Looking for an easy-to-prepare boneless lamb leg recipe that you can cook within a few hours for guests at the weekend meet? Or, a guide to cooking a boneless leg of lamb that does not take the whole day to prepare yet is savory and perfect for a weekend special meal?
Well, your search ends here as we have this special boneless lamb leg recipe for you that is both time-saving and delicious and can be the perfect main course dish for family gatherings and other special occasions.
And contrary to the fact that roasts can only be prepared deliciously in an oven, you can whip up this boneless lamb leg recipe by us in an instant pot. Sounds unbelievable? We know. But wait till you try this out.
Keep reading this article to know more about this dish, how to prepare it, and which side dishes you can serve with this mouth-watering delicacy.
All About the Pot Boneless Leg of Lamb
One of the most popular dishes in Mediterranean cuisine, the boneless leg of lamb is a classic main course meal for Easter celebrations, parties, or a simple weekend brunch with friends and immediate family.
Chicken, ham, and turkey are usually the common choices for events and dine-ins. But using lamb meat as a substitution creates a new dish altogether; we bet this will leave a mark on your guest’s taste buds and you.
The soft, tender meat invigorated with a mix of traditional Mediterranean spices for a juicy tinge of flavor-packed dish is a surprising delight for the palate.
And your guests will never believe you prepared this piquant boneless lamb leg recipe in an instant pot. We know you’re not buying it either (but that’s only till you read through this and try it out for yourself). Of course, you can make the dish in a microwave oven.
But now that you know what to expect from this boneless lamb leg recipe – that you don’t NECESSARILY need a microwave oven and the whole day to make this, let us proceed with the quick guide to pot boneless lamb leg recipe.
Requirements for the Boneless Lamb Leg Recipe
We know you’re excited to start with this anticipated boneless lamb leg recipe hands-on. To make it easier, here is a checklist of all you need to prepare boneless lamb leg roast in an instant pot.
Ingredients
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Items Required |
Quantity |
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5 pounds |
|
|
4 cups |
|
|
1 ½ tablespoons |
|
|
2-3 tablespoons |
|
|
Fine ground Kosher salt or Sea salt |
1-2 teaspoons (or as per taste) |
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1 teaspoon (if freshly ground) and ½ teaspoon (if dried) |
|
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1 cup (~1 small onion) |
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Slivered garlic cloves |
12 in number |
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1 tablespoon |
|
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4 tablespoons (if fresh) and 2 tablespoons (if dried) |
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2 tablespoons (if fresh) and 1 tablespoon (if dried) |
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|
2 |
|
|
2 |
|
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Red wine (optional) |
½ cup |
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Fresh parsley (optional) |
¼ cup |
Tools Required
|
Mortar and pestle (optional) |
Yummy Pot Boneless Lamb Leg Recipe
Here is a step-by-step detailed guide for making boneless lamb roast that you can prepare using the abovementioned ingredients and tools in an instant pot. The process is relatively simple, and the major work on your part involves seasoning the meat and preparing the herbs.
Apart from that, you can rest and let the cooking pot take over and do the work of whipping up the dish, as mentioned in the boneless lamb leg recipe.
Step 1: Prepare the Seasoning
Dice the onion and mince the fresh thyme and rosemary herbs. Add one teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a bowl and a small amount of diced onions and minced herbs. Crush six garlic cloves using a mortar and pestle and pour half the amount into the bowl.
Add ½ tablespoon of lemon zest, one tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and a pinch of kosher salt or sea salt and ground black pepper, and keep the bowl aside. This prepares the seasoning you need to marinate the boneless lamb leg. If you are using alcohol, you can add half a teaspoon of red wine in this step.
Please note that this is an optional step. You can leave it out altogether (it will still be an appealing dish altogether). Still, including it paves the way for an exclusive gastronomic experience you will never know the taste of until you try it out.
Step 2: Season the Meat
The boneless lamb leg recipe is incomplete without paying extra attention to the lamb leg itself. In this step, you do exactly that, and this step alone contributes to making the meat succulent and tasty.
It is simple and takes just a few minutes, but it is one of the most important steps in this boneless lamb leg recipe. All you have to do is defrost the meat or thaw it to bring it to room temperature (if you had bought it earlier) and make a few slits along the whole length of the meat. Marinate it with salt and black pepper.
Stuff about six whole garlic cloves into the slits of the meat. Open up the underside of the meat and rub the seasoning prepared in the first step. Repeat the same for the upper side and ensure the meat is evenly coated with the seasoning.
Use the remaining ½ tablespoon of mustard to layer the seasoning along the entire piece of meat. Secure the marination by tying the lamb leg at the sides and center using kitchen twine or butcher’s twine.
Step 3: Prepare the Marinade
This step is where the instant pot begins in the boneless lamb leg recipe. Turn on the “Saute” mode of the instant pot and turn the heat setting on to “High.” Once the instant pot begins to warm up, add two tablespoons of olive oil and let it heat.
Now, add the remaining diced onions and sautee until they become golden brown. Add the remaining herbs, including garlic paste, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, kosher or sea salt, and ground black pepper.
Place the seasoned meat on a silicone sling or trivet and put it inside the instant pot while still in the “Saute” mode. Sear both sides of the boneless lamb roast equally (4 minutes for each side).
Keep the meat outside the instant pot once seared to give a brownish tinge of color. Use kitchen tongs to take out the meat if you are using a silicone trivet. You can keep the set out of the pot using a silicone sling.
