Recipe#12137

Title: Leg Of Lamb 08

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 From: plgold@ix.netcom.com (Pat Gold) 
 Subject: Leg of Lamb 
 Date: Sat, 24 Jun 1995 02:46:15 GMT 
 Message-Id: <199506230311.UAA04492@ix6.ix.netcom.com> 

This is an old family recipe which I make often.  It reads as 
 though the lamb is going to be dried out due to the long 
 cooking time but it comes out juicy as can be albeit well-done 
 and is a great one-dish meal.
 Ingredients:
 1 leg of lamb (about 5 pounds)
 1 split clove garlic
 3 or 4 cloves garlic (or to taste) slivered
 Salt and pepper
 2 onions, sliced
 5 medium size potatoes, peeled and sliced (Russets are fine)
 3 or 4 carrots, sliced about 1/2 inch thick (optional)
 2 cups water
 Rub the leg of lamb all over with the split clove of garlic.  
 With a sharp knife make thin slits through the fel. Place the 
 slivered pieces of garlic into the slits.  Season well with 
 salt and pepper.  You will need a roasting pan that has a 
 cover.  Place split clove of garlic in center of roasting pan.  
 Place leg of lamb in roasting pan.  Surround leg of lamb with 
 the sliced onions.  Roast uncovered in a preheated 375 degree 
 oven for 1 hour.  (During the first hour of roasting, don't 
 worry if the onions appear to get very brown.  This is 
 necessary to give the gravy, potatoes and onions their color 
 and taste.)
 Remove from the oven and surround lamb with the sliced potatoes 
 and optional sliced carrots.  Pour the 2 cups water over the lamb.  
 Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees.  Cover roasting pan 
 tightly and return to oven for 1 hour.  After 1 hour remove the 
 cover from the roasting pan and continue to roast the lamb at 
 300 degrees for another hour.
 To assemble and garnish:  Serve leg of lamb surrounded with the 
 onions and potatoes and optional carrots.  Serve the natural 
 gravy ina separate bowl.  If desired, the gravy can be 
 thickened slightly.
 Note:  This can be prepared in the morning.  If so, remove lamb 
 about 20 to 30 minutes before it is done. Leave at room 
 temperature*.  In the evening, return the lamb, potatoes and 
 all to a 300 degree oven for 20 or 30 minutes or until hot.  Do 
 not freeze this or do the day before.
 *This recipe was written 20 years ago when we knew less about 
 how and why to refrigerate food.  I cover the roasting pan with 
 plastic wrap and place it in the bottom of the refrigerator 
 until an hour before I plan to reheat it.  Then I take it out 
 and let it come close to room temperature.  It sometimes takes 
 closer to 40 minutes at 300 degrees to heat it through.