Sunday, June 19, 2011

Roast Leg of Lamb - Variation with Rosemary, Oregano, Lemon

I just winged this last night based on the fact that I had fresh rosemary and oregano in the garden.  I often use thyme, not oregano, but I don't have fresh thyme in the garden right now (a disastrous oversight that must be corrected), and as it turns out the oregano was a welcome change.  I get my leg of lamb at Costo because it comes butterflied with a little net around it. 

5ish lb. boneless leg of lamb
5 garlic cloves
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt per your taste

The evening before your dinner party, blend the garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt, olive oil and lemon juice to a paste in a food processor.  Stab the lamb all over with a little knife.  Remove netting.  Work paste into the holes and also rub all over the inside and outside of the lamb.  Re-net the lamb and seal it in a Ziploc bag.  Refrigerate until an hour before you are ready to cook, whereupon you should remove the lamb and let it approach room temperature.  Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place still netted lamb on a roasting rack in a roasting pan, roast for 20 minutes then turn the temperature down to 325 and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 125 degrees (per the experts, and the experts are right!  [I changed the cooking temperatures and recommended final internal temperature from my last lol recipe]).  This will result in a very tender lamb (maybe the lemon juice helps?), rare in the middle of the leg and medium rare on the ends.   Serve with mushrooms au gratin and oven fried potatoes.

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