There’s nothing nicer than a joint of succulent leg of lamb, covered in mint sauce and cooked to perfection!
Roast leg of lamb is a bit of a luxury when you are only two people to share it, so when I found my local supermarket selling whole lamb legs for the price of a small piece of lamb roast, I grabbed a couple and asked the friendly butcher to chop them in half for me. The result – a freezer stocked with enough lamb roasts to stock a small farm!
We love lamb. There is so much you can do with it – roasted in the oven with garlic and rosemary, slow-cooked pull-apart lamb in the slow cooker, pot-roasted in the pressure cooker, or this way – minted and roasted to perfection.
Follow my cooking times below to get perfect roast lamb. Every. Single. Time.
Cooking times for leg of lamb
The ideal way to cook your lamb to perfection is to use a meat thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches a certain point your lamb is done and should be taken out and rested.
- Medium rare – very pink – 55 – 60 °C
- Medium – just a hint of pink – 61 – 66 °C
- Well done – no pink at all – 67 – 71 °C
If like me, you don’t own a meat thermometer you can just time your lamb instead
- Medium rare – very pink – 20 minutes per 450g + 20 mins
- Medium – just a hint of pink – 25 minutes per 450g + 25 minutes
- Well done – no pink at all -30 minutes per 450g + 30 minutes
The above times and temperatures assume an oven temperature of 190 °C.
And don’t forget to rest your lamb for at least 20 minutes after cooking to allow the juices to settle.
For more information on cooking lamb, along with information on the different cuts of lamb, see this handy guide.
Mint marinade
To prepare the lamb with the mint marinade, I first sprinkle the lamb with salt to taste, then rub the whole joint with mint sauce. Then I rub in 1/2 a packet of powdered mint marinade which you can find in the gravy section of any large supermarket
Next, the lamb gets wrapped in tinfoil and roasted in the oven for the times stated above.
I like to serve my Minted Lamb with roast potatoes and a selection of veggies and plenty of gravy made with the roasting juices.
Why not try it with my Boere boontjies (mashed green beans) and Baby Marrow with Tomato and Onion, or what about trying Potthucke (German potato cake bake) instead of the roast potatoes.
For a quick and easy gravy just mix 1 Tablespoon of lamb gravy granules with a little boiling water and then make it up to 1 cup with the remains of the lamb roasting juices. The minty flavour from the lamb adds a delicious taste to the gravy.
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Minted Roast Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Leg of Lamb
- Salt to taste
- 4 Tablespoons mint sauce
- 1/2 packet mint marinade You may need a whole packet depending on the size of your lamb leg
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons olive oil For roasting tin
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 190 °C
- Wipe the lamb with a damp cloth
- Season with salt and then rub with mint sauce
- Pat all over with dry mint marinade powder
- Place the lamb in a roasting dish. I like to line my dish with tin-foil to save on the washing up.
- Cover the roasting dish with another layer of tin-foil
- Place in the oven and leave for the times or temperature indicated below.*Internal temperature – Medium rare – very pink – 55 – 60 °C – Medium – just a hint of pink – 61 – 66 °C – Well done – no pink at all – 67 – 71 °C*Cooking time – Medium rare – very pink – 20 minutes per 450g + 20 mins – Medium – just a hint of pink – 25 minutes per 450g + 25 minutes – Well done – no pink at all -30 minutes per 450g + 30 minutes
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before carving
Notes
Related links
- Baby Marrow with Tomato and Onion
- Boere boontjies (mashed green beans)
- Potthucke (German potato cake bake)
- Lamb Curry in Pita (great use for leftovers)
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