SPICY ROASTED LEG OF LAMB...


Don't you sometimes just want to do away with the niceties and fineries and just get down to being in your natural element? I know i do and i was in one of those moods when i thought, "heck, i'll just roast a big chunk of meat and everyone will just rip a portion for themselves as they please". And that's exactly what we did...

You can roast just about any cut of meat but the reason you see leg of lamb or lamb shank being roasted more often that others is because it is more tender. I especially love lamb (even more) because its a power house of nutrients and contains very little fat (hear, hear oh ye dieters). Its high in Protein, Iron, Zinc, Vitamin B, Copper, Manganese and Selenium (great for skin and nails).

3Kg Leg of Lamb
Fresh Mint, Oregano and Rosemary (1 Tablespoon Each, Chopped)
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Tablespoon Corriander
10 - 12 Cloves of Garlic
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon Smoked Paprika
3 Bay Leaves
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Aluminum Foil

Pre-heat oven. 350F for electric or gas mark 6.

Rinse off your leg of lamb and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.

Place on a large sheet of foil, large enough to wrap it all up.

Take a knife, imagine all the bad habits you have and wish you could get rid of and take that anger out on the lamb, back and front of the leg. Ok, don't take all of your anger out on it, emm just poke a number holes about 1/2 inch deep into the meat.

Stuff holes with garlic cloves and half your portion of herbs, alternately or both herb and garlic in the same hole if it will fit. These will permeate and flavour the meat on the inside as well as it cooks. Your can take out the garlic cloves before eating if you find them a bit too strong.

Mix the remain herbs with cumin, corriander, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, bay leaves and olive oil and make a paste.

You can always taste a wee bit of your paste to make sure you have a balance of flavours and check especially for amount of salt being used.

Generously coat leg of lamb, this time imagine it was some cocoa butter commercial. Lol.

PS. All of this can be done 1 - 12 hours before desired cooking time. Just remember that meat must be brought back down to room temperature before going into the oven to ensure and even roast.

When you're done with the rub down, wrap lamb tightly, then double wrap with another sheet of foil till you have a tight package.

Place on an oven tray, put in the middle of the oven and go find something to do for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, carefully remove the foil from the lamb and baste with the juices and pop it back into the over for another hour. 30 minutes on each side for a perfect browning.

When the meat is cooked the juices should run clear when poked with a skewer.

Allow meat to rest for 20 minutes before carving ripping apart.

I could have sworn i took a pic of the lamb straight out of the oven, alas i didn't. Womp!

Cavemen and women had to time for that wait and take picture business. It was delicious, need i say more?

Try it out and let us know what you think and/or how you made yours a bit different.