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Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

[heart_this] · Apr 2, 2012 · 37 Comments

Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

A Greek style lemon and herb marinated roast leg of lamb with lemon roast potatoes that is perfect for Easter or for a special Sunday dinner.

Easter is right around the corner and this last weekend I took the opportunity to test out a new recipe. When I think of Easter dinner I almost always gravitate towards lamb which reminds me of spring and I have had this recipe for a Greek style roast leg of lamb from Kalofagas bookmarked for a while now, just waiting for a special occasion. One of the things that I really like about Greek cuisine is the heavy use of fresh herbs and this roast lamb is marinated in a mixture of rosemary, thyme and oregano in addition to lemon juice, mustard, paprika and of course a generous amount of salt and pepper. After marinating the lamb is roasted until it is moist and falling apart tender and then potato wedges are tossed in the drippings along with more lemon juice and some oregano before being roasted until nice and crispy! What a meal!
When roasting meat the goal is for it to be moist and tender and there are two ways to get this; the first is to roast the meat just until it hits the sweet spot at medium-rare and the second is to keep roasting well beyond well done where the bonds that hold the fibers of the meat start to loosen and the fat starts to render returning the meat to a moist and tender state. A lot of the time when you roast lamb, you go for the sweet spot at medium rare where the lamb in really pink and this recipe is not one of those recipes; here we roast it until it is so tender that you can cut it with a spoon.
In addition to the amazing lamb this recipe also calls for using the lamb drippings to roast some potato wedges in and they might just be better than the lamb itself! The potato wedges are tossed in lemon and oregano and they are roasted at a high temperature until they a crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. With the combination of the flavour provided by the dripping, lemon and oregano and the textures, these potato wedges are almost impossible to resist!
Although roast diners are always good, I sometimes enjoy using the leftovers even more so I often get larger cuts of meat than needed planning to get lots of leftovers! I kicked off using the lamb leftovers this morning by making some roast lamb gyros, with tomatoes, onion, tzatziki and feta for breakfast and I served them with some of the leftover roast potato wedges and a salad.

Roast Lamb Gyros

Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Greek Style Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 3 hours Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes Servings: 4

A Greek style lemon and herb marinated roast leg of lamb with lemon roast potatoes that is perfect for Easter or for a special Sunday dinner.

ingredients
  • 8 cloves garlic, half slivered and half chopped
  • 1 (4 pound) leg of lamb with bone in
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
  • 4 lemons
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons pepper
  • 2 pounds potatoes, optionally peeled and cut into wedges
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
directions
  1. Pierce the leg of lamb with a knife and insert the slivers of garlic all around the surface.
  2. Mix the remaining garlic, oregano, rosemary, thyme, the juice and zest of 1 lemon, the oil, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper, rub the mixture over the lamb and let it marinade in the fridge for 1 hour to over night.
  3. Place the lamb on a rack in your roasting pan, top it with some of the marinade and place enough water in the pan to cover the bottom without touching the lamb.
  4. Cover in foil and roast in a preheated 450F/230C oven on the middle rack until tender enough to easily pull from the bone, about 2-4 hours, adding more water if needed.
  5. Reduce the heat to 350F/180C and roast until browned, remove from the oven cover in foil and let rest.
  6. Remove the drippings from the pan reserving them.
  7. Skim off a few tablespoons of the fat from the drippings and toss the potato wedges in them along with the juice of one lemon, oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Cut the remaining lemons into wedges, add them to the pan along with the potato wedges and roast at 450F/230C until the potatoes are tender on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside, about 30-45 minutes.
Use in:
Lamb Exohiko (Lamb Stuffed Phyllo Parcels)
Gyro Grilled Cheese Sandwich (aka Gyro Melt)

Similar Recipes:
Greek Style Pulled Lamb
Roasted Lamb in Coffee Sauce
The Perfect Roast Beef
Pot Roast
Chicken Souvlaki Gyros
Mushroom Crusted Prime Rib Roast
Greek Style Grilled Lamb Chops
Perfect Eye of Round Roast Beef

Food, Gluten-free, Greek, Lamb, Low-carb, Main Course, One-Pan, One-Pot, Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    April 3, 2012 at 12:09 am

    that looks so good!

    Reply
  2. Becki's Whole Life says

    April 3, 2012 at 12:49 am

    I have never thought to roast a lamb like this – we are always going for the medium rare state. This sounds delightful and I love the gyro…what a great way to use the leftovers!

