Roast Leg of Lamb

Do not over-cook Lamb

Marinade
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
2 Tbsp of fresh chopped rosemary or 1 Tbsp of dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
Blend ingredients in a blender, just a few pulses until well mixed.

Lamb Roast
1 (6-pound) leg of lamb, bone-in or boneless. If boneless, the leg should
be
tied up with kitchen string by butcher.
Marinade
Salt


Place the lamb and marinade into a plastic bag. Remove as much of the air
as possible from the bag and seal. Wrap again with another plastic bag to
ensure that the marinating lamb doesn't leak. Marinate over night in the
refrigerator. Remove the lamb, still in its marinade bag, from the
refrigerator 30 minutes before putting in the oven to help bring the lamb
closer to room temperature before roasting.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Arrange two racks in the oven - a middle rack to
hold the lamb, and a lower rack to hold a roasting pan with which to catch
the drippings. Place the empty roasting pan in the oven while the oven is
pre-heating. Note that this arrangement of racks and pans, with the roast
sitting directly on the oven rack, will create a natural convection of
heat in the oven, causing the roast to cook more quickly than if cooked
the traditional method in a rack in a roasting pan.

Remove the lamb from its marinade bag. Arrange fattiest side up, so while
the lamb is cooking the fat will melt into the meat. Insert a meat
thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, not touching the bone if
your roast is bone-in. Place directly on middle rack of the oven, with a
roasting pan on a separate rack a rung lower, to catch the drippings.

Roast at 425 F for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 300 F and roast an
additional hour ( about 10-12 minutes per pound ), If you are cooking the
roast in a roasting pan, rack or not, start the roast at 450 F and then
reduce the heat to 325 F.

Check the meat thermometer. Remove from the oven anywhere from 130 F to
135 F for medium rare. Sprinkle with salt about 15 minutes before removing
from oven. Lamb should never be cooked until well done.
Let stand for 10 minutes before carving. Cut away the kitchen string and
slice with a sharp carving knife, 1/2 inch thick slices, against the grain
of the meat.

While the roast is resting, use a metal spatula to scrape up the drippings
in the roasting pan. Use the drippings to make a gravy, or use just the
drippings themselves to serve with the lamb.


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