SANYA TIMMONS'S LEG OF LAMB

Sanya Timmons's Leg of Lamb image

Provided by Craig Claiborne And Pierre Franey

Time 3h30m

Yield Six to eight servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

1 leg of lamb, 8 to 9 pounds
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons corn, peanut or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
1 1/2 cups carrots cut into fine shreds (julienne)
1 1/2 cups leeks cut into fine shreds (julienne)
6 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
It is recommended that you have the butcher remove and set aside the hipbone of the lamb. This is the upper bone that is attached to the main (straight) leg bone. This can also be done in the home kitchen, using a thin, sharp boning knife, neatly cutting all around the meat attached to the hipbone and severing the hipbone from the main bone.
Carefully cut away and discard all the fat on the top, bottom and sides of the leg of lamb. Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper and rub it all over with the oil. Put the lamb in a heavy roasting pan or large casserole and cook over moderately high heat, turning as necessary to brown on all sides, about 15 minutes or longer.
Remove the lamb and pour off any fat that might have accumulated. Put the onions, carrots and leeks in the pan and cook, stirring, without browning, about five minutes.
Place the lamb, the thickest side up, on top of the vegetables and add the broth, bay leaf, parsley, thyme and garlic. Put the reserved hipbone on the side. Bring to the boil. Cover loosely and put in the oven. Bake three hours.
Reduce the oven heat to 275 degrees. Continue baking two hours. Remove the lamb and strain the pan liquid into a bowl. Discard the vegetables and the hipbone. Skim off all the surface fat. Pour the remaining pan liquid into a saucepan and reheat. In theory the meat on the lamb should be so tender it can be scooped off the bone using a spoon. You may prefer, however, to pull it off with a fork or carve it. Serve with the hot pan liquid.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 920, UnsaturatedFat 31 grams, Carbohydrate 15 grams, Fat 60 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 75 grams, SaturatedFat 24 grams, Sodium 1717 milligrams, Sugar 6 grams, TransFat 0 grams