Recipe For Roast Leg of Lamb

A New Zealand staple.
In a country of 3 million with 18 million sheep how could you not include this all important recipe.

The shank or leg as it is most commonly known lends well to roasting.

It is cooked at 320F or 160C for approx 30 minutes per 500grams.

Now we just used to put ours straight into the roasting pan to bake but, I have a friend from Wyoming who grew up amongst the Basque people and their specialty is sheep too and their advice was to cook the lamb above it's juices and you can do this by using a cooling rack inside your roasting pan.

The internal temperature of the lamb should reach 70-75C

Now, the trick is, if you leave the roast in a warm place for about 15 minutes before carving it, it allows the meat to set and will make it much easier for you to do a tidier piece of work carving it.


Gravy Recipe

1 Tbsp of fat in your roasting dish
1 cup of water
2-3 Tbsp of plain flour
salt and pepper to taste

You make it right in the roasting pan when you have removed your roast.

Pour off the fat from the roasting dish leaving approx 1 Tbsp. Sprinkle in the flour and lightly brown over a medium heat. Add the water slowly stirring constantly until boiling.
Add your salt and pepper to taste.

How easy is that!

Mint Sauce Recipe

Quarter of a cup of chopped mint leaves
boiling water
1 Tbsp of sugar
half a cup of malt vinegar
dash of salt

Put mint into a container and cover with boiling water. Add sugar and vinegar and salt to taste.
It makes about half a cup and can be placed to the side of your lamb.

Some people use a salt and mint leaf rub for their lamb prior to cooking it but for a fresh piece of lamb, it really isn't necessary and if you are using the mint sauce anyway, you may be going for a bit of mint overkill.


Carving the Lamb
There is a bit of a trick to it.
If you let your lamb sit in a warm place for 15-20 minutes you will find it easier to carve.
Obviously you are going to need a sharp knife.
If you cut across the grain of the lamb then your meat will appear more tender so you are going to want to cut at a bit of a slant.


Lamb is usually eaten with roast potatoes which can be done alongside the lamb in the same pan at the same time and a vegetable. Guess this really depends on your taste. Peas, beans etc.

And the beauty of this dish is that there is usually leftovers for sandwiches, stirfry, all kinds of stuff.
Nothing goes to waste and the dog can have the bone.
Enjoy