Roast Leg of Lamb

Whether you’re a longtime lamb lover or a newbie, this classic roast leg of lamb recipe will delight. Marinate the lamb in a citrus rosemary marinade, sear it on the outside, and slow-roast until tender.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated May 11, 2022
Elise Bauer
Roast Leg of Lamb
Elise Bauer

The most important thing to remember about cooking a lamb roast is to not overcook it. Lamb has such wonderful flavor on its own, and is so naturally tender, that it is bound to turn out well, as long as it is still a little pink inside.

How to Cook a Leg of Lamb

There is some debate over which method yields the best results—slow cooking at low heat the entire time, or searing first on high heat and then slow cooking. James Beard in his American Cookery prefers the slow-cook-low-heat method (He rubs the roast with salt and pepper and cooks it at 325°F the whole time.).

We generally get great results with the searing method, starting at high heat and then dropping the temp which is the method described in the following recipe.

If you use the searing method, you will have ends that are more well done, and as you get closer to the interior, more rare. This way you have a variety to serve to guests.

Another point where there are wildly varying opinions is the internal temperature that constitutes "medium rare". I've seen references that range from 120° to 145°F.

For this roast, I pull it out at 125°F. As it rests, the internal temperature continues to rise a few points as the meat continues to cook.

Sliced Roast Leg of Lamb with pink center
Elise Bauer

Use a Meat Thermometer

We like our roasted leg of lamb on the rare side of medium rare, and this roast was perfectly done to our taste. Clearly an accurate meat thermometer is essential, and it helps to insert the meat thermometer at different places into the deep interior of the roast to get a good read.

A great way to keep tabs on how well the roast is cooking is to use a remote thermometer. This way, you can tell when the roast is done without having to open the oven door, avoiding the loss of heat that comes from doing that.

Let Lamb Roast Sit at Room Temp Before Cooking

The directions that follow in this leg of lamb recipe assume that you have let the roast sit at room temperature for an hour or two before roasting. If you are taking a roast and cooking it directly from the fridge, it will take longer to cook.

Bone-In or Boneless Lamb? What to Know

Either cut of lamb will work for this recipe. However, if you choose a boneless lamb, get your butcher to tie your roast with butcher's twine for an even shape. Bone-in lamb will take a little longer to cook (about 20 additional minutes for a 6-pound roast), since the bone acts like an insulator.


From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Roast Leg of Lamb

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 90 mins
Marinating 3 hrs
Total Time 4 hrs 45 mins
Servings 8 to 10 servings

The marinade we used on this roast comes from my friend Suzanne and it works quite well. A simpler marinade of rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, pepper, and lemon juice would do the trick quite nicely too. One can also make tiny slices into the surface of the roast and insert chopper herbs and slivers of garlic.


If you are cooking the roast directly in a roasting pan, start the roast at 450°F. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 325°F.

Ingredients

For the Marinade

  • 1/2 cup orange juice

  • 1 cup white wine

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)

  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 tablespoon dried rosemary)

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

For the Lamb Roast

  • 1 (6-pound) leg of lamb, bone-in or boneless (a boneless leg should be tied up with kitchen twine by a butcher)

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Make the marinade:

    Blend marinade ingredients in a blender, just a few pulses until well mixed.

  2. Marinate the lamb:

    Place lamb and marinade into a plastic bag. Squeeze out as much of the air as possible from the bag and seal. Wrap again with another plastic bag to ensure that the marinating lamb doesn't leak.

    Marinate for several hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator.

    Remove the lamb, still in its marinade bag, from the refrigerator at least an hour (preferably two) before putting in the oven. This helps bring the lamb closer to room temperature before roasting.

    Raw leg of lamb on butcher paper
    Elise Bauer
    Roast leg of lamb marinating in plastic bag
    Elise Bauer
  3. Preheat the oven:

    Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange two racks in the oven - a middle rack to hold the lamb, and a lower rack to hold a roasting pan with which to catch the drippings.

    Note that this arrangement of racks and pans, with the roast sitting directly on the oven rack, will create a natural convection of heat in the oven, causing the roast to cook more quickly than if cooked the traditional method in a rack in a roasting pan.

  4. Season the lamb and place in the oven:

    Remove the lamb roast from its marinade bag (you may want to temporarily place lamb in another roasting pan, just to make it less messy to work with). Pat dry the marinade off the lamb with paper towels.

    Generously salt and pepper all sides of the roast. Arrange the roast fattiest side up, so the fat will melt into the meat while the lamb cooks.

    Place the roast directly on middle rack of the oven. Place a roasting pan on a separate rack a rung lower to catch the drippings. You may also want to put some water in the bottom roasting pan, so the drippings fall into the water instead of burning in the hot pan and smoking up your kitchen.

    Seasoned roast leg of lamb ready for baking
    Elise Bauer
    Leg of lamb roasting in oven
    Elise Bauer
  5. Roast the lamb:

    Roast at 425°F for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 300°F and roast an additional 40 minutes (for a 6-pound boneless roast) to 60 minutes (for a 6-pound bone-in roast). If you are cooking a roast bone-in, the bone will act as an insulator and will require a longer cooking time than a boneless roast.

    In general, estimate 10 to 13 minutes per pound for total cooking time (for rare), including that first 20 minutes at high heat. (Assuming you let the roast sit out for an hour or two before putting it in the oven. If it's right out of the fridge, it will take longer to cook.)

    If you are cooking the roast directly in a roasting pan, start the roast at 450°F. After 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 325°F.

    Also, the shape of the roast will have an impact on the cooking time. Our roast was rather long and thin, so it cooked up fairly quickly. A thicker roast may take longer than expected.

  6. Cook until medium rare:

    About 20 minutes before you expect the roast to be done, start checking the roast using a meat thermometer. Note that every time you open the oven door, you'll need 10 minutes or so to bring the oven back up to temperature, thus slowing down the cooking process. So, don't check too often, or use a remote meat thermometer.

    Remove the roast from the oven anywhere from 125°F to 135°F for medium rare. Lamb should never be cooked well done or it will be too dry.

  7. Let the roast rest:

    Let stand for 25 to 30 minutes before carving (so the juices don't all run out when you cut into it). Cut away the kitchen string and slice with a sharp carving knife, 1/2 inch thick slices, against the grain of the meat.

    Cooked roasted leg of lamb on butcher block
    Elise Bauer
    Thick slices of roasted leg of lamb with perfectly pink center
    Elise Bauer
  8. Collect the drippings for gravy or sauce:

    While the roast is resting, use a metal spatula to scrape up the drippings in the roasting pan. Use the drippings to make a gravy, or use just the drippings themselves to serve with the lamb.

    Serve with some mint chimichurri or homemade mint jelly on the side.

    Simple Tip!

    Store leftover lamb for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, and up to 2 months in the freezer. But why not use leftover roast to give your lamb new life in a Lamb Curry, Spring Lamb Stew, or a Lamb Korma?

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
731 Calories
45g Fat
3g Carbs
70g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 731
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 45g 58%
Saturated Fat 19g 94%
Cholesterol 253mg 84%
Sodium 211mg 9%
Total Carbohydrate 3g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 70g
Vitamin C 7mg 36%
Calcium 45mg 3%
Iron 6mg 32%
Potassium 906mg 19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.