Slow Roasted Lamb

Me, my mama and DH are totally obsessed with lamb (as are my bro Avi and SIL Diane) and since it’s a celebratory kind of dish, which while it might not take great effort but does take time, I save it for special occasions. Whenever we spot a sale on leg of lamb, we sock it away for that occasion and yes, it’s a little hard to fit in the freezer but always worth the effort. With Rosh Hashana, the New Year upon us, this counts as a special time.

This is not difficult at all to prepare, just know it takes about 4 1/2 – 4 3/4 hours to make. The good part is, it’s a stow it in your oven and walk away and do other stuff kinda recipe. The incredible scent of the lamb slow roasting will follow you about but be strong! It needs the whole amount of time or instead of tender and delectable it will be hard and stringy. Nay nay, not to be desired.

So gather your ingredients, we have a lamb to cook!

Preheat your oven to 325 F/170 C.

As you can see, your ingredients are very basic. Onions, garlic, carrots, salt, pepper, rosemary and olive oil and either wine or beer works beautifully here. Now make sure to get a large enough roasting pan to contain the whole leg of lamb. On occasion, if the leg is awkward to fit in the pan I will simply cut at the joint and lay it in.

So just peel your onions and garlic, and slice the onion thickly. I love the pearl garlic (they look like shallots but are actually these big cloves of garlic that are easy to peel) or if you can’t find that, just peel a big head of garlic and scatter on bottom of pan.

The reason for cutting your vegetables thickly is that it will serve as a bed for the lamb to lie on. K. Pour the olive oil on the lamb and rub all over on all sides. Season with salt, pepper and rosemary.

Then lay the lamb on the vegetables. Pour the mixture of wine/beer and water into the pan from the sides, (not on top or you’ll wash off the spices). Now cover the whole lot with two layers of tinfoil, tightly. Place the lamb in the preheated oven and cook for 4 hours. Uncover the lamb (and check with a wooden skewer to make sure it’s nearly done) and roast uncovered for 30 – 45 minutes longer or till very very tender and beautifully browned. Cover with the same tinfoil and let sit about 20 minutes before carving into generous slices, serving with the onions, garlic and carrots on the platter. P.S. If you don’t eat it straight away, no worries, you can place in the fridge and serve the next day. It’s then best to slice when cold as it will slice much more easily. This is especially nice to serve with rice Simple Basic White Rice or couscous Middle Eastern Couscous With Sweet Dried Fruit for Tu Bishvat or Fluffy Couscous. A lovely holiday meal.

Slow Roasted Lamb

3.5 kilo (7.7 pounds, approximately) leg of lamb

Large bulb of garlic or 8-10 large cloves

2 onions peeled and sliced into thick slices

3 carrots peeled and sliced thickly

1-2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

olive oil to coat lamb

1/2 cup beer or 1/2 cup (120 ml) wine (red or white, as you prefer) and water to total about 3-4 cups (720 – 960 ml) to come up sides but beneath the lamb

Directions:

Remove lamb from fridge and let come to room temperature. (About an hour or so depending on kitchen temperature). Preheat oven to 325 F/170C.

In bottom of roaster place onion, carrots and garlic as a bed for the lamb. Spread olive oil all over leg of lamb and sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary. Pour liquid on sides of lamb in the pan (not on top you will wash away the seasoning) till just below the meat. Cover tightly with 2 layers of tinfoil. Roast covered for 4 hours, After 4 hours lamb should be soft but not falling off the bone. Remove tinfoil and continue roasting till top browns and lamb is utterly tender and beautifully browned. This additional time is about 30-45 minutes. If serving immediately, let lamb rest (recover with the same tin foil) about 20 minutes. Then slice. If you will not serve till later or next day, let cool and refrigerate covered and slice when cold. Reheats very well.