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Easy Slow Roast Leg of Lamb Recipe

Abigail
Looking for the perfect centerpiece for your next Easter Sunday roast or holiday dinner, look no further than this slow roast leg of lamb recipe. With just a handful of simple ingredients and a little patience, you’ll achieve a melt-in-your-mouth, fall-off-the-bone lamb that’s infused with aromatic herbs and garlic. This method is not only easy and forgiving, but it also guarantees a show-stopping meal that will impress your guests and satisfy every craving for classic comfort food.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 294 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 6 lbs leg of lamb
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 1 tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste
  • 2 tsp meat seasoning spice of choice, adjust to taste
  • 1 whole head of garlic, halved (spare a couple of cloves to insert into the mear)
  • 1 3/4 cups beef broth
  • 1 bunch of baking herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano
  • 2 carrots, cut in large pieces
  • 1 large onion, quartered

Gravy

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp all purpose flour
  • remaining juices after roasting leg of lamb

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325 F. In a baking dish or baking tray, place the chopped vegetables, sprigs of rosemary and thyme, sage or any other herbs you're using, and the quartered onion and halved garlic.
  • Brush the leg of lamb with olive oil and rub with a mixture of salt and spices on all sides. Cut a few small slits in the meat and insert some garlic cloves. Place the lamb in the prepared baking dish.
  • Pour the broth (any broth - beef, chicken, vegetable) into the roasting dish.
  • Cover the roasting dish with its lid or foil (make sure it's not touching the meat) and place in the oven and cook for 5 hours or until the meat is fork tender and has reached about 170-175 F. Based on my experience of cooking this, the meat should be fall-apart tender at this point. Then remove from the oven, loosely tent with foil, and leave for 20 minutes to rest.

For the Gravy

  • Make gravy. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add all-purpose flour. Stir and fry for 1 minute to make a roux.
  • Pour in the strained juices from the roasted leg of lamb. Stir with a whisk until all lumps are dissolved. Adjust the thickness of the gravy to your preference. Taste and season as needed.
  • Remove the lamb from the bones (it will be very soft) and serve with the gravy.

Notes

TIPS & TRICKS
To lessen the gaminess of the meat, the night before cooking it (about 8 hours or so), soak the raw lamb leg in salted water mixed with a bottle of berry or fruity, sweet sparkling wine. I use about 6 cups of water mixed with 3/4-1 tablespoon salt. Before cooking the lamb, rinse it very well, then pat dry with paper towels and season and cook as instructed in the recipe.
Also, trim some of the fat, leaving just enough to keep the moisture and add flavor to the meat. 
If you want to serve the lamb with mint sauce, please see the recipe in the FAQ section of the article.

Nutrition

Calories: 294kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 30gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 871mgPotassium: 528mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1437IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 3mg
Keyword how to cook slow lamb roast
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