SPICED ORANGE LAMB LEG
There’s nothing quite like the magic of slow cooking a lamb leg, especially when you want to turn a humble cut into a succulent, fork tender masterpiece. The slow cook method lets all those rich, hearty flavours develop at their own pace, melting the fat and softening the meat until it just falls apart. It’s like the lamb leg gets this lovely, melt in your mouth texture that’s impossible to rush. Plus, slow cooking means you can set it and forget it,perfect for busy days or when you want to impress without hovering over the stove.
A lot of my lamb recipes tend to lean more to a greek combination of oregano, lemon and garlic, but this recipe goes down a spiced orange front. the marinade rub that the lamb get cooked in is full or orange zest garlic and woody spices like cinnamon, coriander and clove, creating a flavour profile similar to Chinese five spice orange chicken. The lamb is cooked in orange juice with star anise and bay leaf with a sweet vanilla hit and once its cooked and rested, every single time it comes out so perfectly, it falls apart the moment you look at it. This means, put your knives away and grab two forks and just pull it apart with ease.
SPICED ORANGE LAMB LEG
〰️
SPICED ORANGE LAMB LEG 〰️
Time: 6 hours
Serves: 8-10
3kg lamb leg, on the bone
2 oranges, zest and juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 table spoons dijon mustard
2 table spoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 table spoon gr cinnamon
1/2 table spoon gr coriander
1/2 table spoon gr ginger
1/2 table spoon gr white pepper
1/4 tea spoon gr clove
1 tea spoon cooking salt
1 onion, peeled and quartered
4 bay leaves
4 star anise
Sea salt flakes, to taste
2 spring onion stalks, washed and thinly sliced
Preheat oven to 140 degrees Celsius fan forced.
Start by trimming excess fat off lamb and cleaning it up, making sure it fits in casserole. You want a thin layer of fat but not whole chunks. Using a shop knife, stab lamb to make little holes all over for the marinade to get into.
In a cast iron casserole add in orange zest, minced garlic, dijon mustard, EVOO, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, white pepper, cloves and cooking salt and mix together into a thick marinade. Add in lamb and rub marinade into holes and all over until its covered in the marinade. Gently place in middle of casserole and fill with orange juice, quartered onions, bay leaves and star anise, being careful to pour the orange juice to the side of the lamb, as not to pour off the marinade. Place lid on top.
Place in oven and cook for 4 hours and 30 minutes. Remove lid and cook for 30 minutes more.
Remove from oven, cover half the baking dish with the lid and allow to rest for minimum 30 minutes. Once rested, remove bay leaves and star anise and then using two forks tear the lamb apart and allow it to soak up all the liquid. Mix through sea salt flakes to taste and top with sliced spring onions for a garnish.