How to cook the Best Slow Cooked Leg of Lamb! Slow roasted at a low temperature, in the oven for 5 hours, so tender it falls off the bone.
Real Ale Chutney added as a marinade for the last 45 minutes of cooking for a tasty sticky glaze.
What's more, you can use the stock, vegetables and juices leftover from the lamb, to make your own delicious gravy. Perfect Sunday Roast dinner to enjoy with the family.
See below our step by step slide show of how we make our Slow cooked leg of lamb, full recipe and instructions can be found on the card below.
We used a 1.8 kg leg of lamb for this recipe, however, the same time will apply up until 2.2kg. I will include different weights and times in the recipe card below.
Slow Cooked leg of lamb, how to cook so it is soft and tender?
This way of cooking a leg of lamb is my favourite, you just can't go wrong! No checking temperature of meat and worrying about over/undercooking.
It will be so soft and tender that you will not need a knife to carve, just a couple of forks to pull the tender meat off the bone.
The trick is to add liquid (stock) into the the tray and keep the lamb covered with foil throughout the majority of cooking to help retain moisture & stop the leg of lamb from drying out.
Should I marinade/glaze a leg of lamb?
You should not need any more than olive oil, pepper and salt for the first part of cooking, you can add any extra marinade or glaze when the leg of lamb is uncovered for the final 45 minutes of cooking.
We added this delicious Real Ale Chutney, by The Cherry Tree (check them out) to give a fantastic glaze, it tastes so amazing, you won't need any condiments with these amazing flavours coming through.
How do you make lamb gravy from scratch?
This recipe not only makes a tender slow-cooked leg of lamb but also gives you the base sauce for your lamb gravy! All you need is a sieve, flour and pepper!
Check out this tender lamb, it falls apart with a gentle tug!
Slow Cooked Leg of Lamb
Ingredients
- 1.8-2.2 Kg (3.9-4.8lb) Leg of Lamb if using frozen defrost overnight.
- 2 Carrots chopped roughly
- 2 Onions Chopped in chunky rings (see image)
- 1 Garlic Bulb seperate cloves from bulb, no need to peel cloves
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1000 ml Lamb Stock ( or whatever stock you have we made ours with lamb stock cubes)
- 3 sprigs Rosemary
- 3 tbsp Real Ale Chutney Or something similar
Gravy
- 3 tbsp Plain Flour (add more or less for desierd consistancy)
Instructions
- For best results keep lamb out of the fridge for about an hour before cooking. (don't worry to much if you forget!!) Preheat oven to 150°c/300°f fan.
- Place chopped onions, carrots rosemary and garlic in a roasting tin and drizzle with Olive Oil
- Place lamb on top of veg rub both sides with oil, salt & pepper. Leave the leg of lamb the right way up.
- Pour stock in around the leg of lamb, but not over the top of lamb.
- Cover roasting tin with tin foil to keep moisture in. Place in the oven for 4 hr 15 min for 1.8-2.2kg leg of lamb4 hr 45 min for 2.25-2.90kg leg of lamb5hr 15 min for 3-3.5kg leg of lamb
- Remove from oven and take foil off (keep aside to reuse later) Add your choice of chutney to glaze lamb or leave as it is?
- Place back in oven for final 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and transfer the leg of lamb to the saved foil, wrap and leave to rest whilst you prepare gravy
Gravy
- Mash the garlic, onion, carrots and stock together. Use a spoon to try and remove any excess fat sitting at the top of the stock.
- Strain the remaining vegetable lumps out with a sieve into a saucepan. Bring the gravy to a boil.
- Mix flour with 5tbsp warm water to form a smooth lump-free paste. Add bit by bit to saucepan whilst boiling until at desired consistencey.
- Ready to serve!
Video
Nutrition
I hope you enjoyed cooking this for your roast dinner if you want something for next week, why not check out our Glazed Gammon Joint Recipe.
Hi,
I use your lamb shoulder recipe every time, amazing.
I'm going to give the leg recipe a try but I have a boneless joint. Can I ask what you would recommend deducting from the cooking time without the bone for future reference? This joint is 1.8kg.
