low and slow lamb

with the holidays coming up I thought I'd provide an easy to prep and cook "holiday roast" type thang. 

What You Need:

a leg of lamb, bone in. I used a 3 lb leg since I am not having a holiday dinner today and did not need to feed anyone other than my hungry neighbors. Depending on how much your family/friends eat, 3.5 lbs is enough for about 5 people. (give or take)

a large bunch of rosemary sprigs (10-20)

a large bunch of thyme sprigs (10-20)

1 bay leaf

half a bottle of white wine 

1 cup of water

1 cup of low sodium chicken stock

1 garlic head with the root chopped off so all the bulbs are exposed

olive oil

lots of kosher or sea salt

ground black pepper

What You Do:

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. 

Heat a large pot over medium high heat.

Rub olive oil on the lamb, cover with lots of salt and some pepper

Using tongs, place the lamb in the hot pot. You should hear a VERY loud sizzle. 

Let sear on ALL sides about 7 minutes until a beautiful golden brown crust covers the lamb.

Remove the lamb to a plate or clean cutting board.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and pour the water, stock and white wine into the pot. Using a wooden spoon scrape up all the lovely brown goodness bits on the bottom of the pan.

Put the fresh herb sprigs and the garlic head into the pot.

Place the lamb back into the pot, cover with an oven safe lid or tinfoil and place into the oven. 

Cook until the lamb registers at 150 on a meat thermometer. (The carry over cooking will bring it to safe temp once it's out of the oven) Baste it ever 30 minutes with the liquid in the pot, checking the internal temperature every 30 minutes after the first hour. Should take about 4 hours for a 7 lb leg of lamb, 2 hours for the lamb that I did. 

Once finished, remove from the pot, cover with foil and let rest so that the juices distribute back into the meat. 

While the meat rests, strain the braising liquid into a small sauce pan, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and allow the liquid to reduce to a thick sauce. 

Alternatively, make a gravy. Make a roux by combining 1 T of butter and 1 T flour in the sauce pot over medium heat and then straining the braising liquid into the pot and whisking until thick. Adjust the seasonings and pour over the roast or serve on the side.