Roast Leg of Lamb

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(Lamb Serves: 6 Prep Time: 150 minutes)
Found in Cooks Illustrated, page March / April 2013, page 13

Shopping List

  • Butterflied leg of lamb (anywhere from 2.5 - 7 lbs)
  • 4 Shallots
  • Garlic cloves
  • 1 piece fresh ginger
  • Lemon for zest

Staples Used

  • Cumin seeds
  • Coriander seeds
  • Mustard seeds
  • Cilantro
  • Lemon juice

Notes

Most ingredients are optional; the recipe is pretty flexible.
Alternate version: substitute parsley for cilantro, and red pepper flakes for the mustard.
Not a huge amount of work, but much of it is front-loaded.
Important: pounding the lamb is not optional! If the roast isn't pounded down to one inch, it takes much longer. Even if you do pound it, expect it to take much longer than the recipe implies for the roast to come up to temp. (Turning the over up to 300 or so helps.)
Important: do not add the pan drippings to the sauce, unless you have time to separate them -- it makes the sauce way, way too fatty.
Kate actually prefers the "stuff" instead of the sauce, so don't throw the solids away if you make the sauce. Best: chop up the good bits of the stuff, and mix into the sauce.
Don't bother with the mint.
Goes With: Roasted vegetables: note that the can roast along with the spices and then with the meat, but it is a very slow-and-low roast. May need to roast more at 350 while meat rests.
Some mustard works well along with the sauce.
Justin du Coeur (jducoeur) -- Roast Leg of Lamb:Review
-- Quite good, and not too much work, but does take a while.

Variations