Ambassade Dauvergnes Seven Hour Leg Of Lamb Recipes

SLOW COOKED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Heat oven to 120C/fan 100C/gas ½. Put your largest lidded casserole on the hob and brown the seasoned leg of lamb on all sides - do this very thoroughly until it is a good dark brown as it will not brown during the cooking. (If you don't do it now, it will end up beige.) If the lamb sticks, add a drizzle of oil - legs of lamb differ. Allow 10 mins on a high heat and put on the cooker fan to remove the smoke. Pour away any fat that has collected in the bottom of the pan.
• Throw in the vegetables, followed by the wine and stock. Season and bring to the boil, then clap on the lid and put in the oven. Bake for 7 hrs, turning twice. After 5 hrs the meat will be cooked and offer no resistance to the knife.
• There is no need to rest the meat when cooked in this way, but to finish the sauce, transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving dish. Strain the sauce into a jug and pour or blot away the fat with kitchen paper. Pour the sauce into a pan then boil the liquid hard to reduce by a quarter, by which time it will be rich and flavoursome. Adjust seasoning, add the Armagnac if you wish, and serve alongside the lamb, which should be served with a spoon, a la cuillère as the French call it.

AMBASSADE D'AUVERGNE'S SEVEN-HOUR LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Layer onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and thyme on bottom of nonreactive covered roaster large enough to hold lamb.
• Place lamb on top of onion and carrot mixture. Roast, uncovered, at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove roaster from oven. Generously season lamb to taste with salt and.
• pepper. Return to oven and roast another 30 minutes.
• Remove roaster from oven, leaving oven on. Place roaster on top of stove, slowly pour wine over lamb, cover, and bring liquid to a boil.
• Return roaster, covered, to oven. Roast 4 to 5 additional hours until lamb is fork tender, but not falling off bone. (Timing will vary according to size and age of lamb and type of roasting pan used,).
• Check on lamb, reducing oven temps if lamb begins to burn or liquid begins to evaporate too much. When lamb is fork tender, bury potatoes and tomatoes in liquid. Cover and roast until potatoes are cooked through, about 1 hour more. Lamb should now be very tender, still juicy and falling off bones.

AUVERGNESE SEVEN-HOUR LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Pierce the skin of the lamb and insert the cloves of garlic, distributing evenly throughout. Season with salt and pepper.
• Layer the onions, carrots, bay leaves and thyme on the bottom of a large Dutch oven or covered roaster large enough to hold the lamb. Place the lamb on top and roast in the oven, uncovered, for one hour.
• Remove the pan from the oven and slowly add the wine. Cover, place over high heat on top of the stove and bring the liquid to a boil. Return the pan, covered, to the oven, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast the lamb, turning from time to time, until it is very tender and actually falling off the bone. This should generally take two to three hours more.
• One hour before serving, bury the potatoes and tomatoes in the liquid, cover and roast until cooked through. The lamb should be very moist. As the French say, you should be able to eat it with a spoon. Much of the liquid will have cooked away, but what remains will be sweet and flavorful.
• Carefully remove the lamb from the pan, cut the meat into thin slices and serve, surrounded with vegetables and the remaining cooking liquid.