Roast Leg of Lamb with Beer Gravy

Roast Leg of Lamb with Beer Gravy and salad

I saw the lamb section in the fridge at the Delhaize and saw some nice looking fresh cuts. And it was cheap. So I knew at some point I would have to make some lamb while I’m here. And when I found this recipe… well, there you go.

There have been a number of recipes utilizing beer that look fantastic that I’ve found recently, so look for more to appear in my repertoire… But many can be found on the session roundup here.

Unfortunately there was no ground lamb at Delhaize and I didn’t really feel like trying to figure out how to grind my own without a food processor or anything. There was this one nice little leg though… hmm… what if I just roast it as is and make a beer gravy?? That could work.

I opted to make a simple salad to go with it as well. I just tossed together spinach, half a red bell pepper, half a yellow bell pepper, a carrot, some goat cheese with a dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. It was pretty tasty. All the guys in the kitchen thought it looked fantastic, despite its ease of creation.

Roast Leg of Lamb
inspired by Beer47.com and adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Roast Leg of Lamb with Beer Gravy

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 leg of lamb, bone-in (mine was small at a little under 600g)
• salt and pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 1 bottle Chimay, 33cl
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Sprinkle the lamb with salt and pepper on all sides.
2. Preheat oven to 300F.
3. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a cast iron pan or other heavy pan. When oil starts to shimmer put the lamb in, fatty side down. Cook until just browned, 3-5 minutes, on each side.
4. Add garlic cloves to pan and put in oven for 15-20 minutes (10-12 minutes per pound) for medium rare.
5. Remove from pan and cover with foil to let it rest. Put the pan back on the stove over medium heat. Add in the beer and bring to a simmer. Stir cornstarch into the water in a cup to dissolve, then add to the pan. Continue stirring the simmering gravy, until it reduces by about half or until desired consistency. Stir in honey and butter, until melted and combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Slice lamb and serve with gravy and salad.
7. Enjoy!

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