Speaking with a friend about cooking lamb, it occurred to me to explore the depths of the internet kitchen to come up with something which would be easy to cook in a small kitchen and fun to do.

*These are not my photos and the recipe was taken from the internet.

This isn’t complicated, but it takes some added effort to get fired up to try something new – and the end result can be delicious if you are a lamb lover. I also heard from the same friend cooking lamb in the oven makes it more “lamby” and I doubt it.

I wouldn’t dare cook lamb sous vide given lamb need to be cooked with different varying degrees to have the sex appeal. Having the meat uniform isn’t traditional enough for my liking, and when I eat lamb, I need to chew, bite and pull it. Thats the fun of lamb it is tasty all ways after it sees some roasting.

People often avoid lamb because they think the flavour is too gamey. While lamb does have a richer flavour than beef, the key is in the fat. The flavour of any type of meat is often accentuated in the fat. Therefore, the less fat that the meat is cooked in, the less distinct flavour.

Butcher's Advice

The “bad” fats are the slightly dark, slightly red fats that must be removed from the meat. On the other hand, be careful to leave the white fat which will “feed” the meat throughout its cooking. At this degree of cooking, this very tender lamb is “cut” with a spoon. Do not hesitate to bring the casserole to the table to warm the eyes of your guests.

The Dead Dough - it is used around the casserole lip's edge.

-300 g of flour + 3 tbsp
-1 pinch of fine salt
-1 egg

Le Creuset Casserole is helpful

Leg of lamb

-1 leg of lamb weighing 1.4 kg
-Fine salt
-Pepper
-1 head of pink garlic
-1 onion
-1 carrot
-Olive oil
-2 bards of bacon 2 mm thick
-10cl of dry white wine
-25cl of clear veal stock
-1 sprig of thyme
-1 bay leaf


Get Started

Step 1: Dead dough

Prepare the dead dough: put the flour and the pinch of salt in the bowl of the robot. Break the egg into a ramekin and add it. Measure 15cl of water in a graduated glass and pour it into the bowl of a food processor. Run the machine until you get an elastic dough. Spread a piece of cling film on the work surface, lightly flour it (about 1 tbsp) and pour the dough over it. Wrap it in the film as for a papillote. Let it rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Step 2: Leg of lamb

During this time, remove the traces of paper, the tampon and the “bad” fats from the lamb - butchers advice.

Tie the saddle of the lamb in two or three places to hold the meat. Generously salt and pepper the meat on both sides. Separate the garlic cloves. Peel the onion and the carrot. Wash the carrot, cut it into four lengthwise, then into small cubes (mirepoix). Cut the onion in half and chop it.

Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in the pan. Add the lamb on the rounded side. Brown it for 5 minutes over high heat on all sides, basting it with oil.
Remove the lamb from the casserole and place it on a dish.

Put the garlic cloves, carrot and onion in the casserole, salt. Add the bacon and sauté for 1 minute over low heat, stirring. Sprinkle with white wine, mix, then let it evaporate completely over medium heat, without letting it burn.

Put the lamb back in the casserole dish, rounded side up, placing it on top of the vegetables. Pour the veal stock around. This is a technique born by Freddy Giradet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frédy_Girardet and then add the thyme and bay leaf. 

Clean the edges of the casserole with a wet brush and bring to a boil.
Lightly flour the work surface (about 1 tbsp) and roll the dead dough, stretching it to form a sausage 2 cm in diameter.

Preheat the oven (floor and top) to 120°C and cover the casserole and run a damp brush around the lid.

Place the sausage of dough on the edge of the lid, pressing down to seal it well with the casserole. Bake and cook for 7 hours.

At the end of cooking, take the casserole out of the oven. Peel off the dough with a knife, open the casserole and pass a damp brush over the edges. Remove the strings from the lamb and serve it with a spoon.