Many thanks!
Do you have a recipe for slow roast breast off lamb please
Hi Sally
We haven't but it's a great idea, I will look into this and get it wrote up on our blog when we can 🙂
Thank you for the suggestion
Thanks I’ve bought half a lamb from local small holding guy well looked after so I’ve done your leg
Now I have breast and shoulder plus lots of over like chops but it’s the breast and shoulder I think would be lovely slow cooked keep me posted please as your slow roast leg is awesome thank you
This looks so tender and delicious, and I love how you used the chutney for added flavor! Can't wait to try this soon!
Thanks, Anjali
The way we have cooked this leg of lamb will make it fall off the bone and the chutney gives it that great finishing flavour 🙂
Enjoy!!
This is a beautiful, fork tender leg of lamb. I like the addition of chutney for glazing and an extra punch of flavor.
Thanks, Julie for that great comment and rating 🙂
Adding the chutney glaze just adds the finishing touch to this leg of lamb recipe!!
Enjoy!!
Yum! I like lamb, and this leg of lamb looks amazing! What a delicious Sunday dinner idea.
Hi Biana
This recipe is perfect for a Sunday roast dinner 🙂
Hope you enjoy the lamb?
I love exploring new lamb recipes, and this one is perfect - it's just made me hungry 🙂
Hi Mahy
Hope you enjoy the lamb recipe, let us know if you make it? 🙂
I'm always so hesitant to cook lamb! Thanks for the tips and tricks in making this come out just perfect!
Hi Suzy
Thank you so much for the comment 🙂
Really glad our step by step images helped you cook your slow-cooked leg of lamb!!
Can you make this recipe with boneless leg of lamb?
Hi Tina,
We have not tried with a boneless leg of lamb before, although you have just given us a good reason to try it this weekend!
I would imagine it would work the same as bone in. The weight of the bone will just deduct from the amount of cooking time.
If you can let me know a weight (without the bone) I can work out a time for you to try if you plan to do it sooner than us?!
Kay
Thank you, Kay! I will be cooking 4.8 pounds or 2.1kg boneless leg of lamb. I plan to have some friends over this Saturday and I need the help for a tender and delicious meal.... You recipe sounds so promising!
You will be making it before I will get around to it.
But based on the size of your boneless leg of lamb (2.1kg), I would cook it for 4 hours 30 minutes, then add the chutney and cook for another 45 minutes.
Check it at this point to see if easy to pull apart with 2 forks? If still a little tough, cover with foil (to prevent the chutney burning) and cook for 30 more minutes.
The good thing with cooking lamb in this way, on a low heat over a long time is how failsafe it is!
You can not overcook it, it will just become more and more easy to pull apart & melt in the mouth!
Please do let us know how you get on, we will be making ours on Sunday, I am hoping it is just as good as the boned leg of lamb version!
Thank you so much!! I will give you my update. I am really excited to try it!
Mine is on the oven now. No bone. Smells amazing. Report later,post Fleurie.
Hi Phil, thanks for the comment!!
Hope the lamb came out well 🙂
Kay, the boneless lamb was really delicious last night! As you promised, it came out so tender! It was a hit with the company. And I did have to cook the extra 30 minutes you recommended after the 45 minutes of roasting. Also, I did not make gravy ( although I saved all the good juices for another day or recipe); so, I am thinking that I may use half the recommended broth next time, which should be enough for gravy anyway for a small group of people. Thank you so much for this recipe which made our Greek Orthodox Easter dinner a success! As you may know, Greeks are particular about their lamb. So extra kudos for that, too! 🙂
Fantastic, we love to hear amazing feedback like this! So glad that all your guests enjoyed the roast lamb too! I love a good greek lamb kleftiko! Another good lamb dish is our Croatian Lamb Peka One of our favourites.
Hi I’ve done the leg it was awesome I’m thinking of doing the same but with shoulder any tips please
Hi Sally
Thank you for the comment 🙂
Really pleased you like the slow-cooked leg of lamb, we have already have done a blog on a Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder I'm sure you will love this recipe 😉
Let us know how it goes?
Enjoy!!
