Easter Lamb Matchmaker! 💘

Find your perfect Easter lamb to suit your time, budget, convenience or desire to show off! Just follow the prompts and I’ll guide you to your perfect lamb recipe. Welcome to the Easter Lamb Matchmaker! 💘

Finding the perfect lamb recipe for Easter

Every year leading up to Easter, my friends start messaging me asking which lamb recipe they should make for Easter Sunday. I always fire back questions – how many people, make on day or before, high or low budget, do you want rosy pink slices or fall-apart meat? Based on that, I point them to the lamb that suits them best.

So this year, I thought it might be helpful to turn that little back-and-forth into a guide so I can point you to your perfect Easter Lamb recipe! Hope you find this useful. 🙂

Easter Lamb Matchmaker

To use this matchmaker, answer the questions below and they will lead you to the Easter lamb that suits your needs. Note: These are for centrepiece lamb mains rather than things like skewers, meatballs and stews like Tagine. For my complete collection of lamb recipes, see Lamb Recipes.

1. HANDS OFF OR HANDS ON?

The first point of order is: Do you want something mostly hands-off, or are you happy to be more involved? Think set-and-forget, fall-apart slow cooker roast lamb leg (ie. low effort) versus a blushing pink oven roast lamb-leg that needs to be monitored and best served straight away (ie. more hands-on).

• I want hands-off → Go to question 2.

• I’m happy with hands-on → Skip to question 5.

2. do you want something make-ahead?

Hands-off it is! Now, do you want a hands-off lamb recipe that can be made the day before? Or one you can make on the day and serve hot without reheating?

• Yes, I want something I can make-ahead → Go to question 3.

• No, I can cook on the day and serve without reheating. → Read on ⬇️

  💘🐑 YOU HAVE BEEN MATCHED! 🐑💘 Your perfect lamb recipes that are hands-off to cook but best served freshly made on the day are:

  1. Slow cooked lamb legs – Either a whole leg slow-roasted in the oven or a half leg in the slow cooker. Because lamb legs are quite lean, even when they are slow-cooked to fall-off-the-bone tender, they are still best served freshly made.

  2. Slow cooked lamb shanks in red wine sauce, port braised, Massaman Curry or Persian. Note: lamb shanks are also brilliant made the day before as well!

  3. A 3 hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder. Though if you get up early enough, you could do the 12 hour lamb shoulder in time for Easter Sunday dinner! Both are equally low-maintenance to cook.

Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg

Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder

Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce

Port Braised Lamb Shanks

Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry

Persian Lamb Shanks

3. DO YOU WANT PLATED OR SHARE STYLE?

Cooking for a crowd is definitely less stressful when you make-ahead 🙂. Now, do you want a lamb recipe where people help themselves (share-style) or one that is suitable for individual plating?

• I want share-style → Go to question 4.

• I want something I can serve individually plated → Read on ⬇️

  💘🐑 YOU HAVE BEEN MATCHED! 🐑💘 Your perfect lamb matches that can be made the day before, then reheated for serving and plated individually are:

  1. Slow cooked lamb shanks in red wine sauce, port braised, Massaman Curry or Persian

Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks in Red Wine Sauce

Port Braised Lamb Shanks

Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry

Persian Lamb Shanks

4. DO YOU WANT CLASSIC LAMB FLAVOURS OR EXOTIC?

Of course you want share-style – it’s the best way to eat! But do you want a lamb with traditional flavours like garlic, rosemary and oregano, or do you want a lamb with bold and exciting flavours, like Middle Eastern or Massaman curry??

• I want classic flavours! → Read on ⬇️

  💘🐑 YOU HAVE BEEN MATCHED! 🐑💘 Both these recipes are made for sharing and can be made ahead (even the day before) and refrigerated. To serve, simply reheat – without any loss of quality or juiciness of meat. These are very rare characteristics in the roast world!

  1. 3 hour slow-roasted rosemary garlic lamb shoulder with gravy; or

  2. The ultimate 12 hour slow-roasted lamb shoulder with garlic and oregano and jus – the creme de la creme of all my roast lamb recipes

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder

Ultimate Roast Lamb: 12-hour lamb shoulder

• I want exotic flavours! → Read on ⬇️

  💘🐑 YOU HAVE BEEN MATCHED! 🐑💘 These can be made the day before then reheated on the day-of.