    We always roast our leg of lamb with carrots and potatoes and I agree that they are just wonderful!

    Reply
  3. anniebakes says

    April 3, 2012 at 1:14 am

    beautiful kevin! and i loved your ebook!! thank you for sharing it with us! anne

    Reply
  4. Tazeen says

    April 3, 2012 at 3:19 am

    This. Looks. AMAZING. I am seriously blown away by all your recipes!

    Reply
  5. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    April 3, 2012 at 6:23 am

    Mighty scrumptious! This easter I'm making schawarma lamb and will use the leftover to make Lebanese rolls.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  6. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says

    April 3, 2012 at 6:38 am

    Wow, what a gorgeous roast. I love how it's so beautifully charred too. And I'm particularly excited about the leftover lamb gyros! 🙂

    Reply
  7. Peter M says

    April 3, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    Great looking leg of lamb Kevin. This is the Greek way to do a leg of lamb…well done but still succulent & fall-off the bone. Cheers!

    Reply
  8. mireia badia says

    April 3, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    I'm not so excited about the head hahaha but this seems like it should have an amazing flavour

    Reply
  9. CharlesR says

    April 3, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    Hi Kevin:
    I love lamb done the greek way!

    It brings out all the flavours of the roast and marries them beautifully.

    I'm already drooling and I have a roast lamb in my freezer!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Charlie

    Reply
  10. breakfastatnatalies says

    April 3, 2012 at 7:07 pm

    I never really make big roasts like this, but with Easter coming up this weekend, I might have a good excuse : ) looks delicious!

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    April 4, 2012 at 1:12 am

    I'm confused (easily done) about step 4 & 5 – preheat to 450 and roast for 2-4 hours…after that reduce to 350? Or reduce to 350 as soon as you put the lamb in? Thanks for any info…looks amazing.

    Reply
  12. Julia says

    April 4, 2012 at 1:28 pm

    I've already purchased a boneless NZ leg of lamb – what do you suggest I cut the cooking time down to?
    Thanks Kevin!

    Reply
  13. Lillian says

    April 4, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    Kevin, you can actually roast the potatoes along with the lamb..That's what I do every year and they come out amazing.A tip: Halfway through the roasting time, pour a large glass of Sprite or 7UP over the potatoes…Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!! :))

    Reply
  14. jillian says

    April 4, 2012 at 7:24 pm

    I think roasts like this can be so intimidating, but this looks great! I just may have to try it…

    Reply
  15. Kevin says

    April 5, 2012 at 9:47 am

    Lillian: I wanted to ensure that these potatoes came out nice and crispy so I did not want them submerged in liquid. I do enjoy roasting potatoes in the pot with the meat though and next time I will have to try adding sprite!

    Reply
  16. Kevin says

    April 5, 2012 at 9:49 am

    jillian: I was intimidated by roasts at first as well but it is actually quite easy. With roasted where you are going for medium rare, a thermometer is your best friend and for roasts like this you just keep cooking until they are fork render keeping an eye on them as they go.

    Reply
  17. Kevin says

    April 5, 2012 at 9:50 am

    Julia: You want to cook the lamb until it is comes away easily with a fork so just start checking for it to be done a little earlier, say at an hour and a half.

    Reply
  18. Kevin says

    April 5, 2012 at 10:04 am

    Anonymous: You roast it covered in foil at 450F until it is done and then you reduce the temperature to 350F, remove the foil and roast it a little longer to give it that nice colour.

    Reply
  19. Dan says

    April 7, 2012 at 9:50 pm

    This kind of looks like Admiral Ackbar's head on a platter.

    Reply
    • Susie says

      December 16, 2018 at 7:30 pm

      Dan, that eye staring at us!!!! 🙂

      Reply
  20. FreyFamily says

    April 18, 2012 at 12:24 am

    Delicious recipe! I made this tonight for dinner, served with eggplant and mashed potatoes. We also made a gravy from the drippings. A keeper for sure!

    I roasted mine at 450 for the first 15 minutes. The leg cooked 25 mins/lb. Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply
  21. Lamb Shanks Recipe says

    August 30, 2012 at 3:35 am

    Wow very delicious lamb recipe you got there… cant wait to try it .. thanks for sharing ..

