Saturday, June 4, 2011

Roast lamb 101

One thing I love about winter is roasts!

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Preheat the oven to 200C, and line a roasting pan with baking paper.  If you can, leave the lamb on the bench for a couple of hours to warm to room temperature, too.

Trim fat if you prefer - or score it in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife so that it runs off during cooking and leaves a crisp crust.  Rubbing with oil, and salt and pepper, helps too.
I almost always add garlic and rosemary.  Make cuts into the flesh with a small sharp knife, then push a (peeled) clove of garlic, and a sprig of rosemary into each hole.


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Finally, pour over approx 1/4 cup of wine (red or white - whichever is open, or whichever you want an excuse to open!).

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Pop into the oven, and after 20 minutes turn the dial back to 180C.  Roast for 30 minutes per kg.
Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and allow the meat to rest for 15 minutes before carving (this gives the juices time to settle, and helps to make the meat moist, and tender).  I usually take this opportunity to crank the heat up and finish the vegetables.

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Tell the man of the house that it's his job to carve the roast (I'm terrible at this, but it does taste the same even if you don't slice tidily).  Serve on heated plates (cold lamb is greasy), with roast veges and gravy.

2 comments:

  1. I've bought roast lamb now and you're to blame. :)

    Did Jason take that photo while carving?

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  2. Noooo.. I'm suggesting you get a bloke to carve to avoid hacking at it like I did. Jason used the camera as an excuse not to carve ;)

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