Ann posted 03-29-98
Roast Lamb
Mustard coating and marinade for lamb:
2-4 large cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. dijon style mustard
1 Tbl. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary, (fresh if possible)
2 Tbl. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Puree the garlic in a small bowl and mash to a paste with the salt. Whisk in the mustard, soy, rosemary, lemon juice, and then the oil to make a mayonnaise like cream. Coat lamb with mustard marinade (put it on at least an hour in advance). This recipe will season a 7-8 lb. leg of lamb. Whether it is a whole large leg, a boned leg, the shank, or the sirloin half, they all roast the same way regardless of timing.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place lamb on a roasting pan with fat side up on the rack. Set it in the middle of the oven. No basting is necessary if using the mustard coating. After about 1- 1 1/2 hours, start checking for doneness with instant read thermometer. When done, remove from oven and allow to rest 15-20 minutes. Below is a chart for cooking to desired doneness.
Tempratures for Lamb:
Always take the temp. of the meat at the oven with instant meat thermometer, leaving it in the meat for 15-20 seconds, so that it can register--when the lamb is out of the oven, the temp. will rise some 10 degrees as the hot juices from the exterior circulate into the interior of the meat. (The following are in-oven tempratures.)
120 F---very rare
125 F---rosy rare
130 F---med. rare-pink
140 F---medium-pinky gray, the official "safe" temp. where all harmful bacteria are
killed.
Timing: Because of its bulging shape, any leg from 5-8 lbs. will take 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours of roasting to reach an internal meat thermometer reading of 125 F. Legs weighing 9-10 lbs. may take 10-15 minutes longer.
A boned and rolled leg takes a good 2-2 1/4 hrs. The shank end half should take about 1 hour and the Sirloin half needs about 1 1/4 hour.