Roast Leg Of Lamb French Cooking At Home Food

LE GIGOT D'AGNEAU (FRENCH ROAST LEG OF LAMB)

Steps:

• The night before you want to roast your lamb, cut 1 inch slits in the leg of lamb. Stuff the slits with garlic slices and rosemary sprigs. Place the lamb in a roasting pan with a roasting rack. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to infuse with flavor.
• Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before you want to start cooking to let it come to room temperature.
• Preheat your oven to 450F.
• Drizzle the lamb with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you have an in-oven probe thermometer, insert it into the center of the meatiest part of the leg.
• Roast the lamb at 450F for 15 minutes.
• Reduce your oven temperature to 300F. Open the oven door slightly to help drop the heat more quickly.
• Continue to roast the lamb at 300F for 20-25 minutes per pound for medium rare (or 25-30 minutes a pound for medium). (For a 5-6 lb leg of lamb, this means you will be roasting 1.5-2.5 hours for medium rare or 2-3 hours for medium.)
• Remove the lamb from the oven when it has reached 135F internal temperature for medium rare (or 150F for medium).
• Rest the lamb on the counter for 10-15 minutes, tented loosely with aluminum foil. As it rests, it will continue to cook. Your ending temperature for medium rare should be 145F (or 160F for medium).
• Carve the leg (as instructed in our article) and serve with green beans and gratin potatoes!

4-HOUR LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat a very large Dutch oven such as Le Creuset over medium-high heat until its hot. Add the lamb and sear on all sides for about 12 minutes, until its browned all over. Remove the lamb to a plate.
• Add the wine and 2 cups of water to the pan and cook for a minute or two, scraping up all the brown bits in the bottom. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves and the lamb on top. Place the lid on the pot and bake in the oven for 4 hours, basting occasionally. (If you dont have a lid, you can cover it tightly with 2 layers of aluminum foil.)
• After 4 hours, the lamb should be incredibly tender and falling off the bone. Remove the lamb to a plate, cover it tightly with foil and allow it to rest. Strain the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce. The lamb will be too tender to slice; serve it warm with spoons and the sauce.

ROAST LAMB FRENCH STYLE

Steps:

• Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan; add the onions and cook over a gentle heat until softened and just starting to colour.
• Place the potatoes in the bottom of a roasting pan, spoon the cooked onions over them; season with salt and pepper.
• Make small incisions all over the lamb and insert the garlic slices; place the lamb on a rack over the onions and potatoes. Season the leg well salt and pepper.
• Pour the stock over the potatoes and roast in a hot oven (200c) for the first 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to moderated (180c) and cook a further hour. This will give you medium cooked lamb, if you like your lamb a little better done, cook for a further 40 minutes.
• Carve the lamb in thick slices, lay it over the potatoes and onions, sprinkle with parsley and serve it in the dish it was cooked in Yum.

ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Place the lamb on a sheet pan covered with foil. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, white wine, garlic, salt, black pepper, and thyme leaves. Stir to blend and rub all over the lamb. Cover and place it in the refrigerator to marinate for a few hours or overnight, turning the lamb over from time to time and recoating it with the marinade.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the lamb from the marinade and season on all sides with salt, pepper and olive oil. Reserve the leftover marinade for later use.
• In a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack place the lamb, fatty side up, on the rack and place it in the center of the oven. . Having the leg elevated off the bottom of the pan will allow for more even roasting. At 425 degrees F, the roast should start to brown fairly quickly.
• After 25 to 30 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. I usually count between 12 to 14 minutes per pound of meat (including the weight of the bone) for a roast. When the oven heat is lowered, count about 30 to 40 minutes and then check the inner temperature of the thickest part of the roast with an instant-read thermometer. Cook it to about 130 degrees F. The meat, once it "rests" will be a nice medium rare. Remove the roast and turn it fat side down onto a flat surface to rest. Resting the lamb on the opposite side will help to redistribute the juices. Note: Save the pan drippings.
• Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium low heat. Add the reserved marinade, dry sherry and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Whisk together and simmer until thick. Transfer the sauce to a gravy boat and serve with lamb.
• Slice the lamb (against the grain) and serve family style.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB FRENCH-STYLE (GIGOT D'AGNEAU A LA FRANCAISE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• It is recommended that you have the butcher remove and set aside the hipbone of the lamb. This is the upper bone that is attached to the main (straight) leg bone. This can also be done in the home kitchen, using a thin, sharp boning knife, neatly cutting all around the meat attached to the hipbone and severing the hipbone from the main bone. Cut off and discard the skin, leaving a light layer of fat.
• Rub the meat all over with the oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and the thyme.
• Make 16 gashes in the flesh of the leg and insert the garlic slivers.
• Place the leg, the thickest side down, in a roasting pan and scatter around it the hipbone, onion halves (cut side down), bay leaves and carrot pieces.
• Place in the oven and bake one hour. Remove the lamb and pour off the fat from the pan.
• Return the lamb to the pan, the thickest side up.
• Pour the water into the pan and continue baking 30 minutes for medium-rare lamb (135 degrees internal temperature). If you wish the lamb well done, continue cooking 30 minutes or longer. In any event, remove the lamb from the oven, discarding the hipbone and vegetables, cover with foil and let it stand for 20 minutes before carving. Serve, if desired, with flageolet beans in cream.

