Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic
° Serves 6
My supermarket sells small boned and tied roasts of lamb from the leg, and that is what I use in this recipe. Weighing about 2½ pounds—more than enough for 6 people—the roast should be well trimmed.
Try to get a roast that is plump and round so it will yield slices of equal size. The ones I usually use are about 6 inches long and 5 inches in diameter, and the roasting time given below produces medium-rare meat. If your roast is of slightly different dimensions, or if you prefer your lamb cooked more or less, adjust the cooking time accordingly—keeping in mind that the amount of time you let the meat rest after cooking is important too. A roast like this one needs to rest for at least 15 minutes to be appealingly pink throughout. If need be, it can be kept for as long as 45 minutes to 1 hour in a 140-degree oven before serving.
This dish is particularly good with Mashed Potatoes with Garlic, roasted potatoes, or noodles.
- 1 boneless lamb roast from the leg, trimmed and tied (2½ pounds)
- 2 to 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut diagonally into wedges (about 12 total)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup Basic Chicken Stock or canned chicken broth
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the roast in a heavy baking pan. With the point of a knife, puncture the lamb in about 12 places, making ¾-inch-deep slits, and push the garlic into them. Sprinkle the meat with the salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Roast the lamb for 30 minutes, then turn the meat and roast for another 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat is about 120 degrees.
Pour out most of the fat from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the bottom of the pan. Stir the chicken stock into the fat and drippings left in the pan and return the meat to the oven for 5 minutes to cook the sauce. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the meat to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. (If you are not going to serve the meat right away, place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the top and set the roast aside in a warm place.)
At serving time, slice the meat and serve it with the sauce.
After cooking, the roast will remain moist and flavorful for up to an hour in a 140-degree oven.