How do I cook a leg of lamb?

[DobbleQueen]

Just that really. DH bought one from butchers because he fancied something different he means not beef, I'm good at beef so we have that 90% of the time for Sunday lunch.

I'm 34 and never cooked a leg of lamb before I'm avoiding opening my fridge because it's giving me anxiety just looking at it!

I'm no expert at all but look online for how long to cook it for, or the wrapper might say. Put it in a roasting try, stab a few times with a sharp knife and put slivers of garlic in the stab slots. Rub olive oil, sprinkle some herbs (it it thyme?) over it and the roast. Serve with dauphinoise potatoes!

If you want roasting times I use this website
www.cookingtimes.co.uk/

The simplest way is to rest it on rosemary and garlic. If you want a rich gravy add in celery, onion and carrot. Make the gravy with red wine and red currant jelly.

This is my go-to receipe. It never fails me and the juices make delicious gravy. It's really, really easy:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/mar/20/foodanddrink.recipes

Look up the cooking time for the right weight and do that.

If you have garlic purée and rosemary smear / sprinkle some over it.

Do remember to let it rest - it’s so much nicer 20 minutes after coming out of the oven.

If you want it really tender, low heat and long cooking time and also put it in a dish with a lid on it so it doesn't dry out.

It's easy, only a two step process.
Step 1: Hand leg of lamb to DH.
Step 2: Smile brightly and say, "It's your turn to cook, darling!"

Lamb can dry out more than beef (depending on how much fat is on it).

Once it’s had some time to heat through in the oven you might want to cover it in foil. Make sure the foil covers the lamb and the baking dish and is tucked in tight so the lovely juices don’t evaporate.

You don’t

Oh don’t worry, it will be absolutely fine.
The timings will be on the plastic packaging or on the link a pp provided.
I usually do a little salt, garlic and rosemary rub and I take the foil / lid off the roasting tin to crisp it up a bit before the end.

I find leg of lamb easy to cook it never goes wrong. We like it well done but it still comes out tender, I think the bone helps if you have a bone in leg. Makes it harder to carve though so leave time for that.

If you can cook beef you can cook lamb. it’s just another lump of meat. Lots of good advice above, online and on the packet. Personally I prefer my lamb on the pink side but different amounts of cooking are more tolerable in lamb than beef (I like my beef rare/medium at most and think ‘brown’ roast beef is hardly worth eating, but ‘brown’ lamb is OK).

This is the one I use from Nigel slater . Also works if you stab little holes in the lamb and insert some herbs ( rosemary ) and garlic , but you can also do it without any if you prefer
Make sure the lamb is out of fridge for about 15 mins or so before cooking it , and let it rest after cooking for 20 mins

Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140-150C/Gas 3. Separate and peel the garlic cloves, and crush them with the salt in a pestle and mortar. You need enough salt to give the mixture some grit. Mash the garlic into the salt. Add the rosemary and thyme, then mix with enough olive oil to make a thick paste.
Rub the garlic mixture over the whole surface of the lamb. Place the lamb into a deep-sided roasting tin.
Add 250ml/9fl oz of water to the roasting tin. Baste the meat with the liquid, then cover the lamb with foil. Roast for 3–3½ hours, until cooked to your liking.
When cooked, pour off any excess oil from the top of the liquid, leaving the cloudy, herby sediment in place. This is the gravy. Cover the pan with a lid and rest for 15 minutes.

This results in lamb that is falling off the bone

I always cook lamb in my slow cooker. It emerges beautifully tender - it never fails! All you need to do is slash some diagonal cuts in the meat,then rub in whatever sauce/dressing you're using (I like barbecue). In the bottom of the crock, set a small plate upside down then place the lamb leg on top. Cover and cook on the high setting for 2 hours, then turn down to low for another 4 hours or so depending on size. When you see the meat pulling away from the bone, you can be confident it's cooked nicely.

I always use the method @Cooltalkin has added above and it never fails. You can also use that method in the slow cooker but for an 8 hour cooking time.

Thank you!