HERB-ROASTED LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the middle of the oven.
• Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Toss the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes. Roast for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees F and roast for another 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until a meat thermometer registers 130 to 135 degrees F for medium-rare. Place the lamb on a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the potatoes.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB - FRENCH COOKING AT HOME

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 500°F.
• Use an oven pan while you are preparing the joint (you will remove the joint from the pan when you place it in the oven).
• Pierce leg all over and insert slivers of garlic.
• Mix lemon juice, salt and pepper, and olive oil and wipe all over the joint (use your hands).
• Pat the herbs all over the joint forming a 'crust'.
• Lay potato slices in another oven pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
• Toss around (again, using your hands is easier) to ensure the slices are well coated, and pour over the beef stock.
• Place uncovered joint directly onto the oven shelf/grid, with the oven pan of potates below, i.e. allowing lamb juices to drip down into the potatoes.
• Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce oven heat to 325°F.
• Total roasting time will depend on the size of the joint as follows:.
• Medium-rare : 20-25 minutes per pound plus an additional 20 minutes;.
• Well-done : 25-30 minutes per pound plus an additional 25 minutes.
• Notes re Herbs de Provence - a mixture of dried herbs - there is a recipe here on Zaar (Recipe #18565); although many make their own blends, leaving out the lavendar and/or adding marjoram, for example.

CROWN ROAST OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.;
• To french the racks of lamb:
• Make a cut on the fat side of the ribs, perpendicular to them, about 2 1/2-inches down from the rib ends. Cut through the fat down to the rib bones. Turn the rack on end, with the bones facing up and push a knife through the flesh between each rib, using the initial cut as a guide for the knife. Cut down the side of each rib to remove the excess fat in between each rib. Using strong kitchen twine, wrap the twine around each rib at the base, nearest the meat and pull to remove all of the remaining fat and sinew from the rib bone. Bend each rack into a semicircle (meat side in and fat side out) and using kitchen twine tie them together at the base and center, in order to hold the racks together. The rib ends should be pushed outward to create the look of a crown. Rub the lamb with the olive oil. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic, thyme and coriander and press all over the lamb. Place the roast in a Bundt pan with the center of the pan coming up through the middle of the roast. Place on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. This is approximately 8 to 12 minutes per pound. Remove from the oven, transfer the roast to a rack, cover with aluminum foil and let the meat rest for 20 minutes. While the meat is resting add the sherry vinegar, mustard and rosemary to the juices that accumulated in the Bundt pan while cooking. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed. Cut the string away from the roast and place cooked stuffing, rice or barley in the center if desired. Serve the warm sauce with the roast.;

ROAST LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Use a small sharp knife to make about a dozen incisions, each about 2 inches deep, through the fat that covers the top of the meat. Using a mortar and pestle or a blender, blend 2/3 of the anchovies (or 2/3 of the mustard if using), the rosemary leaves and the garlic cloves into a chunky paste. Using your fingers, press paste deeply into incisions.
• Mix remaining anchovies (or mustard) and the butter into a paste. Smear this mixture all over the surface of the roast. Season liberally with black pepper. (Do not add salt; the anchovies are salty enough, and so is the mustard.) Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan, fat side up, and squeeze the lemon halves over. Pour the wine around the roast into the pan.
• Roast 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast until internal temperature reaches 130 to 135 degrees (for medium-rare or medium meat), about another 60 to 90 minutes. Baste every 20 minutes or so with the wine and drippings in the pan, adding more wine as needed to keep the liquid from scorching. If possible, for the last 15 minutes of cooking, use convection or a broiler to crisp the fat on the roast.
• Remove pan from the oven, remove rack from the pan, and let the roast rest on the rack for at least 15 to 20 minutes in a warm place, tented with foil. The internal temperature will rise to about 140 to 145 degrees.
• To make sauce from the pan drippings, remove a few tablespoons of fat by tipping the pan and spooning off the top layer. Put the pan over medium heat until the liquid simmers. Taste the simmering liquid and whisk in more wine, 1/4 cup at a time, until the consistency and flavor are right. Do not let the mixture become syrupy; it should be a sharp jus, not a thick gravy.
• Carve lamb into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on a heated platter, decorated with rosemary sprigs. Serve with piping hot gravy.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut slits in the top of the leg of lamb every 3 to 4 inches, deep enough to push slices of garlic down into the meat. Salt and pepper generously all over the top of lamb, place several sprigs of fresh rosemary under and on top of the lamb. Place lamb on roasting pan.
• Roast in preheated oven until the lamb is cooked to your desired doneness, about 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Do not overcook the lamb, the flavor is best if meat is still slightly pink. Let rest at least 10 minutes before carving.

EASY ROAST LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Remove all packaging from the lamb and keep a note of the weight to calculate the roasting time. Make incisions into the lamb using a small sharp knife, at an angle, about 5cm into the meat. Making the holes at an angle will mean more of the meat is flavoured, and the flavourings will be less tempted to be pushed out when roasting.
• Insert a short sprig of rosemary, a garlic slice and a small piece of anchovy (if using) into each of the holes, pressing in well with your finger. Season the meat all over with salt and pepper, then rub the lamb all over with the olive oil. Transfer to a roasting tin, sat on the onion slices. Roast for 20 mins.
• Lower the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and cook for another 15-20 mins per 500g (1 hr - 1 hr 20 mins for 2kg leg) depending on how pink you like your lamb. You can also check the internal temperature of the lamb if you prefer pinker meat - it will be 55C for medium (pink) and 70C for well done.
• Cover with foil and rest for 15 mins before carving. Save the tray juices and onion slices to make gravy.