A great option for a festive meat dish can be a baked lamb leg. This is a hearty, easy to perform dish.
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In order to cook a lamb leg you will need: Lamb leg - 2 kg, juniper, black pepper (peas), "Provence herbs" (ready-made mixture), garlic - 5 - 10 teeth, olive oil - 3 - 4 tbsp. tablespoons, coarse sea salt, fresh rosemary
Garnish: Potato
• Start by preparing the seasonings: grind the herbs with a mortar or coffee grinder, add the cloves of finely chopped garlic, chopped rosemary, and olive oil.
• Cut off excess fat with a lamb leg, leaving a thin layer. In no case cut the film, it provides the juiciness of the finished meat. Next, grate the meat on all sides with spices and olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt on top. Wrap the leg processed in this way in food foil and put in the refrigerator (at least for several hours, ideally - all night).
• Pickled meat should be removed from the refrigerator a couple of hours before baking. Expand the lamb leg. Lay it on the grill so that the inside of the leg is at the top. Preheat the oven to a temperature of 230 degrees. Be sure to place the pan under the wire rack. Fat and juice will flow into it. Pour some hot water into the baking sheet, you can add white wine if desired.
• Bake a lamb leg for 10 minutes. Turn to the other side and bake for another 10 minutes, and then reduce the temperature to 180 degrees.
• While the lamb leg is baked, prepare potatoes for a side dish. Peel the potatoes, dip in boiling water and cook for no more than 2-3 minutes. Put it on a baking sheet that is under your lamb rack. This is done so that the potatoes are saturated with fat draining from the meat. Be sure to sprinkle the potatoes with dry herbs, do not forget to salt. You can also add a little fresh rosemary for a spicy smell. Soaked with lamb fat, the potatoes will be crisp and unusually tasty.
• All you have to do is not to miss the time when the meat is ready and pull the dish out of the oven in time! To check readiness, you can use a special meat thermometer. If you don’t have one, it’s easy to calculate the cooking time, knowing the total weight of the leg: for each kilogram of meat you need about 20-30 minutes, plus 20 minutes. That is, to cook a lamb leg weighing 2 kg, you need only 1.5 hours!
• Very important: after you take the meat out of the oven, wrap it in foil and leave it for 15-20 minutes. This will allow meat juices to soak the entire piece evenly. Cut the finished meat into thin slices. Place on potatoes. The dish is ready to be served!
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