Roast Leg of Lamb with Fennel and Orange Rub

Do you love lamb? Or do you find the meat too gamey? I belong to the first camp. I have always loved lamb.

Go for the Lamb

Back home in Malaysia, when I was growing up, my dad would throw a party once a year for all the employees under him (he was GM of a big company at that time) at our house. It was mostly catered and one of the memories I have of this time involve the caterers bringing a whole lamb on a spit to roast in our garden. So every year, I got to feast on roast lamb. It was the best!

Of course we ate lamb at other times. I remember having lamb chops every so often with my uncle and cousins (and always with mint jelly) and that was also such a special treat. I can understand why the smell can be off-putting to some people, but for me, it's a wonderful meat and anytime, I'm presented with a choice of lamb or any other meat, you can betcha I'm going to go for the lamb.

And if you don't like the taste of lamb, do as Jeffrey Steingarten did (not on lamb but other things he didn't like)--eat it at least 8-10 times before giving up on it and then get back to me! It's too delicious to wrinkle your nose at before giving it a true chance.

Our Go-To Roast Lamb Recipe

This particular roasted lamb is really easy to do. As a matter of fact, we had guests over the other day and it's easy enough that you could do this for a weekday dinner (rather special for a weekday dinner but that doesn't have to stop you). The only thing you need to do is prepare and marinate this one day ahead. Then it's in the oven for the rest of the time. So much easier than a stir-fry!

Believe it or not, this recipe comes from "Cooking in Style the Costco Way". Yup, the Costco cookbook! I would never have found it if not for a friend who made it for a potluck and then told me about it. I've made it three times since I got it and even though there are other roast lamb recipes I want to try out there, this one is so delicious that I always end up going back to it.

Try it and tell me if you agree with me on how absolutely fabulous it is.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Fennel and Orange Rub

Ingredients
Finely minced zest of 2 oranges
2 Tbsp toasted fennel seed, ground
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper (I just grind it along with the fennel)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary (about 6-8 sprigs' worth)
2 tsp minced fresh garlic (about 4 medium cloves and you might get more but you know me, more is always good!)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 lbs boneless, trimmed Australian leg of lamb

Marinade Ingredients for Roast Lamb

Directions:
1. To prepare the rub, place the grated orange zest, fennel seed, salt, pepper, mustard, rosemary, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl and mix together well.
2. Rub 1/3 of the rub mixture over the inside surfaces of the leg. Tie the roast together with 3 pieces of string. Rub remainder of rub all over the outside of the roast.

3. Place a roasting rack in a shallow roasting pan or sided baking sheet. Marinate, covered and refrigerated, for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight (I find that overnight is best but make sure to take the roast out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to an hour before baking).
4. When ready to roast, preheat oven to 450 F.
5. Roast lamb for 15 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 325F. Continue roasting for about 1 hour, or until internal temperature is 135-140F (med-rare).
6. Let the lamb rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. To serve, remove string and cut against the grain in thin slices. Makes 8-10 servings.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Fennel and Orange Rub

Serve alongside roasted aioli potatoes and a simple salad.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Annie

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