How to prepare roast or roast lamb

Baked lamb or roast lamb recipe .

We continue with the meat recipes  for a special occasion with this baked leg of lamb.

A dish that is a classic on the menus of any holiday, although we can also prepare it at any other time of the year.

A very simple recipe that will be perfect for us as long as we comply with certain essential golden rules.

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We must choose a piece of quality meat and patience, since preparation and baking require at least 2 hours of our time. This is how my mother prepares the barbecue for any “special” occasion and parties to keep, I assure you it is delicious.

You also have other options to prepare different types of lamb, one of the most successful recipes is stewed lamb with potatoes.

It is the most famous of the stews in most of the town festivals that I know of. Although both  the Segovian-style suckling pig , the roast lamb shoulder with fine herbs   and the baked kid  are one of those family meals or roasts on Sundays for the whole year.  

Since we are going to cook the whole leg we do not need the butcher to cut the machete. In this way it will later be juicier and it will not be dry.

We will prepare the leg of lamb as it is done in an authentic Castilian grill , saving the distances since we do not have a wood oven at home .

An expert barbecue grill does not use many ingredients or sophisticated dressings, a little water will be enough for the baking and salt for the meat.

We will also try to emulate the conditions of the wood oven in our kitchen. Don’t tell me it’s not a finger-licking recipe, you no longer have excuses for not cooking at home.

Preparation of the leg of lamb

1. The first thing we will do is preheat the oven to a high temperature, about 250º C. So that when putting in the lamb, it does not have to be cooked in a cold environment. Heat up and down.
2. We are also going to put a vessel or container that can withstand the heat of the oven full of water. So we are going to get humidity in the oven, which will go great for the lamb.
3. We salt the meat well on both sides. We place the leg in a clay or ceramic pot, with the inside facing up.
4. Although it stands out a little, do not worry because during the baking it will decrease in size.
5. If you do not have this container, it would be possible to cook it on the metal tray of the oven. Although in this case I recommend putting a little butter in the water. In this way it will evaporate more slowly and we will not have to replace it.
6. We lower the oven temperature to 160º C, remember that it must have heat above and below without air.
7. Pour the glass of water at the base of the saucepan and put in the oven. The meat will release its juice on the water and the sauce will gradually form.

Final baking and presentation of the baked lamb

1. During the process we can see how the meat is dripping. For this size and weight we will bake a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remember that the piece weighs 1.5 kilos. Bake with the inside of the leg up for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
2. In that 1 hour and a half we must hydrate the meat about 6 times, approximately every 18-20 minutes.
3. We water the meat with the sauce that is forming in the casserole. The last 20 minutes of baking we turn the leg and place the outside of the piece up. Thus we will get a lamb with an impressive pint.
4. We raise the temperature to 180º C and water with the sauce.
5. With this method we will get the skin of the leg to be crisp, while the inside will be very juicy. At the end of the total time we remove from the oven and serve on the table.
6. For the carving we will take the leg (with a rag) by the part of the bone that protrudes and with a well sharpened knife we ​​will remove portions of meat following the shape of the leg, until we finally reach the bone.

We accompany the lamb with a garnish of lettuce, tomato and onion, a simple salad to refresh.

I assure you that you will find a lot of ideas to make yours much happier. Remember that you can follow the step-by-step photos of this baked lamb recipe in the next album.

Tips for a Baked Suckling Lamb

• I recommend you accompany the roast with the most useful and used garnish in our country, potatoes . In this case and as you see in the video I have prepared some Hasselback potatoes (they are not very traditional but they are yummy). If you don’t want to innovate, my recommendation is the roasted potatoes or the classic bakery potatoes that always succeed.
• The piece of meat that I used, of lamb with 6 months of life, weighed 1,540 Kg and its price was 15 euros. The choice of the leg of lamb is very important since the final result of the dish depends on it.
• If you want to save a little for Christmas, my recommendation is to buy  a “paschal” lamb , as young as possible and of course of national origin. If you have a budget, opt for a suckling lamb or suckling lamb , the meat is juicier and tender but the price is also higher.
• The bone part has less meat and is roasted earlier. So when you see it’s done, cover that area with a piece of aluminum foil. This will prevent it from drying out excessively.
• Each oven has its own temperature, each model and brand can vary from what I have. It is best to prepare this test recipe before a special occasion. Pin the point to the recipe and then embroider it to taste yours and your guests’. I’m sure it will come out the first time, but it doesn’t hurt to try before.