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Roasting a joint of meat was something that I found quite daunting when learning to cook and I always felt I would risk burning it and wasting money on expensive ingredients. I've since learnt that it is not something to fear and this roasted lamb with dried rosemary and mint herbs dish is the perfect meat for a roast dinner.
This is a recipe for a roasted lamb dish which can be cooked in the oven in under an hour. I use dried herbs and a little oil to get a tasty loin of lamb cooked to perfection.
Contents
- Introduction to roasting lamb joints
- Ingredients used to make lamb with rosemary and mint
- How to cook a lamb joint with rosemary and mint
- Substitutions to try if you don't have some ingredients
- Cooking lamb on the BBQ
- Equipment needed to roast a lamb joint
- Storing cooked roasted lamb
- FAQ
- Related recipes to try similar to roast lamb
- Pairings for roast lamb dishes
- The Recipe
- Your Comments
Introduction to roasting lamb joints
I should also mention here that this dish works perfectly on a BBQ or smoker hence the category it has been placed in. While the post recipe itself refers mainly to indoor kitchen cooking using a conventional oven it is possible to convert the recipe for a BBQ lamb cook for which I will detail further in the post.
Ingredients used to make lamb with rosemary and mint
This is a simple dish and I purposefully only use 4 ingredients to demonstrate how a little bit of flavour can really change a dish. The main meat in this dish is a loin of lamb. These can be bought from any butcher and prepared ready to cook so there is no need for you to spend time with meat preparation.
The lamb loin in this dish is pre-trussed (referring to the string around the lamb holding it together). It gets cooked liked this and holds it all in place.
- Lamb loin
- Dried rosemary
- Dried mint
- Olive oil
See recipe card for quantities.
How to cook a lamb joint with rosemary and mint
The roasted lamb with herbs will get prepared in one go at the beginning of the recipe and then this will allow the meat to be put in the oven and left to cook. There is no basting or turning required.
I want to portray just how simple this dish is and I think the fact that there are only 4 pictured steps proves that this is the case!
- Step 1: Preheat your oven to 190℃ / 375℉ for around 15 minutes. Grab your roasting tin and line it with foil. Splash a bit of oil on there and then sprinkle on some herbs. Put the meat on and the cover that with the rest of the oil and herbs. Put it in the oven.
- Step 2: After the cooking time is up, remove the lamb from the oven. With a temperature probe, just double check the internal temperature of the roasted lamb is at least 65℃.
- Step 3: Transfer the cooked lamb to a plate and cover with some foil. Leave it to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Step 4: Slice the roasted lamb with herbs into thin slices and serve with your selection of preferred accompaniments. I would recommend a small amount of mint sauce too.
Hint: The resting time once the lamb loin has come out of the oven is an important part of cooking any meat. It allows the juices to settle and the temperature to evenly level out. You may see the internal temperature of the meat rise slightly during this resting period but this is fine and to be expected.
A good quality digital thermometer is really useful to ensure you have cooked to the correct temperature. Always cook to temperature and not to time.
Substitutions to try if you don't have some ingredients
This is a roasted lamb loin with dried rosemary and mint herbs on top. As you can probably expect, there are plenty of substitutions for anything you can't get hold of or don't have in your cupboard.
- Oil - This recipe calls for olive oil but you can swap this out for vegetable or rapeseed oil. When picking olive oil, avoid using extra virgin olive oils as they will not cope with the higher temperatures of an oven and do have a tendency to smoke. Stick with refined olive oil.
- Herbs - You don't need to use dried herbs for this dish. You can use fresh herbs or even different types of herbs. See what matches well with lamb but herbs such as thyme and parsley are great alternatives. If you grow fresh herbs in your garden then they are even better to use.
- Lamb - This dish calls for a lamb loin for ease. The loin will be pre-prepared by the butcher however the process will work well with different cuts of lamb. A friendly butcher will offer an alternative if you want to try something different. Cooking times can be worked out by the weight.
Cooking time for this lamb loin dish is recommended as 20 minutes per 500g of meat plus an additional 20 minutes. If using a different cut of meat such as a shoulder or leg you may need to review the cooking time requirements.
