How to Cook an Amazing Leg of Lamb
If you’re not all that experienced with cooking big slabs of meat, then tackling a leg of lamb for the first time can be downright daunting, especially if you’ve got guests you want to impress! Large and expensive, you’ll only have one shot to get it right. Whether it’s your first rodeo or you just had a mishap the last time you tried, here are my tips for cooking a leg of lamb to perfection.
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Bone-In for Flavor, Boneless for Convenience
Choosing a bone-in or boneless slab of lamb is largely down to how fussy you are about quality, and how easy you want the preparation to be. Boneless meat is way easier to carve, and it’s certainly possible to get some cuts which can come out tasting wonderful. However, if you want to get the most flavour out of it, I recommend going for a bone-in leg. This will be trickier to cut up and make the most of, but usually it will taste much better. Either way, you can always add your favourite herbs and spices.
Marinating Isn’t Really Necessary
Perhaps you’re reading this because you’re looking to broaden your horizons with a traditional middle-eastern dish, and you’ve spent the last few days looking up wholesale halal meat suppliers and middle-eastern marinades. While there are some truly gorgeous marinades out there, if you want to make cooking easier for yourself it’s not a big deal to skip over it. One of the main purposes of marinades is to break down the tough fibres of certain cuts of meat. Lamb is naturally tender, and leaving out the marinade will have no serious impact on how it turns out. In fact, sometimes it can make it come out more tough than you’d like. For ease, I recommend leaning more on traditional seasoning for the flavour. Woody herbs, mustard and garlic are all great.
It’s Great Rare to Well-Done
This probably isn’t the first post you’ve read today on cooking lamb, so you may have discovered that a lot of cooks have very strong opinions on how well-done a leg of lamb should be. Some like it so rare it’s barely cooked, whereas others will want to have it well-done through and through. Despite what you may have heard, lamb can be tender, juicy and delicious no matter how thoroughly it’s cooked; it’s all down to personal preference.
Don’t Throw Away the Juices
Just like a lot of other meats, the secret to great-tasting lamb is in letting it sit after cooking. Twenty minutes after you take it out the oven should do. This will let all the juices really soak into the meat and enrich the flavour, rather than being wasted by running all over the cutting board or plate. Before serving, slice it up (always against the grain!) and then drizzle any excess juices over it. Even if you forget all the other advice, this one tip can make all the difference to how tasty your leg of lamb turns out.