Pot roast leg of lamb
This simple recipe shows you how to cook a pot roast leg of lamb. I love lamb, and this recipe will give you lamb that falls off the bone after cooking, a little bit like Turkish lamb tandir. It is so tender and succulent you will want to make this again!
It is another great alternative for a family Sunday lunch instead of a roast chicken or roast beef.
Cooking leg of lamb slowly
Many countries have traditions of cooking lamb slowly. A slow roast Greek leg of lamb is a thing of wonder.
But lamb does have a strong taste, and it can dry out if you cook it too much. So this method of cooking it in a well-sealed pot with a thin layer of stock keeps the moisture in the meat and gives you a lovely succulent result.
Lamb tandir is lamb that has been slow-cooked, hanging over the coals in a clay oven, under the ground. We have eaten this before in Turkey and if you ever get the chance, you should definitely try it. Crispy and succulent it is a wonderful dish that gets the best out of the lamb.
Obviously cooking in a Dutch oven is not the same process and will not give you an identical result, but it does give you tender meat that falls off the bone and is super tasty.
What is the best pot to use for pot roast
In this recipe, I cook the lamb in one of my trusty Le Creuset enamelled cast-iron Dutch ovens (I have two, but this was the largest one).
One of the important things to think about when you are procuring your meat is to make sure it will fit in your pot! The leg I bought was actually too big for my pot, and I had to use a hacksaw to cut off some of the bone so it would fit into my Le Creuset! Not good food planning!
You could of course also try this with a boneless leg of lamb or some lamb shoulder, depending on the size of your pot.
Le Creuset are quite expensive pots, but they will last you a lifetime. I have had mine for more than 25 years and I do swear by them.
The important thing is to make sure you have a pot with a well-sealing lid that will keep the goodness and moisture in while you are cooking, so you get a super tender, succulent result like this:
There are luckily somewhat more affordable alternatives around, like the products from Una Casa for example, who also have some great offers available, like this enamelled cast-iron casserole pot:
Or this cool camping Dutch oven:
What could be better than slow cooking some lamb on the campfire and making some delicious lamb wraps or stuffed lamb pita bread for supper?
Instant Pot Leg of Lamb
Initially, I was going to make this recipe in the Instant Pot, but as the leg I had bought did not even initially fit in my casserole pot, it was never going to fit in the Instant pot.
But I think you could use the same recipe in the Instant Pot, as long as you had a smaller piece of lamb that fitted, like a lamb shank, or half a leg of lamb maybe.
So if you were wanting to make an instant pot lamb shank, for example, you could use the same recipe, and just cook instead on high pressure for 1,5 hours and you should get the same result.
You may wish to sauté the meat first on the sauté setting of your Instant Pot to avoid having to brown the meat when the cycle is finished.
I think I will try this next time as the amount of meat on this leg was way too much for the three of us, even for two days of meals.
Whichever method you choose, I am sure you will end up with a delicious piece of succulent meat that you can serve up as a Sunday roast dinner or in whatever tasty invention you are planning.
We ate this on day two in pita bread and in some healthy Greek-style wraps. Absolutely wonderful!
Good luck trying this recipe. If you do try it, please let me know how you get on in the comments section below!
How to make pot roast leg of lamb
Save time producing tasty food for your family with Gav’s Weekly Meal Plan!
Just 19 US $!!
Pot Roast Leg of Lamb
This simple recipe shows you how to cook a pot roast leg of lamb. This recipe is a bit like a Turkish lamb tandir, but without the clay oven to slow cook it. The results are quite similar.
Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb (mine in the photos was 2.4kg)
- 3 x large carrots, peeled
- 1 leek, cleaned
- 5 garlic cloves
- 40ml olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
- 200ml lamb stock
Optional for gravy
- 1 lamb Oxo cube
- 1 tbsp Chicken Bisto gravy granules
Instructions
Preparation
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
- Prepare the vegetables - peel the carrots and clean the leek (slice it lengthways and clean under the cold water tap to remove any sand). Crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife without peeling, and leave them whole.
- Score any fat in the leg with a diamond pattern.
- Mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt, oregano, rosemary and thyme leaves and ground pepper together in a bowl.
- Place the carrots and leek, whole, on the bottom of the pot. Then place the leg of lamb on top so it is supported by the vegetables (I actually had to saw off a bit of bone with a hacksaw to make it fit my pan!)
- Then rub the oil and herb mixture into the outside of the lamb, by hand.
- Pour the lamb stock into the bottom of the pot and add the garlic cloves. Put the lid on the pan.
Cooking
- Place the pot in the pre-heated oven and leave to cook for about 30 minutes per 500g plus 20 minutes. In my case this was about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
- Check halfway through that there is still enough liquid in the pan. If it is too low then top up with some water. There should be enough to half cover the vegetables.
- After the specified cooking time, remove the lid of the pot and cook for a further 10 minutes to brown the meat.
- Then remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest on a chopping board for 15 minutes to allow the juices in the joint to redistribute. Then pull all the meat off the bone with two forks before serving up.
Gravy
- To make gravy pour all the liquid from the pot into a jug and then sieve the liquid into another container. Allow the liquid to settle and remove any fat from the top with a ladle.
- Put the meat juices back into the pot on medium heat and add an Oxo cube and some water. When it comes to the boil add some gravy granules and keep stirring until you have a tasty gravy of the right consistency. Season to taste. Just add more water if it is too thick.
Notes
Serve up however you wish. Great as a Sunday roast with roast potatoes and sprouts, or as part of a filling for wraps or pita bread.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 219Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 424mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 13g
This nutrition information was automatically calculated by Nutritionix, but may not be 100% accurate.