  1. Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry – 10 minute prep, “dump and bake” (reader favourite!)

  2. Fall-apart Massaman Lamb Shoulder – 5 minute prep “dump and bake”

  3. Slow-roasted Lamb Shawarma

  4. Middle Eastern Shoulder with with all the trimmings in Tonight (page 251, photo preview here).

Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry

5 Minute Fall-apart Massaman Lamb Shoulder

Slow Cooked Lamb Shawarma

5. FOR HANDS-ON, do you want SHARE-STYLE OR MORE REFINED?

For those who have time for hands-on cooking on the day-of, do you want a lamb main that is big, hearty and made for sharing with a group 6+, or something smaller and a little more refined?

• I want big and hearty lamb main on a sharing platter → Read on ⬇️

  💘🐑 YOU HAVE BEEN MATCHED! 🐑💘 Don’t disappear on a deep forest Easter-egg hunt for hours towards the end of the cooking time of these, but your sacrifice will be rewarded with XX

  1. Classic roast lamb leg with gravy

  2. Stuffed slow-roasted lamb shoulder

  3. Greek BBQ Butterflied Lamb Leg – 20 minute cook time, great for BBQ

  4. Moroccan Lamb Backstraps – 8 minute cook time, also great for BBQ!

Roast Lamb Leg with Gravy

Greek Butterflied Lamb Leg

Slow-roast Easter stuffed lamb

Moroccan lamb backstrap

• I want something more refined for a smaller group. → Read on ⬇️

  💘🐑 YOU HAVE BEEN MATCHED! 🐑💘 Here are your perfect lamb recipes:

  1. Lamb racks ($$$) – Either Rosemary Crumbed Rack of Lamb, or a Herb and Garlic Marinated Lamb Rack. Don’t make me choose for you! Both are amazing! (Though the crumbed one is a little more hands-on with the prep).

  2. Rosemary Garlic Lamb Cutlets – I know this is a bit of an outlier because it’s cutlets rather than a roast, but I’ve included this because they are a premium cut for special occasions. This is pretty much the only way I cook lamb cutlets. The better the meat, the simpler the flavours!

Rosemary Garlic Marinated Rack of Lamb (Roasted)

Rosemary Crumbed Rack of Lamb

Rosemary Garlic Lamb Cutlets

Hope you found your perfect match!

Truthfully, I feel like you can’t go wrong with any of these lamb recipes, it’s more about which recipe will suit your needs.

As for my first pick? Always the 12 hour lamb shoulder for succulent meat and a rich flavour that’s superior to leg, plus it’s re-heatable. I often roast it in disposable foil trays for transporting convenience. To reheat, I’ll do it covered in the oven if time permits, else I’ll pop it in the microwave (YES I DO!) If I’m short on time to cook, I’ll do the 3 hour roast version of the shoulder. And if I’m really short on prep time, I’ll do the 5 minute prep Massaman Shoulder, which I actually just did for a lunch last weekend for that exact reason.

When an occasion calls for a carving moment or where I want one large roast to serve 10 people though, I will do a classic Roast Lamb Leg with all the trimmings. I do love a good lamb leg!

Hope you enjoyed this Matchmaker. Now, go meet your perfect lamb match – no awkward first dates required! – Nagi x

Remembering Dozer

Nothing could have prepared me for this. I never in a million years would have imagined I’d be filling my home with artworks of Dozer gifted to me by readers. They came over the weeks, each one arriving with so much love and care it honestly stopped me in my tracks and had me bawling when I opened them.

I made a little video about these artworks I thought you might like to see:

I have a gazillion photos of Dozer, but these hold a special meaning that only something handmade can. I will be putting them up in my home and will treasure them forever.

With heartfelt thanks to the talented artists:

1. Michelle Jung from MJ Draws Dog

2. Robyn Ross

3. Alexandra Nea

4. Rachel Somers

5. Roslyn Elms

I framed them all extra big so they have presence! Many thanks to Sydney Picture Frames in West Ryde for the wonderful job they did with the framing – friendly, great advice, fast turnaround and value.