LAYLA’S ROAST LEG OF LAMB
Wash and trim of any excess fat from the leg, allow to drain.
- Brine:
- In a large Tupperware add the following and stir to dissolve:
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups white vinegar
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
- To this solution add the following ingredients:
- A few fresh red chillies roughly chopped up (use as per your preference)
- sprigs of rosemary
- 4 crushed garlic pods
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- a few peppercorns
- cloves
Immerse leg roast into the brine you have prepared.
Do make sure the entire leg is submersed in the brine, if not top it up.
That’s it!
Refrigerate overnight.
At intervals turn the leg over onto the other side for it to absorb all the brine flavours.
Wherever you intend to roast the leg, remove it from brine and allow to drain on a rack for about ten minutes etc. Discard the brine.
At this point I make a few random incisions into the leg and stuff it with cloves, peppercorns, whole garlic pods.
Prepare the Paste Rub:
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
2 teaspoons BBQ spice
1 teaspoon steak and chops spice
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
juice of 2 lemons
½ cup mayonnaise
I have deliberately omitted salt, as I find the spices I use don’t require any salt, adjust accordingly.
If preferred, you may add any spices you like or increase the heat factor to suit your palate.
Mix the ingredients and massage the rub into your leg.
Heat ¼ cup ghee and ¼ cup oil with a few sprigs rosemary and green masala to sizzling point. Dropped in leg and seared it on all sides until it is browned beautifully.
This takes about 15 – 20 minutes.
When it starts to *catch* at the bottom of pot, add 3 cups of boiled water and allowed it to simmer gently.
You may also do this in a pressure cooker, just make sure it’s seared beautifully to remove any rawness of the meat.
Mutton if not treated properly gives off a funny taste, anyways just one of my personal observations and I’m sharing it with you here.
Turn the leg around gently at intervals, all the time. If water has evaporated and meat isn’t cooked through yet, add more water and simmer away till it’s cooked through and come to the oily stage.
Transfer the leg to a large casserole dish. Rub it with Dijon mustard, not too much it’s optional.
Pop into oven, grill further for a bit of that lovely brown on your roast. Smear caramelised onions onto leg and drizzle whatever sauce you prefer on it. My preference was steers BBQ and a little thousand island.
I served it with a salad, Chips and roti. You may add chunky roasted veggies if you like.
Carve it up **** serve on rye bread or make use of it on wraps and Shawarmas with an array of exotic pickles and salad.
Recipe and photo: Leyla Randera
