Herb Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb with Irish Whiskey Gravy
A flavorful, tender dish with an Irish twist.
I don't do many traditional things over Easter, but since I like roast lamb about once a year, its seems befitting that Easter Sunday should be the day. Because of the Irish twist in this recipe, it also makes a great alternative to corned beef for a St. Patrick’s Irish Dinner.
This is a deliciously savory roast that I amended from a Julia Child recipe. She used more garlic than my recipe calls for, actually making 2-inch-deep incisions all over the roast and stuffing each of them with a mint leaf and a garlic clove. I frankly tried that once and thought it was a lot of work for no real return and too much garlic. It also left open wounds in the meat to drain the roast of all that flavorful goodness, so I think that was a culinary faux pas on her part. Sorry, Julia. I instead rub my roast down with a vinegary, mustardy, garlicky, herb mixture and let it sit for a couple of hours, then sear it in a hot oven before roasting.
Cross & Blackwell Mint Sauce
The secret ingredient for the gravy is Cross & Blackwell Mint Sauce. I don’t often see it carried in my neighborhood grocery store, so I order it online.
The not-so-secret ingredient for the gravy is Irish Whiskey. Jameson is perhaps the best known, but I personally like Green Spot, distilled by Mitchel and Sons of Dublin. It’s aged ten years and is a delightful sipping whiskey.
Incidentally, ever notice the “e” in “whiskey?” It only appears in spirits distilled in the US and Ireland. Whiskys produced elsewhere, like Scotland, Canada and Japan don’t have an “e.”
Finally, about the lamb: it used to be that according to many authorities, the best lamb to get was raised in Australia or New Zealand. American lamb was generally regarded as inferior. But that isn’t true anymore. In fact, lamb from Colorado is now considered among the finest in the world and is shipped to fine dining establishment all over the US and Europe. A bone-in roast will assure a more flavorful, juicier roast. A boneless roast will still work, however, the cooking times will be 5-10 minutes less per pound, so as always, the best means to determine the desired doneness of the roast is to use a probe meat thermometer, assuring the probe isn’t in contact with the bone.
Herb Crusted Roasted Leg of Lamb with Irish Whiskey Gravy
Ingredients
- 5-7 lb leg of lamb
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp crushed dried rosemary
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard (like, Grey Poupon)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon pepper (like, Mrs. Dash)
- 2 tbsp dried parsley leaves
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp powered mustard (like, Coleman's)
- 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 1 cups beef stock (like, Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 3 medium diced tomatoes or one 14.5 can of petite diced tomatoes, (like, Hunt's)
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1/2 cup Irish whiskey (such as Jameson)
- 2-1/2 oz (1/2 bottle) Crosse & Blackwell Mint Sauce
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 7-8 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water (a slurry)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
- Mix the vinegar, garlic, rosemary, the Dijon and powdered mustard, lemon juice, lemon pepper, parsley, thyme, paprika and salt in a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. Then, add the olive oil and whisk well to form an emulsified herb paste.
- Score the fat side of the roast in a diamond pattern, being careful to cut only into the fat and not into the meat. Omit this step if you have a boneless roast. A boneless leg of lamb has a net around it to hold its shape while cooking.
- Rub the herb paste into the roast thoroughly on all sides, but use more on the top, fat side of the roast.
- Place the sliced yellow onion on the bottom of the roasting pan, then insert the roasting rack. Place the lamb, fat side up onto the rack. Pour two cups of red wine and one cup of beef stock into the pan.
- Place a thermometer probe into the thickest part of the meat, but be careful not to leave the probe touching the bone if you are roasting a bone-in roast.
- Put the roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and continue roasting the lamb about 30 minutes per pound, but ultimately, the thermometer is your guide as to when the roast is ready. Roast to 125°F for medium rare.
- 1 hour before the roast comes out of the oven, put the diced tomatoes into the bottom of the roasting pan.
- When the roast is done, remove from the roasting pan and allow it to sit under a tent of aluminum foil for 20 minutes before carving while you make the gravy.
- While the lamb is roasting, pour one cup of red wine and two cups of beef stock into a saucepan over medium high heat.
- Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid by two-thirds, so you have about a cup of liquid remaining, about 30 minutes.
- While the roast is resting, skim off any fat from the roasting pan and then place all of the drippings, along with diced tomatoes and sliced onions, into the saucepan.
- Add the Irish whiskey, mint sauce, Dijon mustard, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
- Blend well with an immersion blender, then allow the gravy to simmer for 5 minutes.
- To thicken the gravy, add half the slurry and bring the gravy to a simmer for 1 minute. If the gravy still requires thickening, add the remaining slurry and simmer for another minute.
- Finish the gravy by whisking in the butter. Serve the gravy alongside slices of the lamb.
