Roasted Leg of Lamb (French Gigot d'Agneau Pascal)

A leg of lamb is an impressive main dish for any celebration. This traditional French Easter dish of roast leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic is the perfect dish to wow any guests. "Le gigot d'adneau" is French for "leg of lamb". Lamb is an incredibly common main dish for Easter celebrations in France, and in much of Europe. French cooking might be known for being a bit complicated and over the top, but even with a seemingly fancy name, the preparation for this roast leg of lamb is so incredibly simple. The leg is studded with cloves garlic and fresh rosemary sprigs and roasted at a low temperature to achieve a tender, flavourful result. A good cut of lamb should have ribbons of fat throughout the meat. Like beef roasts this inter-muscular fat is called marbling and will keep the meat tender as it cooks. This is fat that you definitely don't want to get rid of. Since we're roasting our leg of lamb low and slow, even having a fat cap on the leg of lamb is not a bad thing, since this fat will render out as the meat cooks, basting the meat and keeping it juicy. And, since we're using a raised roasting pan to cook the meat, any excess fat will simply collect in the pan, not in/on your meat. (This collected fat we'll use to make gravy, so if you're looking to go leaner, then skip the gravy).

5-6 lb leg of lamb, bone-in
5-7 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
extra-virgin olive oil

The Night Before:
The night before you want to roast your lamb, cut 1" slits in the leg of lamb. Stuff the slits with garlic slices and rosemary sprigs. Place the lamb in a roasting pan with a roasting rack. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to infuse with flavour.

Roasting the Lamb:
Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 2-3 hours before you want to start cooking to let it come to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C/210°C fan, Gas Mark 8).

Drizzle the lamb with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt and pepper. If you have an in-oven probe thermometer, insert it into the center of the meatiest part of the leg.

Roast the lamb for 15 minutes.

Reduce your oven temperature to 300°F (150°C/130°C fan, Gas Mark 2). Open the oven door slightly to help drop the heat more quickly.

Continue to roast the lamb for 20-25 minutes per lb for medium rare (or 25-30 minutes a lb for medium). (For a 5-6 lb leg of lamb, this means you will be roasting 1.5-2.5 hours for medium rare or 2-3 hours for medium.)

Remove the lamb from the oven when it has reached 135°F internal temperature for medium rare (or 150°F for medium).

Rest the lamb on the counter for 10-15 minutes, tented loosely with aluminum foil. As it rests, it will continue to cook. Your ending temperature for medium rare should be 145°F (or 160°F for medium).

Carve the leg (as instructed in our article) and serve with green beans and gratin potatoes.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Cook's Notes: If desired, make a pan gravy with the juices and fat that are in the bottom of your roasting pan. Heat them in a saucepan with some extra beef broth or red wine to make 1 cup of liquids. Mix 1 Tbsp. flour with 1 Tbsp. water until smooth. Stir this slurry into the juices in the pan and simmer until thickened.