Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

Slow Roasted GREEK Leg of Lamb - Tender fall apart lamb made the Greek way! Super easy.

4.89 from 127 votes

Greek Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

This is the Greek way of roasting lamb - slow roasted until tender enough to pull apart, braised in a lemon garlic thyme broth that infuses the flesh with flavour and reduces into a lemony, herby jus rather than having to fuss with making a gravy. Easier and more foolproof than traditional roast lamb leg (the carving sort with pink meat) because there’s no worry about overcooking.

There’s also a rosemary garlic version of this slow cooked leg (with gravy!) and plenty of other roast lamb recipes - take the Roast Lamb Matchmaker to find your perfect one!

This recipe takes 7 1/2 hours to cook (7 hours in oven plus 30 minutes resting time) and is best served freshly made, so start late morning to serve for dinner, or get up VERY early to serve for lunch!

Source: adapted from this Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb by Kalofagas

Prep Time15

Cook Time7

Resting30

Total Time7 45

Course: Dinner, Roast

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: slow roasted leg of lamb

Servings: - 10 people

Calories: 362cal

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

12 cloves of garlic, peeled
7 lb / 3.5 kg leg of lamb , bone-in (Note 1 & Note 3 for roasting times for larger/smaller)
1 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (double for flakes or flaky salt)
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tsp paprika powder (regular / sweet, not spicy or smoked)
3 tsp garlic powder (or sub with onion powder)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions , quartered (white, brown, yellow, red)
10 sprigs of thyme
3 sprigs rosemary
3 tsp dried oregano
3 dried bayleaves (or 5 fresh)
1/2 cup lemon juice (2 - 3 lemons), plus more to taste
1 1/2 cups white wine (or sub with chicken broth/stock, low salt)
2 cups chicken broth/stock , low sodium

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE

Stuff incisions with garlic, season, roast leg uncovered 30 min at 240°C/465°F (220°C fan). Lower to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Put everything else in pan, flip leg upside down, fill with hot water 1/4 way up, roast covered 3 1/2 hours. Flip lamb, roast covered another 2 1/2 hours, then brown uncovered 30 minutes. Strain pan juices, serve!

FULL RECIPE

Preheat oven to 240°C/465°F (220°C fan-forced). (Note 2)
Garlic incisions - Use a small knife to make around 25 incisions all over the lamb, with most on the top. Cut around 6 cloves into slivers and stuff them into the incisions.
Season - Sprinkle the lamb generously all over with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Drizzle with olive oil and rub all over the lamb.
30 minute browning - Place the lamb in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes or until it has a nice brown crust.
Prepare for slow-roasting - Remove from the oven. Turn the oven down to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Turn the lamb upside down. Pour / place all the remaining ingredients in the pan around the lamb (including remaining garlic cloves). Fill the roasting pan with hot water so it comes up about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way up the height of the lamb.
Slow roast part 1 (3 1/2 hours) - Cover with lid or with baking/parchment paper then 2 layers of foil. Roast for 3 1/2 hours. Top up water if it dries out (e.g. Might happen if your foil is loose) ** See Note 3 for larger/smaller leg roasting times **
Slow roast part 2 (2 1/2 hours) - Remove the roast from the oven and remove the lid/foil. Turn the lamb over so it is the right side up. Cover again and roast for a further 2 1/2 hours, or until you can pull meat apart easily with forks.
Finish browning - Remove cover and roast for a further 20 - 30 minutes (to brown).
Rest - Remove from the oven and transfer lamb to serving platter. Cover loosely with foil and rest for 30 - 40 minutes.
Sauce - Strain liquid into a clear jug. The fat will rise to the top. Scoop/pour most of it off and discard (I get 3/4 - 1 cup). There should be 2 - 3 cups of Sauce left. Adjust salt, pepper and lemon to taste.
Serve lamb with the Sauce on the side and Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes* or Greek Lemon Potatoes. The lamb will stay warm enough for 1 hour so you can roast / prep other sides during this time.

Notes

1. Lamb leg - I used a full leg of lamb which is too long for most roasting trays. If you buy it from a supermarket, typically the shaft (bone) will be cut so it bends so it can fit into the pan. If you purchase it from a butcher, ask them to do this for you because you need the roast to fit flat in a roasting pan so it can lie submerged in the braising liquid.

2. High temp - Or as high as your oven goes if it can't go this high.

3. Total roasting time guide for different weights:

Servings - Allow 350 - 400g/12 - 14oz uncooked bone-in meat weight per person, so a 3.5kg/7 pound leg will serve 8.75 to 10 people. I know this sounds like a lot, but you lose more weight with slow cooked meats than roasting leg to blushing pink. plus the bone is sizeable and nobody can carve every scrap of meat off the bone. :)

Make-ahead - This is best served freshly made as leg is quite lean so it just isn't as succulent when reheated. It stays warm for 1 1/2 hours so you needn't worry about being 100% precise with cook timing. Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge, or freezer for 3 months.

Nutrition per serving assuming 10 servings.

Nutrition