Step 4: Prepare the Boneless Lamb Leg
Pour 4 cups of chicken or beef broth into the instant pot and change the settings from “Saute” mode to “Pressure Cooker” mode or “Manual” mode. Deglaze the pot using a spoon, scrape off the bits and pieces of the spices and herbs stuck on the sides, and place them inside the broth.
Now that we have almost arrived at the end of the boneless lamb leg recipe, place the seared lamb leg inside the pot on the silicone sling or trivet and secure the pot lid.
Add the remaining red wine. Now, pressure cook for 45 minutes (9 minutes per pound) for medium cooking the boneless lamb leg recipe. This way, the outsides of the boneless lamb roast are cooked to perfection, and the insides still retain a slight pink color and ensure the juiciest and most flavorful dish. Allow natural pressure release for 15-20 minutes, followed by quick release.
Step 5: The Finishing Touch
Now that you have prepared the boneless lamb leg recipe, it’s time to add the final touches. Tale out the cooked lamb leg and pour the broth into a separate serving bowl. Let the boneless lamb leg sit for at least 10-20 minutes. During this time, the meat heats up internally, and the cooked spices infuse for the zesty flavor.
After this, cut the twine using a kitchen utility knife and then cut the meat slices. Garnish using rosemary and thyme sprigs and fresh parsley if you like.
You can chop up another onion and a few lime wedges and serve it as an accompaniment to the broth. Topping the broth using cilantro also adds elegance to the already power-packed delicacy. Serve hot!
Side Dishes for Boneless Lamb Leg Recipe
The boneless lamb leg recipe pairs well with a variety of dishes. For the simplest accompaniment, you can boil vegetables like medium chunks of carrots and potatoes while cooking the lamb leg in the pot (add it later, preferably in step 4, to prevent them from becoming slurry). Add pea pods and garnish with a layer of pesto sauce, and you have an excellent main course dish.
If veggies and simplicity are not your thing and it’s a huge something that you are celebrating, side dishes for the boneless lamb leg recipe could include slow cooker au gratin potatoes, a side of black beans, mushroom risotto, roasted cauliflower, mac and cheese, grilled corn, or even sauces like homemade chimichurri sauce or homemade tzatziki sauce.
Also, you can never go wrong with salads as an accompaniment to the boneless lamb leg recipe. Try homemade Caesar salad or rice variations like Lebanese rice and Middle Eastern rice pilaf.
Variations in Ingredients
Many of the ingredients we have used for preparing the boneless lamb leg recipe can be substituted for other easily available ingredients that save you further time.
- Boneless Lamb Leg – You can use bone-in lamb leg, but it will be more time-consuming than the boneless variety. You will have to pressure cook for at least 50 minutes. However, for those who prefer boned meat, you can use a combination of shanks and ribs and the boneless lamb leg.
- Broth – Add water instead of chicken or beef broth for deglazing. This will give you a consommé side dish instead of broth that will not be as aromatic as the original version of the boneless lamb leg recipe.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – You can use any vegetable oil for preparing this dish.
- Garlic Cloves – Using garlic powder instead of garlic cloves is a good substitute, but of course, the flavor will hit you in ripples instead of the punch on your palate.
- Rosemary and Thyme – Allspice or Herbes de Provence is an all-in-one spice and condiment variation that hits just the right notes on your tastebuds, and you won’t even have to take out any extra prep time for this.
- Parsley – Use mint instead for garnishing.
Essential Tips for Preparing Boneless Lamb Leg Recipe
- As mentioned earlier, red wine is an optional ingredient. It helps to bind the taste of the spices together, more like “locking them in” into the meat. However, the meat still tastes almost equally awesome without alcohol.
- You may skip marinating the lamb leg and season it with salt and pepper. Of course, the marination adds an extra layer of glaze to the meat and a slightly enhanced flavor.
- For a medium-rare cook, pressure cook the boneless leg for 35 minutes in the pot (7 minutes for each pound). For well-cooked meat, go for 11 minutes per pound of meat. But the boneless lamb leg recipe tastes best when cooked between medium and medium rare because well-cooked meat can become tough and chewy.
- Some websites may tell you to trim off the fat from the lamb leg, but we would not prefer to abide by it because the fat gives the luscious texture of the dish.
- Do not skimp on the lemon zest and herbs.
- Marinate the lamb leg for about 20 minutes before pressure cooking it. Thaw frozen or refrigerated meat to room temperature before starting the preparation.
Boneless Leg of Lamb Cooking Time
The boneless lamb leg recipe takes roughly 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours (including prep and cooking time). Yes. 2 hours is all it takes to prepare an excellent main course dish for around ten people (the serving count of the above boneless lamb leg recipe). The nutritional count comes to nearly 200 calories, and this dish is a good source of protein and other micronutrients.
Conclusion
Remember those Easter Eves that got you all worked up about what to prepare for meals for guests? We hope this boneless lamb leg recipe will calm your nerves now, especially since you can make it well and assemble the entire dish before they arrive. It is rich in spices and taste and fulfilling, too.
With a hint of the essence of fresh spices, this dish is an irresistible treat for the palate without being overwhelming and all over the place. You may need to adjust the measurements of the spices, herbs, and salts as per your taste, but apart from that, it should be a smooth ride.
Try it out for yourself and let us know how it goes and which occasion you plan to prepare this boneless lamb leg recipe for.