Cooking lamb on the BBQ
Charcoal / Gas grill
This roast lamb can be cooked on a BBQ in a very similar way. Getting used to the control of your BBQ so you can work out hot zones for direct cooking and indirect cooking will give you a fighting chance of getting it right.
The lamb needs to be cooked using an indirect heat of around 190℃ - 200℃ so set up your coals accordingly to provide a steady temperature. Using a BBQ thermometer will help alert you to any fluctuations in temperature there might be.
Smoking Lamb
It's possible to smoke this lamb too however this will take a longer time as it will be on a lower heat in the smoker (around 120℃) so be prepared to cook for at least 2 hours. Set up the coals in the snake method and have the coals on the opposite side of the smoker to the lamb.
If you are adding chunks of wood for smoking lamb loin I would recommend a fruit or nut wood. I have used apple in the past with success. I also hear people swear by cherry and lamb as a tasty combination.
Equipment needed to roast a lamb joint
The most important piece of equipment for this recipe is the roasting tray. When cooking in an oven a good tray that doesn't crowd the lamb is what I recommend. Aim for something you could comfortably fit three of the loins in.
There are a wide range of roasting pans or tins on the market spanning from a cheap and cheerful low cost pan to the higher quality range. There are also speciality non stick ranges such as the Hexclad Hybrid roasting tin.
Roasting Tins
Masterclass Roasting Tin & Rack - a lower cost option to begin with and includes a rack for other dishes like ribs and pork loin.
Hexclad Roasting Pan - offers a combination of stainless steel and non-stick for the ultimate in even cooking and easy clean-up.
Le Creuset Toughened Non-Stick Rectangular Roaster - this is a higher end from a well known brand Le Creuset. If you want quality and don't mind paying a premium then this is for you.
Storing cooked roasted lamb
Once cooked then the roasted lamb will be able to be kept for a couple of days left in the fridge. Keep it covered in foil (although it does not have to be fully air tight). The lamb may absorb strong food smells from other fridge residents so be mindful of this if you have onions or garlic dishes in the fridge at the same time.
The lamb can be cut up and frozen too for use at a later date in a curry or similar. Make sure to defrost thoroughly before heating through again.
Lamb slices are a fantastic sandwich filler and make great sandwiches as a cold meat. Take care to slice the pieces thin enough. I find it much easier to slice these when the meat is cooked but cooled and fresh out of the fridge.
FAQ
Cherry and other fruits work excellently when smoking lamb. The fruit flavours compliment the lamb dish.
Related recipes to try similar to roast lamb
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairings for roast lamb dishes
These are my favourite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
The Recipe
Roasted lamb with dried rosemary and mint
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g Lamb loin can be bought pre-prepared
- 2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 teaspoon dried mint
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190℃ / 375℉ for 15 minutes.While the oven is heating up, spread one of the sheets of foil over the roasting tray and drizzle a little olive oil on it. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of each of the herbs over the oil.2 tsp dried rosemary, 2 tsp dried mint, 2 tbsp olive oil
- Place the lamb loin into the herbs and oil. Drizzle the rest of the oil over the top of the lamb and rub it around to cover the lamb. Sprinkle the rest of the herbs over the lamb.500 g Lamb loin, 2 tsp dried rosemary, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp dried mint
- Place in the oven for 20 minutes per 500g plus another 20 minutes.So in this example, a 500g piece will be 20 minutes plus 20 minutes = 40 minutes.A bigger loin of 1Kg would be 20 minutes x 2 (40 minutes) plus 20 minutes = 60 minutes.Make sure you work out your oven times for the weight of the meat before proceeding.
- Once cooked you can check the internal temperature of the lamb and then leave it to rest. You want to aim for around 65℃ to 73℃ internal temperature as it comes out of the oven.Lift the lamb out of the foil and place on a plate and then cover with the other sheet of foil. Leave it to rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Important!
Remember that timings on this recipe are for the 500g lamb loin. Make sure to check the packet of your lamb to see the weight and recommended cooking times. To ensure you have cooked to the correct temperature, consider using a meat thermometer. When resting, the lamb may gradually increase internally in temperature for a little while, this is normal.Nutrition
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One response to “Roasted Lamb & Herb Coating”
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I added some hickory chunks when I barbecued this. I'm going to try beech or pear next time as I didn't like hickory.
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