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Lamb always looks super fancy and intimidating to prepare, but it’s very easy to make. This leg of lamb roast is great for a Sunday dinner, a holiday dinner, or a dinner party. And it yields excellent leftovers. Roasting lamb for a longer amount of time and a lower temp produces a nice, tender roast. You could put potatoes underneath the roast, and they will soak up all the delicious juices. Or, serve with spring veggies like asparagus and leeks or roasted baby carrots.
Lamb is super rich in l-carnitine, an amino acid that’s necessary for fat burning, and zinc, which is critical for a healthy immune system.
Lamb Roast
6 large unpeeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 TBSP sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 (6-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
You need to start this recipe about 3 hours before you intend to serve it. The roast should come to room temp with the rub on it before roasting, and it takes about 2 hours to cook. Remove from fridge and make the rub. Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a mortar and pestle. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for about an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If you’re doing potatoes or other root veggies, chop and prep them and place in a roasting pan, then drizzle those with a little olive oil. Put the roast atop them, or put the roast alone in a pan. If you’re not roasting veggies underneath the roast, pour a little red wine in the pan to make a great basting sauce.
Put the roast in the oven on the middle rack. Roast for 1.5 to 2 hours, basting with the red wine/juices occasionally (if it is roast only; otherwise, just let the root veggies soak up the juices). When internal temp reaches 135, it’s done if you like it rare like I do (pink in the middle). Otherwise, remove it at 140. You need a meat thermometer for a perfect roast, trust me. Take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes, then carve and serve and wow your guests. Enjoy!
Easy Paleo & Keto Lamb Roast
Equipment
- roasting pan
Ingredients
- 6 pound leg of lamb trimmed and tied
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- NOTE: You need to start this recipe about 3 hours before you intend to serve it. The roast should come to room temp with the rub on it before roasting, and it takes about 2 hours to cook.
- Remove lamb from fridge and make the rub: Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a mortar and pestle.
- Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If you’re doing potatoes or other root veggies, chop and prep them and place in a roasting pan, then drizzle those with a little olive oil. Put the roast atop them, or put the roast alone in a pan. If you’re not roasting veggies underneath the roast, pour a little red wine in the pan to make a great basting sauce.
- Put the roast in the oven on the middle rack. Roast for 1.5 to 2 hours, basting with the red wine/juices occasionally.
- When internal temp reaches 135, it’s done if you like it rare like I do (pink in the middle). Otherwise, remove it at 140. You need a meat thermometer for a perfect roast, trust me.
- Take it out of the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes, then carve and serve and wow your guests.
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Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
Cooking lamb seems so scary to me! But this makes it a little less daunting :)!
I’ve never tasted lamb, much less cooked it, but this sounds wonderful. It looks as though there is twine or something on the roast and wasn’t removed before baking. Am I seeing that correctly and is it easy to remove afterwards?
The butcher will sometimes tie the lamb for you, then cut off the twine before eating.