A baked leg of lamb has got to be the best meal to make in my opinion. It is so simple, tastes amazing, fills your house with beautiful aromas for hours and your friends and family will rave about your cooking abilities. This dish requires very little preparation time, which is perfect for busy families, and is so simple anyone from age 8 can cook it.
The long, slow cooking allows all the flavour from the herbs, meat juices and crusty bits to form the most delectable gravy – no need for that chemical laden Gravox 🙂
This is suitable for a small leg of lamb for families of 4 or a large leg of lamb for families of ten or more, like mine. Or better still, a huge leg of lamb for friends and family to enjoy. This dish is so impressive you will want to share it with friends.
I like to make a fresh mint sauce some days, yet others days the self-made gravy is all I want. Serve with roast veggies or my favourite – buttered steamed greens.
- 2 onions, sliced
- 4 rosemary sprigs
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 lamb shoulder, bone in (about 2kg)
- 2 heads of garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 12 pearl onions (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
- Place the sliced onions, herbs and chicken stock in a baking tray.
- Season the lamb very generously with salt and pepper and place it in the baking tray, skin-side up. Cover the lamb with a sheet of baking paper, then use foil over the top to cover the lamb and seal around the edges. Place in the oven and forget about it for the next 6 hours.
- You will be smelling the beautiful aromas by now which will remind you to get the next onions and garlic ready. Place the pearl onions and the peeled, whole garlic cloves in the pan, carefully peeling back a corner of the foil lid – don’t burn yourself on the steam! Replace the foil and bake for another hour.
- Take the lamb out of the oven, turning the oven up to 220 degrees or as high as it will go. Take off the foil and baking paper and place the lamb back in the oven for about half an hour, or until you have a nice and crispy skin.
- Once the lamb is ready, all you will need to do is remove to a warmed serving dish and pull apart the flesh with a pair of tongs.
- Serve with the onions and garlic and the delicious pan juices poured over the top. An extra drizzle of olive oil and black pepper is great too.
For all the Trim Healthy Mamas out there, this is an S dish and is similar to the recipe in the book, page 319.
