Leg Of Lamb Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Leg of lamb
- 10 ml Chilli flakes, dried
- 5 ml Coriander, ground
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 5 cm Ginger, fresh
- 1 Lemon, Juice and zest of
- 5 ml Madras curry paste
- 15 ml Tomato ketchup
- 5 ml Black pepper, freshly ground
- 60 ml Brown sugar
- 2 pinches Saffron threads
- 10 ml Salt
- 60 ml Olive oil
- 120 g Greek yogurt
Lamb is such an underrated meat. There are so many excellent cuts of lamb out there, such as shoulder of lamb, saddle of lamb, lamb shank and lamb rack.
As you can see, this Indian roast lamb has the shank. Once you take the gorgeous piece of meat out of the fridge, you’ll need to pierce it a couple of times all over.
This step is important, because when you are ready with your marinade mix, you’ll pour it over and it will absorb all the flavours.
The marinating process takes time. After at least 8 hours – overnight works best – your lamb will be ready.
Before you roast your Indian lamb in the oven, bring it to room temperature. This will help it roast to perfection.
It’ll take a total of 3 hours to roast.
The Marinade
One of the most important parts of this recipe is the marinade. It’s made up of 13 different ingredients, all working together in harmony to bring an incredible taste to the roast leg of lamb.
Take the time to go through the list above and be sure to have the ingredients before you start cooking this recipe. Each component is really important and brings its own dimension to create an incredible final taste.
You’ll need to give the marinade plenty of time to do its thing – around 8 hours in total or overnight. Giving the marinade time allows the lamb to absorb all the flavours. You’ll end up with a fantastically succulent leg of lamb that falls off the bone.
When you apply it to the lamb leg, make sure you completely cover all the surfaces of the leg. This way, when it’s in the oven, you’ll get an even flavour throughout.
Do You Need To Marinate Lamb?
There is some debate whether marinating the lamb is a good idea. The point of a marinade is to break down tough fibers in any type of meat. Still, lamb is already quite a tender meat, depending on how you cook it.
For this reason, many people believe that using a marinade will make the lamb slightly tougher.
Don’t worry! This marinade will not make the lamb chewy.
In fact, it will help to keep the juices from escaping when the whole surface of the leg is covered. This leads to a perfectly moist, tender lamb that’ll melt in your mouth.
If you’re not a fan of marinades and generally prefer the umami flavour of the meat, no problem. Simply season your leg of lamb with salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic. Sometimes, simplicity is key.
How Long Does A 1kg Leg Of Lamb Take?
When cooking a whole leg of lamb low and slow, it can be difficult to know when it’s cooked. The first rule with this recipe is to leave the lamb in the oven until you see a beautiful golden crust on top.
This the crust that prevents the juices from escaping, which in turn keeps the meat nice and tender.
The total cooking time in the oven depends on how you like your lamb on the inside. If you like it pink – so rare to medium rare, you should cook your leg of lamb for about 25–30 mins per kg.
If you prefer your lamb leg well done, roast it for 35–40 mins per kilo.
For me, Indian roast lamb should be pink in the middle. This way, you’ll get the most juicy, tender and delicious meat.
If you prefer it well-done, be careful. If you overcook the meat you run the risk of killing the taste and destroying the integrity of this expensive cut.
