Carefree Cooking

Leg of Lamb

Leg of lamb is one of the ingredients that I was afraid to use. It's typically expensive since it's a big chunk of meat. And when not cooked properly, could be completely inedible. However, just like the duck, I had to try it. As the famous saying goes, practice makes perfect.



I've seen some cooking shows where leg of lamb is the main ingredient. But I decided to be adventurous and try adding whatever flavours I can find in my fridge. Cooking technique is very important when cooking the lamb so I followed the basic barbeque style of cooking (low heat for a long period of time). I want to share a quick tidbit I learned recently (From Alton Brown I think). Tougher cuts of meat (muscles that are used frequently by the animal) has a lot of collagen. Collagen are tough to eat, but when the proper heat and cooking duration is applied, these connective tissue melts and the meat falls apart. So to cook the cheap tough cuts of meat, keep in mind the low temperature and long period of cooking.



Now back to the lamb. I used the roasting technique which essentially means put the meat in the oven. To add flavour, I used a wet rub. Below is what I had in my wet rub.

• Olive oil
  
• Dijon Mustard


• Rosemary


• Thyme


• Basil


• Salt


• Pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and rub on the entire leg of lamb. Place the lamb on a roasting pan. Cut some onions, garlic, and potatoes and place them on the roasting pan as well. This will give the gravy a nice flavour (more on that later). Preheat the oven at 300 degrees F and place the roasting pan in there for 3 hours. If you have one of those digital meat thermometer, use that instead. The lamb should be ready when the internal temperature hits around 180 degrees F.

After the meat is fully cooked, take it out of the roasting pan and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Take out the onions, garlic, and potatoes from the roasting pan. There should be some juice from the meat left on the pan. This will be the basis of the gravy. Put the roasting pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Put some stock into the pan and mix the sauce thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. To thicken the gravy, add some cornstarch mixed in water (equal parts) and pour into the sauce. Mix quickly. The sauce should thicken soon.

Cooking a leg of lamb is definitely not for the every day meal. It takes a bit of preparation and time to cook it, but it is very worth it. There are many different ways leg of lamb can be cooked, and I've just began to scratch the surface. Next time I cook lamb, I will use the braising method instead of roasting. I'll see which one taste better. Stay tuned!

Labels: leg of lamb, roasting

posted by carefreecooking @ 9:35 PM