
9. Let the leg of lamb rest. Remove the lamb from the oven and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. You can place the tin foil over the top to retain some heat.
10. Carve the lamb and serve. Slice the lamb by your desired thickness. Serve to your friends and family with all the trimmings.