Secrets of cooking leg of lamb

Lamb meat baked in the oven is traditionally prepared for the Easter holiday table. This is especially adhered to in western countries.And everyone on this day wants to cook a dish that will be the perfect complement to the festive table. If you follow all the tips on cooking this product, anyone will be able to make juicy meat covered with toasted appetizing crust.

This also applies to the protein content that our muscles so love. One of the most common methods of cooking ham lamb - bake it in the oven. There are many recipes for cooking. It can be cooked in the sleeve, in foil, on a baking sheet, and also on the grid. Those who do not like to mess around for a long time with meat can bake it with a whole piece on the bone, but you can also cut the mutton ham into small pieces.

In order to successfully make a mutton dish from the first time you need to adhere to several principles of its preparation. Here are some of them.

• For cooking lamb you need to choose the meat of the youngest individuals. Because the older the ram, the harder its meat. Also with age, the meat of the ram appears a specific smell, which not everyone will like. Therefore, when buying a product you need to pay attention to the color in the section. It should be pink with light streaks of fat.
• First you need to rinse the ham under hot water. This is necessary so that the fat covers the entire surface of the meat. If this is not done, baking the lamb at its base will be dry.

• Before you put the pickled carcass in the oven does not need to pierce it, so that the meat inside remains juicy. For this purpose, according to most recipes, ham is baked in anything (sleeve, foil).
• This meat loves spices, so you can safely add all sorts of seasonings and Provencal herbs to the marinade.
• When the meat was pulled out of the oven, you need to let it stand for about twenty minutes so that the liquid from it will soak the whole carcass.

Whatever recipe is chosen, you should prepare a ham in advance, for this you need to know how to cut it properly:

• before cutting the meat, rinse it under hot water;
• use a sharp knife to gently remove the tailbone and pelvic bones;
• remove the cartilage by making an incision along the surface of the knee;
• following step carefully we get rid of the pocket filled with fat and a small bone;
• remove the skin, but only the top layer.

Now the leg is ready for the next stage of preparation.

After the meat has been cut, prepare a marinade for it. For this we need:

• mutton ham - about 3 kg pounds;
• several rosemary twigs;
• garlic - 8-10 cloves;
• olive oil - 1-2 tablespoons;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• water - 1 cup;
• Provencal herbs - to taste;
• brown sugar - 40-60 grams.

Cut the garlic into several pieces (not too small) and disassemble the rosemary into small bunches. We make small cuts on the leg, in which we place garlic and rosemary twigs. After which the meat is rubbed with salt and pepper and oiled. Then put the meat in a bowl, which is tightly closed with something and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for several hours.

You can leave it all night. After the meat has infused, it is laid out in a baking dish with a lid, oiled. Top leg sprinkled with sugar in order to make an appetizing crisp golden brown. Pour the water into the mold and put it in a heated oven at 200 degrees for half an hour. After that, the temperature is reduced to 150-170 degrees, and the meat languishes for another hour. During the preparation of ham you need to water it with juice that is released from the meat.15 minutes before the end of the lid should be removed to the meat slightly roasted on top.

A leg of lamb cooked in a sleeve is ideal for those who have not previously been familiar with cooking this type of meat. Since in any case, the dish will turn out soft and will not burn.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 or 2 kg lamb leg;
• 1⁄2 lemons;
• 1 head of garlic;
• vegetable or olive oil;
• salt - to taste;
• 1⁄2 teaspoons of pepper (in peas);
• 1⁄2 teaspoons of coriander;
• 2 teaspoons of honey;
• 1-2 teaspoons of French mustard (in grains);

Wash my meat under hot water and towel dry. Evenly rub salt in the ham. In a bowl, mix the mustard, spices, butter and liquid honey. The next step is to apply the marinade on the leg. Then put the finished piece in the sleeve. Lemon cut into thin rings, which we spread around the ham. We clean the garlic and cut each lobule into two parts, and in the same way spread it around the meat. The sleeve is closed on all sides and leave to marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

After that, put the meat in the oven, which was preheated to about 180-190 degrees, at least 2 to 2.5 hours. To check whether the dish is ready, the ham should be poked with something. If a pinkish liquid is released, then the meat needs a little more time. A few minutes before the end of cooking, you should carefully make an incision on the sleeve so that the ham on top is covered with a crispy crust.

Unusual taste is obtained from meat cooked in foil. This cooking option is perfect for the holiday table. A decent size dishes will guarantee that none of the guests will not go hungry, and will certainly appreciate the efforts of the chef. To bake the meat in foil will need the following ingredients:

• ram leg - 2.5-3 kg;
• carrots - 1 piece;
• prunes - 150-200 grams;

• onions - 2 pieces;
• mustard - 2-3 tablespoons;
• lemon;
• bunch of parsley;
• 1 garlic head;
• olive oil - 3-4 tablespoons;
• salt, pepper - to taste;
• Provencal herbs;
• dried basil - to taste.

Wash the meat under hot water, dry it. In a separate bowl, mix the chopped parsley, herbs, salt and pepper. Peel the garlic and squeeze it into the mixture. Next, pour the oil and juice of one lemon. All mix well. Carefully we coat the entire piece with marinade, after which we wrap it in foil and put it in the refrigerator for the night or even better for a day.

After the meat has been marinated, we make several cuts in it, into which we put the chopped prunes and greens. Next, we coat the leg with mustard and spread the diced carrots and onion half rings on top. Well wrap the meat in foil and place it in a preheated oven (220 degrees) for an hour, after which the temperature decreases to 180 degrees and the foil opens so that the leg gets a beautiful crust. In this form, the ham is baked for about an hour, occasionally pouring its own juice. Before the meat is cut, it takes time for the juice to be distributed throughout the piece.

If the quantity of the main product differs from that indicated in the recipe, you should know that at least 30–40 minutes should be spent for each kilogram of meat and it will take about 25–30 minutes to finish the whole dish.

See the video below for a delicious recipe for lamb meat.