Leg of Lamb Recipe

Name: Leg of Lamb Recipe
Prep time: 12 h
Cook time: 3 h
Yield: 12 serving
Ingredients: 2 legs of American lamb; 16 cloves of garlic; 16 cardamom pods; ⅓ cup whole peppercorns; 3 tablespoons of brown sugar; 2 Tablespoons of Allspice powder; 1 Tablespoon cinnamon; 1 tablespoons of onion powder; 1 tablespoons of garlic powder; 3 tablespoons of Pepper flakes; ¼ cup salt; 3 tablespoons of cracked black pepper; ½ cup yogurt; ¼ cup ketchup; ½ cup olive oil; ¼ cup pomegranate molasses; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 onions cut in half; 2 heads of garlic cut in half; 5 bay leaves; 6 cinnamon sticks; 6 cups stock

User Reviews

4.8

36 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
12 hrs
Cook Time
3 hrs
Servings
12
Calories
496 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Turkish

Leg of Lamb Recipe

Quade Maldonado

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While it’s no secret we love lamb, this leg of lamb recipe however could very well be one of our most popular at home! It’s very forgiving, you can marinade the lamb for as little or as long as you want. The oven does all the work for you, and you get a delicious, melt in your mouth, juicy and succulent leg of lamb to share at the end.

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Ingredients

Servings

Lamb

2 legs of American lamb
16 cloves of garlic
16 cardamom pods
⅓ cup whole peppercorns

Dry Spice blend

3 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of Allspice powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoons of onion powder
1 tablespoons of garlic powder
3 tablespoons of Pepper flakes a blend of paprika and turkish spice pepper flakes
¼ cup salt divided -Use mediterranean sea salt
3 tablespoons of cracked black pepper divided

Wet Blend

½ cup yogurt
¼ cup ketchup if you can’t find turkish sweet pepper paste
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons soy sauce

To Roast

2 onions cut in half
2 heads of garlic cut in half
5 bay leaves
6 cinnamon sticks
6 cups stock beef, chicken, veggie or lamb

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Notes

Start with American Lamb for a fresh, quality and delicious tasting meal! I can’t stress this enough-American Lamb is superior and I don’t want you to miss out on that :)
Beforehand make sure you know the size of your roasting pan and ask your butcher to cut off excess bone so that the lamb fits comfortably.
When inserting the garlic and spices into the meat, make sure you press them down really well so that they don’t fall or slip out.
My grandma always salted separately and salted twice. The dry spice doesn’t include salt and that way the salt is well distributed. Right before roasting, salting the lamb enforces the flavor.
It’s a good thing to get messy here and use your hands to massage the wet mixture really well into the leg of lamb.
Marinating the meat can vary from 2 hours to 2 days. The more the better without a doubt.
Add more or less of the flavoring before roasting including onions, garlic, whole spices and bay leaves.
The amount of stock is essential to ensure a juicy meat, so don’t put less.
When covering the lamb, make sure there’s a layer of parchment paper first and then foil.
Flip the roasting pan half way and check on the stock amount because every oven is different.
The juices at the bottom of the roasting pan make the best sauce to serve with the lamb and keep it juicy.
The leg of lamb should cook for about 40 mins per pound. It’s ideal to start roasting at 420 degrees for the first hour and then drop the temperature to 400 for the remaining time.
Ideally, slow roasting is the best way to cook leg of lamb. Basically the lamb cooks itself, so while your meat is in the oven getting tender, juicy and tasty, you have all the time to prepare other items.
While you can totally do that, my grandma has never done so. And frankly when you look at the gorgeous crust on the outside of the leg of lamb recipe we made here–I don’t see any value in that extra messy step! Follow this recipe and you absolutely don’t need to sear.
This depends on the recipe. My grandma always covered the leg of lamb recipe and guess what? We have the juiciest, most tender lamb with a superb crust without searing or broiling! So it’s a win win!
A nice decent size leg of lamb is enough to feed 8 people. On average, a leg of lamb is between 7-9 pounds. If you’re a lamb lover like us, we usually make two legs of lamb to feed 10 people. But that’s also because we LOVE having leftovers ha! :)
Start with American Lamb for a fresh, quality and delicious tasting meal! I can’t stress this enough-American Lamb is superior and I don’t want you to miss out on that :)
Beforehand make sure you know the size of your roasting pan and ask your butcher to cut off excess bone so that the lamb fits comfortably.
When inserting the garlic and spices into the meat, make sure you press them down really well so that they don’t fall or slip out.
My grandma always salted separately and salted twice. The dry spice doesn’t include salt and that way the salt is well distributed. Right before roasting, salting the lamb enforces the flavor.
It’s a good thing to get messy here and use your hands to massage the wet mixture really well into the leg of lamb.
Marinating the meat can vary from 2 hours to 2 days. The more the better without a doubt.
Add more or less of the flavoring before roasting including onions, garlic, whole spices and bay leaves.
The amount of stock is essential to ensure a juicy meat, so don’t put less.
When covering the lamb, make sure there’s a layer of parchment paper first and then foil.
Flip the roasting pan half way and check on the stock amount because every oven is different.
The juices at the bottom of the roasting pan make the best sauce to serve with the lamb and keep it juicy.
*USDA recommends lamb reach an internal temperature of 145F and rest for at least 3 minutes.
The leg of lamb should cook for about 40 mins per pound. It’s ideal to start roasting at 420 degrees for the first hour and then drop the temperature to 400 for the remaining time.
Ideally, slow roasting is the best way to cook leg of lamb. Basically the lamb cooks itself, so while your meat is in the oven getting tender, juicy and tasty, you have all the time to prepare other items.
While you can totally do that, my grandma has never done so. And frankly when you look at the gorgeous crust on the outside of the leg of lamb recipe we made here–I don’t see any value in that extra messy step! Follow this recipe and you absolutely don’t need to sear.
This depends on the recipe. My grandma always covered the leg of lamb recipe and guess what? We have the juiciest, most tender lamb with a superb crust without searing or broiling! So it’s a win win!
A nice decent size leg of lamb is enough to feed 8 people. On average, a leg of lamb is between 7-9 pounds. If you’re a lamb lover like us, we usually make two legs of lamb to feed 10 people. But that’s also because we LOVE having leftovers ha! :)