Further to enjoying some lamb steaks last week, I have decided to give a half leg of lamb a bash - I have generally avoided lamb, as I find that it tends to be a very fatty meat, however posting that on a thread on here last week seemed to draw some surprise from others, who reckoned that I hadn't had very good lamb. It occurred to me, however, that it may be more to do with the way I am cooking it, rather than the meat itself.

So, with this in mind, I got a half leg of lamb yesterday, which I am going to cook for today (or maybe tomorrow, depending when the boiler engineer turns up), and thought that the best way to cook it might be to do it very, very slowly, at something like gas mark 2 or thereabouts???

Any advice/suggestions?

I used to hate lamb until I started slow roasting. Now i love it.

I put it in the oven, on the lowest heat setting possible for about 6-8 hrs. I put it in a baking tray with some water, lay the lamb in it and cover the tray with foil.

Check on it every few hours to make sure the water hasnt evaporated.

The meat will literally fall off the bone, and there will be no fat, just glorious meat.

You have made me want a leg of lamb now

Nigel Slater, my absolute hero, wrote a lovely recipe for slow cooked roast lamb. I think I read it in The Observer so give me a second.

Ta da....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...ddrink.recipes

I'm doing a shoulder of lamb tommorow and i'd do the leg the same way.
I stab a few slits in it with a sharp knife and stuff in a slice of garlic and some rosemary in them. I then season all over and sit on a bed of mixed veg like a couple of onions halved, a few sticks of celery, a few carrots and whatever other veg you have lying around. I then pour half a bottle of good red wine in the tin, cover tightly with foil and bung in the oven on the lowest heat for 5-6 hours. Never failed me yet and the residue of meat juices, wine and vegetables makes the most beautiful gravy.

Slow roasting it is then, which means I will do it tomorrow now, and I've got a spare bottle of red lying about, so indianwells method looks to be a winner this time around. Thanks for the ideas - at this rate, you lot will have me converted to lamb!

Jamie Oliver did a slow roast lamb recipe. Which is gorgeous. It just falls of the bone.

It was part of the Jamie at home series. I was not a lamb fan, but tried it as people raved about it in the office, and it was the best lamb I have EVER tasted.

If anyone find the recipe online, please post it, as I have lost it. I think it was garlic, rosemary and some salt, then roasted, but he made a gravy with it which was amazing.

http://lifestyle.sympatico.msn.ca/Sp...abc&date=False

Sorry it is in American standard.

I was from there yes, I have the book at home with the recipe in....not that that's much help as I am not at home.

Thanks I know what I am having for Sunday lunch tomorrow

I found the recipe below in the Waitrose magazine earlier this year. I have now tried it a couple of times and it has been excellent. The meat falls off the bone.

Oh, and it may be a Waitrose recipe, but I wasn't paying Waitrose prices for fresh English lamb. I use frozen NZ.

Kleftico
Serves 6

2 - 3 onions, thickly sliced
2 garlic bulbs, each sliced horizontally into 4 slices
150ml dry white wine
2 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoon dried oregano
2-2.2kg leg of lamb
675g new or baby potatoes, scrubbed
1 lemon, sliced

For the sauce
2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
juice from ½ a lemon
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon roughly chopped mint or flat-leaf parsley
300ml natural yoghurt

1. Preheat oven to 180C, gas mark 4. Line a large roasting tin with 2 extra long sheets of foil. Line the foil with greaseproof paper. Place the sliced onions in the roasting tin and top with one of the sliced garlic bulbs. Pour over the white wine.

2. Mix the oil with seasoning and dried oregano then rub well into the lamb. Place the lamb on the onions. Cover with greaseproof paper and foil, sealing the ends well. Place in the oven and cook for 3 hours.

3. Open up the foil and greaseproof paper. Add the potatoes, stir into the juices, then add the sliced lemon and remaining garlic. Stir once more until well coated . Recover tightly and return to the oven for another 2 hours.

4. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Toast the coriander seeds with the cumin seeds then lightly crush with a pestle and mortar. Mix with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and roughly chopped mint or flat-leaf parsley. Stir into the yogurt and season to taste. Cover and keep chilled until ready to serve with the lamb.

5. Transfer the lamb to a large platter or board, cover and keep warm while the meat rests. Meanwhile, spoon the potatoes and lemon into a bowl then pour the lamb juices and onions into another small bowl. Serve with the yogurt sauce.

The Jamie Oliver one was using shoulder, not leg. It's basically put the lamb shoulder in a roasting dish and throw in rosemary and garlic, cover in tin foil and roast at gas mark 3 for 4 hours.

When it's done you make a gravy from the pan juices (after removing the fat which there's a lot of).

An alternative approach is to start it off uncovered at gas mark 6 to render off some of the fat then do the above for a slightly shorter time.

Which was in the link I provided.

Well, the lamb went in at gas mark 2 at 10am, sat on a bed of roughly chopped onion, celery, carrot and parsnip, with some garlic, rosemary and half a bottle of red wine. Mother and brother in law are going to come and join us for dinner, so I hope it works out - keep your fingers crossed for me.

I'm kinda hoping that I can bring myself to like lamb, as opposed to just tolerating it, as it would give me more options, instead of doing the same stuff all the time. Thanks to everyone for the input

You did cover it tightly with foil didn't you?

Let us know how it turns out. I wish I wasn't on my own this weekend as all this talk about roast lamb has made me want it.

Go out for something to eat.

Just about to put mine in the oven!
http://i34.tinypic.com/nb278m.jpg

In about 5-6 hours it will be gorgeous I hope. Don't worry, it's not for a midnight feast, i'm in the US and it's only coming up to noon.
In there are carrots, celery, leek, red onion rosemary, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, and red wine. Oh, and a 5.5 pound lamb shoulder.

That looks gorgeous! Can I come round for dinner? If I get on a plane now I might just make it

Of course, the more the merrier, can you bring some Colemans Mint Sauce with you? Can't get it here...

I have done exactly the same but with parsnips and turnips as well. Lamb is out and resting, and the red wine jus reducing down as I type. It smells gorgeous and has been slow cooking all afternoon - about 5 hours. Supper here we come in about 15-20 minutes. Thanks indianwells for the idea.

Forgot to add, I did get the mint sauce.

Well, we had ours a couple of hours ago, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I have to admit that it was the nicest lamb I have ever had, and not in the least bit fatty. I will certainly be trying this with other cuts at some point in the future.

Thanks to all, and in particular, indianwells

Thanks peeps, I'm blushing now!