Leg of Lamb with Garlic Sauce

[ChefJune]

This is a glorious alternative to turkey or goose for Christmas dinner. It's divine for a dinner party "whenever." Even people who think they don't like lamb find themselves coming back for seconds. If you don't believe me, just try it and see.
Leg of Lamb with Garlic Sauce
Everyone who has eaten this dish says it's the best Leg of Lamb they've ever tasted. I agree, and I can verify that it’s the highlight of one of the most requested classes I have ever taught. Just be sure you don't overcook the meat. Lamb tastes best when it’s rare and juicy.
makes 6 [or so] servings, with lots of leftovers for sandwiches!
1 5-pound leg of lamb, with the bone in
6 garlic cloves, slivered
12 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garlic Sauce:
24 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole
1 cup dry red wine (such as Côte du Rhône)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (preferably flat-leaf)
1. Have your butcher prepare the meat by removing most of the fat and skin from the leg, and by removing most of the bare bone that protrudes from the leg. If you want a slightly smaller leg, have him (or her!) shorten it from the hip end. When you're ready to roast it, trim lamb of any excess fat. Make many slits all over the lamb and insert a sliver of garlic and a piece of anchovy in each incision. Finely chop the rosemary and thyme and mix the herbs with sea salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the lamb with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the herb mixture. Let it stand for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the meat on a rack in a roasting pan, and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and cook for 40 to 45 minutes for medium rare lamb. The temperature on an instant-read thermometer should register 130 degrees F. (That's how it’s supposed to be!)
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet, and cook the 24 garlic cloves slowly for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft (don't let the edges get crisp -- or brown). Set aside in a small bowl.
4. Remove lamb to a warmed platter, and turn off the oven. Cover with an aluminum foil tent and set it in the oven to keep warm while you prepare the sauce. On top the stove, put wine into the roasting pan, scraping the bottom well to loosen any brown bits or caramelized juices, and cook the wine over a high flame to reduce it by about one-third. Add the reduced liquid to the garlic cloves. Mash well with a fork, and add sea salt and pepper to taste.
5. Slice the lamb and grind some fresh black pepper over it. Spoon on the sauce, and sprinkle it all with freshly chopped parsley.
Teacher’s Tips: 1. If you live anywhere near an Italian butcher, buy your lamb for this dish from him! The Italian-style leg will have the long bone left intact, and it allows for an extremely attractive presentation not possible with the standard American cut.
2. Roasted Potatoes and Garlic, ora any combo of veggies, can be cooked on a flat baking sheet on the rack below the lamb at the same time.
Wine Tip: There are two wines that pair magnificently with this dish. Not surprisingly, they both come from Provence: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (my favorite is Clos des Pape), and Bandol Rouge (I love those from Domaine Tempier inordinately!) If you are on a budget, a Côte du Rhône will do admirably. And, if you want a Cali wine, I'd choose Tablas Creek Red!

[eatitnshutup]

ChefJune

Sounds delicious, but.......you mention 5 TBSP of EVOL. I only see 3 used, where do the other 2 go?

[ChefJune]

That's a very good question! I just edited the recipe. Now it says 3 tablespoons....

Thanks!

[mark1]

Sounds great and pretty much do it this way except for the anchovies, an excellent addition I'll use next time.

[romany123]

Thanks June
Funnily enough I was thinking about ringing the changes at Christmas. I think your recipe is in the vanguard
Thank you.

[Saltyknees]

Dear Chef:

Anchovies .... Lamb, garlic and red wine ....

What a great sounding combination.

Marry me. (*kidding*)

Thank you for sharing this!

[Ellen]

Wonderful June, and thank you.

[roger ramjet]

who knew a recipe could illicit a marriage proposal, June??

[ChefJune]

...and guess what????? that's not the first one, either!!!!

[clnels]

Chef June,
Can you give instructions for your Leg of Lamb w/Garlic Sauce using a boneless leg? It is very unusual to find bone-in where I live. I will assume much is the same, but would appreciate your input on any timing and temp adjustment I must make for the lamb.
Thanks!
p.s thanks also for the tip about making sure my ziplock bags are approved for the microwave when reheating my Thanksgiving veggies. I had not thought about that, but certainly will in the future. You're right, we really don't want to poison our friends and relatives.......OK, if truth be known, maybe one or two, but since we are all eating the same dinner, I guess I best keep it safe.

[roger ramjet]

You're right, we really don't want to poison our friends and relatives.......OK, if truth be known, maybe one or two,

that's the spirit!!

[ChefJune]

That's a good question, Clnels... I'll have to do some research on that, as I can't remember ever making a boneless leg, unless it's butterflied, and thus, "all spread out."

If anyone else here has advice on that, please step forward.

Is it possible to request a bone-in roast ahead of time in your meat section? (I'm guessing you don't have a "butcher shop" around where you live.) Any meat cooked on the bone has so much more flavor than boneless.

[DaCook]

Sorry, (not really) for digging in the archives. But I have questions. I have never cooked lamb before. I'm a Canadian raised cattle rancher product. My daughter recieved a leg of New Zealand spring lamb, as a perk from work. I am thinking of cooking it on Thursday, one of my days off. However, the ones that I am cooking it for, do not like med/rare meat, I do, but they like theirs more medium. Will this toughen the meat too much? And what for sides? I was thinking Greek salad and perhaps stuffed potatoes? And what pray tell does one do with the leftovers? There is only the 3 of us at home. Help!
BTW, thanks Fred for the new fusion search, just love it.

[bbally]

Just don't let it go over 140F above that and it seems to make rubber cement out of the meat.

Left overs, I like making roasted sweat pepper and lamb ragout. The ragout freezes well too.

Also with your baking skills, whip up some pita breads and make some slovaki out of the leftover lamb.

[cjs]

Marlene - here's a side dish also from the archives that I posted a year ago -

"Shortly after we arrived in Kewanne, IL we were invited to a potluck dinner - I took this dish....a dish that everyone had always just loved!! As the buffet progressed, there was only one dish that no one had tasted...the onions. Two little scoops were gone, mine and Roy's - that's it.

Finally, some guy asked his son to go get him seconds and the son put some of the onions on his dad's plate....the onion dish was emptied in five minutes!!

A sign in the Henry County courthouse (Honest to God, it's hanging there): "Because we've always done it this way!" No way were those people going to eat something they hadn't seen on the potluck tables all their lives!

I started making this in '79 and it kind of got buried...

GOURMET ONIONS
Serves 8

4 cups onions, sliced (3 large white)
5 T. butter
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
S&P to taste

Saute onions in butter till transparent.
Place in a 1 1/2-qt. au gratin dish or flat casserole.
Beat eggs till light; add sour cream and S&P.
Pour over onions and sprinkle with the cheese.
Bake at 425° for 20-25 min.

A great buffet dish - if guests will try it..."