A leg of lamb is an impressive main dish for any celebration. This traditional French Easter dish of roast leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic is the perfect dish to wow any guests!
Note: For best flavor, season your lamb the night before you plan to roast it.
PREP TIME30 minutes
COOK TIME3 hours
TOTAL TIME3 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 lb leg of lamb, bone in
- 5-7 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
- 2 large fresh rosemary sprigs
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
Instructions
The Night Before
- The night before you want to roast your lamb, cut 1 inch slits in the leg of lamb. Stuff the slits with garlic slices and rosemary sprigs. Place the lamb in a roasting pan with a roasting rack. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to infuse with flavor.
Roasting The Lamb
- Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before you want to start cooking to let it come to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 450F.
- Drizzle the lamb with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you have an in-oven probe thermometer, insert it into the center of the meatiest part of the leg.
- Roast the lamb at 450F for 15 minutes.
- Reduce your oven temperature to 300F. Open the oven door slightly to help drop the heat more quickly.
- Continue to roast the lamb at 300F for 20-25 minutes per pound for medium rare (or 25-30 minutes a pound for medium). (For a 5-6 lb leg of lamb, this means you will be roasting 1.5-2.5 hours for medium rare or 2-3 hours for medium.)
- Remove the lamb from the oven when it has reached 135F internal temperature for medium rare (or 150F for medium).
- Rest the lamb on the counter for 10-15 minutes, tented loosely with aluminum foil. As it rests, it will continue to cook. Your ending temperature for medium rare should be 145F (or 160F for medium).
- Carve the leg (as instructed in our article) and serve with green beans and gratin potatoes!
Notes
If desired, make a pan gravy with the juices and fat that are in the bottom of your roasting pan. Heat them in a saucepan with some extra beef broth or red wine to make 1 cup of liquids. Mix 1 Tbsp flour with 1 Tbsp water until smooth. Stir this slurry into the juices in the pan and simmer until thickened.