Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb, Australian-Style

When serving new kinds of foods to which your guests are not accustomed, it may be best to wait until you're hosting a gathering of many people. When laying a spread of delicious food choices for your friends and family to eat, include two or three different choices of something they many not have tried before, along with the usual offerings. I recently hosted a family event where I included roast lamb. Most loved it, and I was delighted to have added some of my culture to this dinner party.

Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb:

A leg of mutton can also be used for this recipe. Mutton is from an older animal and is generally less expensive than lamb.

Taking a sharp pointed knife, stick the leg of lamb in a vertical manner to produce holes, rather than slits. Making 8-10 holes over the entire leg, insert 1/4 clove of garlic into each small opening.

Additionally if you love rosemary, insert a pinch into each hole with the garlic, or sprinkle it into the pan around the meat.

You will be roasting the lamb in water, so add around 2 inches to the baking pan. No oil is necessary since lamb contains an ample amount of it's own fat.

Begin roasting in a pre heated 375 degree oven with the stamped, or top side of the meat down into the water. Turn after 2 hours. Check each hour for sufficient water and add more if necessary. You may wish to use a meat thermometer, and the guide for cooking roast beef will be similar.

Lamb will take around 1 hour per each pound to cook. Leaving lamb somewhat rare in the middle is fine, although not necessary if it is not to your liking.

In the last hour before your lamb is finished cooking, add your potatoes, carrots and onions to the oven in the same baking pan as the meat. Pumpkin can be added 15 minutes later since it takes less time to soften and bake. If you have a very large gathering, ladle some of the water from your lamb roasting pan into a separate pan for the vegetables. Be sure to top up the first one to replace the liquid.

Serving preparation:

Having begun cooking your lamb with the top side down, there will be some pan residue left after removing the meat and vegetables and draining the remaining water off.

To make a delicious gravy using these pan fried leftovers, add some plain white flour and keep it moving around to cook thoroughly. Begin adding water a little at a time to reduce the incidence of lumps. Season with course grind black pepper and pour into your gravy boat.

A true Australian dish such as roast lamb is best carved at the dining table, and served with any or all of the following;

baked potatoes and sour cream

baked pumpkin with skin on

green peas

whole roasted onion

roasted carrots, also whole

mint sauce or mint jelly.

Any red wine can be served with Lamb, but stay away from those with a heavy oak flavor.
May I suggest a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Enjoy!