By Mark Bittman
- Total Time
- 1½ to 3 hours, largely unattended
- Rating
- 5(419)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This wet-roasted leg of lamb doesn’t contain a ton of liquid — this is about roasting, not braising, and if you add enough liquid to a cut of meat, you’re not roasting any more. Instead, the lamb is moistened with a yogurt-based marinade laced with fresh mint, orange zest and cardamom. The yogurt keeps the surface of the lamb from drying out and — if you let the lamb sit for a while after you’ve smeared it with the marinade (and you should) — it permeates the meat a bit with the flavors of the marinade. This needs no accompaniment, but if you’re in the mood for some heat, a dab of harissa wouldn’t be out of place.
Don't know how to carve a lamb? Mark Bittman shows you how in this video.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 15-to-7-pound leg of lamb, preferably at room temperature, shank removed if necessary
- ½cup whole-milk yogurt
- ¼cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
- 2tablespoons orange zest
- 2teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
570 calories; 39 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 50 grams protein; 450 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 425º. Remove as much of the surface fat as is practical from the lamb. Mix together the yogurt, mint, orange zest, cardamom, salt and pepper; rub the meat all over with the yogurt mixture. If you have time, let the lamb sit for an hour or more (refrigerate if it will be much longer).
Step
2
Put the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. (You might line the pan first with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier.) Roast for 30 minutes, then check; if the lamb threatens to burn, turn the heat down to 350º; otherwise leave it at 425º.
Step
3
After about 1 hour (total) of roasting, check the internal temperature of the lamb with an instant-read thermometer. Continue to check every 10 minutes; when it reaches 130 for medium rare (125 for very rare) in its thickest part (check it in several places), it’s done. Total cooking time will be less than 1½ hours. Let it rest for a few minutes before carving. Serve garnished with more chopped mint.
Ratings
5
out of 5
419
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Cooking Notes
Peter
Subtract 32; multiply result by 5; divide result by 9.
The resulting number is the Celsius temperature.
Molly Gordy
Have you ever seen a lamb with a leg big enough to weigh 10 lbs? That’s a sheep
Erica Avena
Great recipe. Good spring flavors suitable for Easter. The high heat method of cooking creates a very flavorful and tender roast. I added water to the pan to keep the juices from burning and smoking (like I do with a turkey), this rendered a delicious au jus to go along with it. Because I used a bone-in roast of 12 lbs, I doubled this recipe and it worked very well. I'll be cooking this again.
MJ
Delicious. The marinade imparts a subtly bright and delicate flavor. I'll definitely make this again. I may try adding a small amount of other spices, like cinnamon, cumin, coriander and Aleppo pepper. Only a very little, to enhance the flavor, not alter it. As in, keep it subtle, stupid.
Glo
This came out incredibly juicy and tender. I used Greek yogurt which got great caramelization. I served it with a mint pistachio pesto that somehow enhanced and balanced the flavors.
Pam
Used a 2.75 lb leg of lamb adjusted the amounts, did not use a rack just a roasting pan and cooked for about 1 hour. Came out spectacular. My new go to recipe for leg of lamb.
Liz B.
I've made this twice now, first with a 3 lb bone-in leg and with a 3 lb boneless one. Both were excellent! However, they took longer than expected - I kept checking the temp. The flavor was perfect! For the boneless leg I did about 1.5x marinade since it's rolled up, and I added a few minced garlic cloves and some Aleppo pepper and sumac to it for some extra bite and tang. Lemon zest worked great when I had no orange. Caramelizes beautifully and you can really taste the cardamom!
MarkW
Substituted 1 Tbsp orange peel 1 Tbsp sumac for orange zestAdded 1 Tbsp smoked paprika and 1/4 tsp blend of home grown dried, ground hot pepper
JW
You may have to cook the lamb for more than 1.5 hours. Because of the varying density of the meat you may be dissapointed like I was when the thermometer was coming up at 140 and some places was raw.
CT Cook
I used a boneless 5 lb leg, trimmed all fat I could get at. One Tbs zest (because I only had one orange). Regardless, the black pepper strongly overwhelmed the actual taste of the marinade. It was too zesty for preschoolers. Fantastically moist result! I’ll definitely do this again, but with half or a quarter of the pepper specified.
Tani C
Has anyone tried this with rack of lamb? It’s what I have and this flavor profile sounds delicious. TIA!
Tani C
Has anyone tried this with rack of lamb? It’s what I have and this flavor profile sounds excellent. TIA!
Tani C
Anyone use a rack of lamb for this recipe?
Doug
WAY too much Cardamom. Especially if you are grinding it fresh from whole seeds. I would do maybe 1/2 as much or less. Couldn't taste the Mint or the Orange Zest at all.
MaryBretired
Did this with a 5 oz piece cut from boneless leg. Marinated for a couple of hours & roasted about 20 minutes. Outstanding flavor much enjoyed!
sylvia
Can I do this on a charcoal grill?
Liz B.
I've made this twice now, first with a 3 lb bone-in leg and with a 3 lb boneless one. Both were excellent! However, they took longer than expected - I kept checking the temp. The flavor was perfect! For the boneless leg I did about 1.5x marinade since it's rolled up, and I added a few minced garlic cloves and some Aleppo pepper and sumac to it for some extra bite and tang. Lemon zest worked great when I had no orange. Caramelizes beautifully and you can really taste the cardamom!
great for Easter
Marinated for two days. Spice some yogurt with cayenne, honey and cardamom and use as a serving sauce. Add seasoned salt, oregano, rose petals, pink peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves and pomegranate molasses to the yogurt mix. Next time I will make small incisions and stuff the meat with seasonings and fresh garlic for more flavor.
Karen L Davis
Wow! Watch the thermometer! My 1.5 lb roast (boneless, rolled), which I expected to take less time to cook, went from about 88 degrees to 135 in 10 minutes! Still mostly medium rare. Used a full recipe of the marinade. Let lamb sit for 2 hrs in the fridge and 1 hour out before cooking at 425. Tasty. Only disappointment was that there were really no useful drippings, which I had been hoping for. Wonder what would have happened if I had added some liquid to the pan as Erica suggested?
Erin in Otsego County, NY
WOW! This was absolutely amazing. Followed the recipe with two mods: 1) used whole milk Greek yogurt on hand thinned with a little whole milk 2) used a generous amount of dried mint from last summer since fresh was unavailable.
greenvillejen
This recipe is delicious and so easy! Semi-boneless works fine. Only trick is measuring internal temperature.
jennifer
What adjustments should i make for semi-boneless?
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