Roasted leg of lamb with garlic, thyme, and lemon
6
Points®
Total time: 1 hr 40 min • Prep: 10 min • Cook: 1 hr 30 min • Serves: 8 • Difficulty: Easy
This delicious leg of lamb is rubbed with a fragrant mixture of fresh thyme, lemon zest, olive oil, and garlic. You can roast whole garlic bulbs alongside the lamb and squeeze out the softened cloves when they come out of the oven. It's one of our favorite ways to add lots of savory flavor to any dish. Also, if you don't have an instant-read thermometer, now is the perfect time to invest in one, as it's the best, most accurate way to measure doneness for a leg of lamb. And be sure not to discard any of those delicious pan juices; they'll help tie everything together right before serving.
Ingredients
Garlic
3 bulb(s)
Lemon zest
1 Tbsp
Fresh thyme
2 Tbsp
Olive oil
3 tsp
Kosher salt
1.25 tsp
Black pepper
0.5 tsp
Uncooked lean and trimmed lamb leg(s)
3.5 pound(s)
Instructions
1
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.
2
Pull off 4 cloves from a head of garlic. Peel and mince the 4 cloves; place in a small cup (you should have about 1 1/2 Tbsp). Add lemon zest, thyme, 2 tsp oil, salt, and pepper; mix well and then rub mixture all over lamb.
3
Place lamb in prepared roasting pan. Slice about 1⁄4-inch off tops of heads of garlic. Rub cut ends of garlic with remaining tsp oil; place around lamb in roasting pan.
4
Roast lamb until medium-rare and a meat thermometer inserted in center reads 145ºF, about 70-80 minutes. Remove lamb to a cutting board; let rest 15 minutes. If garlic isn't soft, place back in pan and roast until soft, about 10 minutes more.
5
Slice lamb into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place on a serving platter; squeeze roasted garlic from garlic bulbs over lamb. If desired, skim fat off top of any pan juices and drizzle over sliced lamb.
6
Serving size: 2 slices lamb
People Also Like
Join the #1 doctor-recommended weight-loss program*
*Based on a 2023 survey by Cerner Enviza of 500 doctors who recommend weight-loss programs to patients.