Leg of Lamb

by Jude
(Gravenhurst, ON Canada)

I was given this recipe for "Weinende Lammkeule" already translated. I sometimes omit using the garlic in the lamb because some people find it makes the lamb feel “too heavy.”

I also use only olive oil on the potatoes, and sometimes I add a pouch of onion soup mix, or better yet, roasted garlic/onion soup mix to them. I also use this method when roasting chicken. It’s wonderful, especially with chicken thighs.

Ingredients:

• 1 leg of lamb 2.5 to 3 kilo
  
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  
• 6 cloves of garlic, for 2 of this cut into fine pins, the other four chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon of chopped, fresh rosemary
  
• 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh thyme
  
• salt and freshly ground pepper
  
• 1.5 kilo potatoes, cut into thin slices(I usually only cut the potatoes into chunks, halves or quarters, depending on the size)
  
• 40 grams of butter, diced (I use olive oil instead)
  

Instructions:

1. Rub in the leg of lamb with the oil and with push the slivers of garlic into the thin slits. Cover the leg with the herbs and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
   
   
2. Put the potatoes in a roasting pan and dot with butter, and a bit between the layers. The pan must be longer than the leg of lamb!
   
   
3. Coat the potatoes with salt, pepper, the minced garlic and the butter cubes. Put the pan on the lowest rack of the oven.
   
   
4. Put the leg of lamb directly on the middle rack above the potato pan so that the roast juice drips on the potatoes. This process gave the recipe its name.
   
   
5. Roast at 220ºC or 425ºF for about 1.5 hours until it reaches the desired temperature.
   

Lamb Roast Internal Cooking Temperatures:
Rare: 120 to 125 ºF
Medium Rare: 130 to 135 ºF
Medium: 140 to 145 ºF

If the potatoes brown too quickly, turn the temp. down.

Toss the potatoes once or twice during cooking. Cut the meat up into slices and lining up on the potatoes before serving.

From: "Weinende Lammkeule"
Crying Leg of Lamb (by The Volunteers of the American Hospital of Paris and Elizabeth W. Esterling, Le Cookbook)