Brimming with fresh herbs, aromatic spices and loaded with garlic, this tasty lamb leg is the perfect roast for weekend lunch or dinner.
You’d be surprised at how easy it is to make this flavourful and tender roast leg. Unlike cooking it the conventional way in the oven, the Instant Pot minimises the time drastically and locks in all the flavour.
If you’ve never cooked leg of lamb in an Instant Pot, now is the time to try it. You can get the most tender, fall-off-the-bone lamb meat in just under 2 hours.
Saving time by using the Instant Pot pressure cooker, this leg of lamb with gravy is cooked to fall-apart tenderness in less than half the time it would take to roast it the conventional way.
I used rosemary, thyme, coriander and garlic to flavour the leg and cooked it with onions and carrots. The onions cooked soft into the gravy, thickening it and creating so much flavour and taste to it.
I love cooking with lamb, it has a strong meaty flavour which is distinctive and totally delicious.
Browning the meat before cooking it adds to the overall taste of the lamb and makes the roast look superb. Meat cooked in the Instant Pot will not brown as much as meat that is roasted in the oven or stove top, so don’t skip this initial step.
I seasoned the lamb leg and seared it on all sides in a hot skillet on the stove top using butter and a little olive oil. Once browned, I placed it into the Instant Pot and cooked it to completion stage in there.
Deglaze the Instant Pot
It is important to deglaze the Instant Pot with broth. Scrape the inner pot well to remove any pieces of lamb that are stuck to the bottom. Then add the carrots and onions to the broth.
The carrots should be cut big so that they will cook slowly. Avoid using small baby carrots because they will be turned to mush by the time the lamb is cooked.
Pressure Cook the Leg of Lamb
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the pressure valve is closed. Set the pressure cooker to Manual mode at high pressure for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes are up let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then manually release the remaining pressure.
You can serve this roast leg of lamb with mash, mint sauce or any vegetables of your choice.
Once the lamb is done, remove from pot and cover it with foil to rest.
Temperature for Leg of Lamb
Personal preference is the biggest factor in what temperature you cook leg of lamb to. Some people only like lamb when it is rare and others like it well done. I personally like mine well done and that is how I serve it. Here are the temperatures for the different options:
Rare: 52°C
Medium-Rare: 55°C to 57°C
Medium: 57°C to 60°C
Medium Well: 57°C to 68°C
Well-Done: 68°C to 74°C
Always use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature, don’t try to cook the lamb leg based on time alone. A thermometer is not expensive and the peace of mind they give you is phenomenal. Food poisoning is not an option.
INSTANT POT LAMB LEG ROAST
Ingredients
- 1.2kg leg of lamb
- salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp rosemary & garlic spice (Robertson’s)
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 carrots, sliced lengthwise
- 2 onions, peeled
- garlic cloves, for stuffing the meat
Instructions
- Pat Lamb leg dry with paper towels. Make slits into the meat using a sharp pointed knife. Insert garlic cloves into the slits.
- Combine the salt, pepper and spices in a small bowl.
- Rub all over the leg of lamb.
- Heat 1 tbs oil and 2 tbs butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Sear the lamb leg on all sides until browned and sealed.
- Set the Instant Pot on Sauté and add the other tablespoon olive oil and remaining butter.
- Heat up for 1 minute.
- Add the leg of lamb in the Instant Pot, brown it a bit more.
- Take the lamb out of the Instant Pot. Add the chicken broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot to deglaze it and remove any browned bits of lamb.
- Add your lamb leg back to the instant pot and slowly pour in the broth.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and close the valve. Set the pressure cooker to Manual, high pressure, for 30 minutes.
- When the pressure cooker is done let it release pressure manually for 10 minutes. Then release the remaining pressure.
- Add the carrots and onion to the Instant Pot.
- Put the lid back on and set the Instant Pot on Manual for 5 minutes. When it is done let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure.
- Check the temperature of the lamb using an instant read thermometer. If it is 70 degree celcius, take the lamb and vegetables out and cover it with foil to rest.
- You can set the Instant Pot on Sauté and allow the remaining juices in the pot to thicken slightly for 5 minutes. This will form your gravy.
- Serve roast leg with carrots, onions and spoon gravy all over.