    Reply
  22. bBarb says

    September 29, 2012 at 4:14 am

    I have one oven and am hosting a big dinner — 17 people. I have 2 legs of lamb, bone-in, each approx 3 pounds. I also plan to bake salmon (20 minutes cooking time). Questions: 1) If I cook both legs of lamb at the same time in the oven, do I have to extend the cooking time? 2) Do you think it is a good idea to start cooking the salmon as soon as the lamb is done, so that both can be served warm? Or would you suggest a different method? Thanks much.

    Reply
  23. Kevin says

    October 4, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    bBarb: The roasting time should not change all that much for the lamb and putting the salmon in just after the lamb is the way to go. It sounds like it is going to be a great meal!

    Reply
  24. Anonymous says

    March 23, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    Hello Kevin, cooked this this evening and i think i overcooked the lamb. The marinade was great and the flavour of the meeat fabulous, but it was abit dry. Very tender but dry, we usually have our lamb very pink. I had a 4 lb bit of meat and cooked for 3 hours, usually I would have cooked for 2hours. any suggestions.?

    Reply
  25. Kevin says

    March 25, 2013 at 9:12 am

    Anonymous: There are two sweet spots when roasting meat where the meat is nice and tender; the first spot is when the meat is medium rare and the second spot is when the meat has been roasted long enough that the muscle tissue starts to break down and the meat gets tender again. This recipe is going for the second sweet spot where it is roasted long enough for the meat to get really tender but is should not dry out. Did all of the water in the bottom of the pan evaporate? One thing that you can do to help keep it moister is to cover the roast in foil while it roasts.

    Reply
  26. Martha says

    October 2, 2013 at 8:02 am

    Hi Kevin I love your recipe, however when you say that the total cooking time is 3 hours does that mean you cooked the 4 pound leg of lamb for 2hrs 15 minutes and the potatoes for 45 minutes. Any information would be very helpful. I have a 4 pound leg of lamb and would like for it to fall off the bone. Thanks Kevin

    Reply
  27. kevin says

    October 2, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    Martha: Yes, you cook the lamb until fork tender, about 2 hours and then roast the potatoes for 30-45 minutes. You could also add the potatoes to the pan with the lamb about 30-45 minutes before it is done and cut down on the total time.

    Reply
  28. Anonymous says

    November 19, 2013 at 3:01 pm

    I just made this with Australian bone-in lamb shoulder. It was amazing! The meat is fall-off-the-bone and still a little pink inside. I think the shoulder was about +2 lbs. I roasted it for 2 hours. I didn't even end up crusting up the outside. No need, and I didn't want to risk drying out the meat. I accidentally left out the dijon mustard, but it was still deelish! I also used dried herbs, as I didn't have fresh. The recipe is awesome! Thanks a million for posting. My 20 month old keeps saying, "More lamb! Oh, goodie!"

    Reply
  29. Simon says

    May 25, 2014 at 10:32 am

    Just made this, slight variation used smoked paprika and made accompanying sauce of mint, dill, cayenne, shallots, lemon and yoghurt, absolutely perfect. Cooked for nearly 4 hours until the bone literally slid right out. Fantastic recipe, best lamb ever!

    Reply
  30. Elizabeth Kuehne says

    March 25, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    A lovely recipe with a surprising and fresh taste of lemon. A great pairing. I make sure to add extra potatoes. Thank you for posting this.

    Reply
  31. Youmen Salam says

    March 29, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    thank you for sharing,the herbs used are fresh or dried?

    Reply
  32. Youmen Salam says

    March 29, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    thank you for sharing,the herbs used are fresh or dried?

    Reply
  33. kevin says

    March 29, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Youmen Salam: I use fresh herbs in the recipe but dried would work (but not quite be the same) if you preferred.

    Reply
  34. emilyrichardson says

    March 31, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    Hi Kevin, would it be possible to adapt this for a crock pot?

    Reply
  35. kevin says

    April 1, 2015 at 10:50 am

    emilyrichardson: Yes you can! You can implement steps 1 & 2, place the lamb in the slow cooker, top with potatoes cut into 2 inch pieces along with the lemon wedges and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. If you want the crispy potato wedges you are going to have to do them in the oven so you would just place the lamb in the crock pot and then implement steps 7 & 8.

    Reply
  36. Barbie says

    November 29, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    Hands down the best lamb recipe I’ve ever made…I won’t even order lamb in a restaurant anymore, mine is so much better. I actually print the recipe out every time I make it because at least one person will ask for it. I do mine in a rotisserie, but I know its really good in the oven especially when you use the convection option. Thanks so much for making me look like a professional chef!!

    Reply

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Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
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