Hello, I plan to do this with a 0.95 kg Half leg of lamb, do you know a rough cooking time and would it still be 150 fan over?
Recipe looks great!
Thank you
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for your message, for half a leg of lamb, the temperature needs to stay the same, but the cooking time is less.
For your (near enough) 1 kg half leg of lamb I would recommend 3 hours 45 minutes cooking at 150 C fan. 3 hours without the glaze / chutney and 45 minutes with the glaze on.
Enjoy your meal.
I hope I messaged back quick enough? Sorry I missed it yesterday!
Kay, just cooking now, we had to be out for the afternoon so put on just before leaving. Came home to the most glorious smell. Thanks for the clear instructions and your tips. Have added my hubby’s homemade tomato relish, cannot wait for dinner.
Hi Lyn
Thanks for the rating and comment 🙂
Tomato relish sounds great, hope you all enjoy the slow-cooked lamb 😉
Absolutely fail safe, lamb was delicious even my teenage son who says he doesn’t like lamb loved it.
After making the gravy I put the squashed veg in Tupperware and made a stew a few days later with the left over lamb and dumplings, yummy on this cold spring day.
Hi Sharon
Thanks for the great comment and rating!!
We are really glad you and the family enjoyed our lamb recipe, that sounds like a great idea with the leftover veg for cooking a stew 🙂
This is making my tummy growl!
Thank you so much for the comment 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!!
I made this today for my family
It was absolutely amazing! I used tomato chutney and it complemented the lamb perfectly. Thank you for sharing the recipe
Thank you so much for the kind words Sharon, its really appreciated 🙂
We are both really happy your family enjoyed our slow-cooked leg of lamb recipe!!
The BEST. Lamb we have ever eaten thanks so much will definitely do this recipe again and again and again
Hi Charlotte
Thank you so much for that great comment and rating!
So nice to hear you thought it was the best lamb recipe ever 🙂
Enjoy!!
We LOVE lamb at our house and probably eat it more often than most. I've never slow cooked one, so I am so excited to try it!
Hi Jessica
Thanks for the comment and Rating 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe, let us know how you get on?
This recipe worked perfectly for me. Both the slow cooked lamb and the gravy. Both were excellent. It really is worth that long slow cook in yhe oven the lamb just fell off the bone znd the flavour was fantastic. Thank you for yhe recipes.
Thanks, Eilleneo
Thank you so much for the comment and rating
Really glad the slow-cooked leg of lamb came out perfect for you 🙂
You can't beat a good lamb roast dinner on Easter Sunday, yum yum
Do you think one could do the slow cooking the day before and finish it off with the chutney and the final 45 minutes on the day.
Hi Christine,
I have never tried doing this before, but I would imagine the cooling, then reheating process may dry the meat out? If I was to make it ahead, I would finish it all the way with the chutney.
Remove the lamb meat from the bone whilst still warm and make the gravy. Refrigerate the lamb and gravy overnight.
Then the next day, reheat some of the gravy in a pan adding some hot water as it will be quite thick.
Place the chunks of lamb in a roasting tin and pour over some of the thinned out gravy, cover the tin with foil to create a steam bath for the cooked lamb meat. About 30 minutes in the oven at 150C fan/ 325F should result in lovely soft tender reheated lamb meat.
Hope that helps?
Please do let us and everyone else reading this know what you do, and how it goes?
Wishing your family a lovely Easter and thank you for using our recipe.
Hi! Is the 45 minutes of uncovered cooking time an additional 45 mins to the weight dependant cooking time or is it just the final 45 mins of the overall cooking time?
E.g would a 2kg leg be 4 hour 15 mins plus 45 mins uncovered. Or 3 hours 30 mins covered and 45 mins uncovered?
Thanks!
Hi Steve
Yes sorry for the confusion there, I just re-read it and can see I have not worded it the best!
Cook the lamb leg for the whole 4hrs 15 mins covered, and then and an extra 45 mins with chutney and uncovered. Which will be 5hrs cooking time in total.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and I will get the recipe card updated.
Amazing thanks!
