Dutch Oven Leg of Lamb with Rosemary & Garlic

So what is on the menu for roast night this week you ask? Well, what could be better this time of year than a roast leg of lamb? This one is a super easy Dutch oven leg of lamb recipe full of fresh garlic, rosemary, and all my favorite lamb roast herb and spice combinations. Serve this one with a creamy garlic potato bake and some mushy peas for a delicious roast night dinner! 

Our freezer is choc-full of lamb at the moment and I’m NOT complaining one bit! O’s school sold off some butchered lambs earlier in the month and we were lucky to get one! As kids, our freezer was always full of lamb (farmer’s kid here!) and I remember wanting anything but lamb for dinner. These days I love lamb. And given that we no longer have a farm, getting a butchered lamb is a real treat. Cue ALL the lamb recipes!

What you need to get started

• Herbs – dried oregano, sprigs of fresh rosemary
  
  
  
• Fresh lemon, zested.
  
  
  
• Pantry – olive oil, sea salt flakes, freshly cracked black pepper
  
  
  
•  Spice – onion powder, garlic powder, sumac. Never used sumac before? It’s a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean spice that pairs well with lamb and fish due to its smoky lemon flavor and is available in good gourmet food stores.
  
  
  
• Garlic bulbs cut in half horizontally. This gives a roughly even surface for the leg of the lamb to sit on.
  
  
  
• White wine. Any dry white wine that you have lying around will be fine. No need to spend heaps on a bottle for cooking like this. It doesn’t really make any difference if it’s an $8 or $80 bottle. Save the good wine for drinking! Cheap cleanskins or even cask wine is totally acceptable to use as cooking wine.

Substitutions and Variations

You could definitely cook this with a boneless leg of lamb as opposed to bone-in which I have done. Please note that cooking times will vary. Much prefer to cook with a lamb shoulder? check out my slow-cooked lamb shoulder recipe with Herbs de Provence. 

If you prefer not cooking with white wine, water, red wine, or even beef stock is an easy substitution. Adding enough liquid to reduce but not evaporate completely is key for making a delicious gravy from the roast drippings.

Equipment

I cook my roast lamb leg recipes in either my 29cm oval Le Creuset enamel Dutch oven or a large stainless steel roasting pan. Both do a cracking job although the reason I prefer the Dutch oven is because it’s easier to make gravy from the drippings in it. However, both will work depending on what cookware you own.

A mortar and pestle makes it really easy to make a quick spice rub for this roasted leg of lamb recipe. The pestle makes easy work out of bruising the rosemary leaves and helps crush up the sea salt a little.

You’ll also need a meat thermometer. My go-to for slow-cooking large pieces of meat is the “Meater” instant-read thermometer. It’s pure genius and I’m obsessed with using it. It takes the guesswork out of precise cooking. You could also use a manual meat thermometer. A 3kg lamb leg will take 90-110 minutes to cook to medium-rare, so just be sure to give it a check at the 90-minute mark. 

The Nitty Gritty

1. Preheat the oven temperature to 200 degrees Celsius.
   
   
   
2. In a mortar and pestle, combine all the spices, lemon zest, salt pepper, and the leaves of 3 sprigs of rosemary. Give it a quick pound with the pestle to bruise the rosemary and combine the ingredients. Add the olive oil and stir through. Pop aside.
   
   
   
3. In a large roasting dish, (or large Dutch oven rubbed with olive oil) lay the halved garlic bulbs and remaining rosemary sprigs on the bottom of the pan. Pop aside.
   
   
   
4. Pat dry the lamb leg and rub the marinade all over all sides of the lamb leg. Leave to marinate for at least 1/2 hour.
   
   
   
5. Place the lamb on top of the garlic and rosemary. Add the wine to the pan and drizzle with a little olive oil.
   
   
   
6. Pop it into the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 60 degrees.
   
   
   
7. Remove from the oven and cover with aluminum foil to let the lamb rest for at least 15 minutes before carving up the lamb meat. 
   
   
   
8. Serve with roast lamb gravy and your favorite roast night sides.

Ok, Now let’s make the perfect Dutch oven lamb roast dinner with these side dishes

Firstly you’ll need some homemade lamb jus made from the roast lamb cooking liquid. To really amp-up the special occasion, roasted duck fat potatoes are a must. Boiled baby potatoes, or rosemary garlic roast potatoes are also great options.

Sometimes my roast night is a little simpler. Throw together a Greek Salad, or even this roasted beetroot and carrot salad for an informal roast night dinner.

Storage

Roast lamb sandwiches are the gold star next-day leftover roast dinner lunch. Store any leftover meat in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You’ll have lamb sandwiches and lamb salad for lunches all week if you are really lucky!

Some of my favorite ways to use up leftover lamb roast meat are…

Lamb pizza, with grilled vegetables, lots of cheese, and drizzled with tzatziki when it’s hot, just out of the oven.

Filled Pitta Lamb kebabs. Finely sliced lamb, a chopped salad, and hommus.

Add leftover sliced lamb to this halloumi salad. You won’t regret it!

Here are a few more family dinners you might like to try…

• Fettuccine boscaiola
• Dutch oven Mexican style shredded chicken
• Dutch oven corned beef
• Slow-cooked Rigatoni Bolognese

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