Roast leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (2024)

FAQs

What is the best temperature to cook a leg of lamb? ›

For a medium cooked lamb, which is perfectly pink on the inside, budget about 25 minutes per pound or until the internal temp registers somewhere around 130°F (about 1 ½ to 2 hours in a 325 degrees F-heated oven).

For the perfect roast lamb, we recommend seasoning the surface of the meat, and then searing it, especially fat side down in a pan before roasting. Why bother with searing? Contrary to some stories, searing is less about locking in moisture, and all about improving the flavour!

And when you have a gorgeous cut, like a rack of lamb, you can cook it the good ol' Gordon Ramsay way—which is to say, lightly pan-sear it first, then baste it with an herby, garlicky butter, and finally finish it off in the oven until it's still pink and juicy in the middle. It comes out perfectly every time.

Medium rare 60–65°C. Medium 65–70°C. Medium well done 70°C. Well done 75°C.

The leg and rack of lamb are perfect for herb-crusting and oven-roasting; since the shank and shoulder are a bit tougher, they fare well in stews or braises—the long cook time allows them to significantly break down and become fork-tender.

Immediately putting this large cut of meat in the oven after removing it from the fridge can lead to uneven cooking and an even longer cooking time. To ensure a leg of lamb cooks evenly, remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour before cooking.

It can be traditionally roasted but is best slow-roasted, pot-roasted or braised with liquid until practically falling apart. Shoulder can also be diced for stewing, or cut into shoulder chops. A pre-sliced roast is convenient, but it tends to dry out in the oven.

Heat simply damages the cells of meat causing them to lose moisture and searing isn't a magic solution for this. What searing or browning your soon-to-be-slow-cooked meat will do is speed up the cooking time and can give it a nice caramelized flavor.

Fresh rosemary, fresh garlic, lemon zest, black pepper, and salt are simple but amazing flavors that pair amazingly with the lamb! Each of these ingredients adds its unique warmth and depth to enhance the flavor of the dish.

Why is my lamb roast always tough? ›

Lower temp = more succulent meat – Tough cuts like lamb shoulder need slow-cooking to tenderise them. The lower the roasting temperature, the less total moisture evaporation and thus juicier meat.

Place the lamb, fat side up, on a rack set in a roasting pan; spread garlic paste all over lamb. Roast in oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 135 degrees, for medium rare, about 2 hours.

Slow cooking in liquid transforms tougher cuts of lamb into fork-tender meat. Neck, shoulder and belly, either diced or as whole joints, are the best cuts for slow cooking and need to be cooked for at least 2 hrs at 150C to soften the meat.

The Safe Internal Temperature for Cooked Lamb

An internal temperature of 145°F means that the meat will be at a medium-well doneness, and this is the official safe temperature recommended by the USDA. Ground lamb is the one cut of lamb that is an exception — it should be cooked to 160°F.

According to the FDA, cuts of lamb should be cooked to the same internal temperature as beef and pork, which is 145°F; ground lamb should be cooked to 160°F. Most of our lamb recipes call for cooking lamb to between 125°F and 130°F for medium-rare.

Lamb should be roasted 20 mins per 450g/lb, plus an extra 20 mins. Weigh meat prior to roasting to determine cooking times. Cook at 220C/200C fan for the first 20 mins and then 190C/170C fan for the remaining time.

The internal temperature of meat will continue to rise after you pull it from the oven, so it's good to follow these guidelines: Medium rare: pull from oven at 135 degrees and let rest until it reaches 145 degrees. Medium: pull from oven at 150 degrees and let rest until it reaches 160 degrees.