Hello the gas temperature is that right for a fan assisted oven? Also I want to cook roast potatoes can I turn the heat up when lamb goes back in for the glaze?
Thank you
So sorry for the delay to reply, I would recommend cooking the leg of lamb on gas mark 3. We normally finishing cooking the leg of lamb, then cover the lamb joint loosely with foil allowing it to rest whilst keeping it warm. Then you can make the gravy, whilst cooking your other side dishes, like roast potatoes.
Going to cook lamb by your recipe for Easter Sunday, really looking forward to it.. I have a jar of homemade apple/raisin chutney so might use it up for the glaze, what do you think?
Going to cook lamb by your recipe for Easter Sunday, really looking forward to it.. I have a jar of homemade apple/raisin chutney I was gifted before Christmas so might use it up for the glaze, what do you think?
Hi Leonie
That sounds fantastic, a lot of chutneys will work, as it gives the lamb a great sticky glaze 🙂
Hope you enjoy it and would love to know how it goes?
I don't personally like lamb myself but had family for Easter the recipe was so easy. Everyone enjoyed lamb I ncluding daughter who hated lamb. Looked exactly like the picture. 10 out of 10 first class
Hi Patricia
Thank you for the comment, we are so glad you all like our leg of lamb recipe 🙂
Hope you all had a great Easter!!
Just made this slow roast lamb for lunch for Mother’s Day today. Unfortunately I didn’t have any chutney so used honey and mustard as a glaze. The lamb was absolutely delicious and just fell off the bone. The gravy was also fabulous. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hi Phillipa
Thank you so much for the comment/ rating it really is much appreciated 🙂
Glad you liked the lamb leg recipe, this is our favourite Sunday roast dinner!!
This leg of lamb is perfection; I already know my family would love it! I want to lick my screen; WOW!
I have to stop at the butcher today.
Hi Kechi
You have just made us laugh with this comment, wanting to lick your screen 🙂
This is our favourite Sunday Roast!
Hope you enjoy this recipe.
All I can say is this was amazing! It was a hit all around the dinner table last night, Love all the flavors in this lamb recipe!
that char and sheen on that lamb is fabulous I can't wait to make this
We always make lamb at Easter time. I love how you have used chutney here.
This lamb looks amazing! In love the idea of using chutney to make a great crust. Can't wait to try this.
Hi. Recipe looks amazing. What would you use in place of the ale chutney. I haven’t seen that before. Thanks
Hi Visda
Thanks for the comment 🙂
You can use any chutney its always comes down to personal preference really, maybe a chutney with mint would be great as it's going on the lamb!
Enjoy!!
What a Lovely Food. I'll Definitely Try. Thank You.
Hi Veenas
Thank you for the comment, hope you enjoy the lamb recipe, Enjoy!!
Let us know how it goes?
As a newbie to cooking what is considered a low temperature?
This is the best way to make a leg of lamb.
We love this way of preparing lamb - so delicious!
Such a wonderfully detailed recipe! I can't wait to give this one a try!
I've never made leg of lamb but your recipe has inspired me to try!
Fantastic meal, very tasty. Cooked for my family as a Sunday roast and they all loved it. The chutney addition worked a treat! Thanks.
Hi Joe, Brilliant, the chutney is a game changer! Gives it a great sticky flvoursome outer layer 😉
Yummo, we love lamb and this recipe looks like a great recipe to bring that big piece of meat to the table! Thanks for the share.
This leg of lamb is out of this world! Made this for dinner last night and it was so good!! Thank you so much!
Oh my! THis leg of lamb looks amazing! I so want a slice of it right now! Beautifully cooked and I absolutely love the ingredients used, the chutney in particular. Can't wait o try this.
Oh my goodness this lamb looks so amazing! There is nothing better than fork tender flavorful lamb. I love the golden brown crust and the gravy looks wonderful!
Fantastic tender lamb, so much better slow cooked like this then how I usually do (to packet instructions) I love the use of chutney for extra flavour, tastes fab.
I love lamb! The meat has such a sweet taste. I've only had them grilled. The glaze is such a great suggestion. It would really enhance it.
Looks amazing
Thank you Gillian!