Yogurt-Marinated Leg of Lamb With Cardamom and Orange

By Mark Bittman

Yogurt-Marinated Leg of Lamb With Cardamom and Orange
Yunhee Kim for The New York Times; Food stylist: Anne Disrude. Prop Stylist: Deborah Williams.
Total Time
1½ to 3 hours, largely unattended
Rating
5(520)
Comments
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This wet-roasted leg of lamb doesn’t contain a ton of liquid — this is about roasting, not braising, and if you add enough liquid to a cut of meat, you’re not roasting any more. Instead, the lamb is moistened with a yogurt-based marinade laced with fresh mint, orange zest and cardamom. The yogurt keeps the surface of the lamb from drying out and — if you let the lamb sit for a while after you’ve smeared it with the marinade (and you should) — it permeates the meat a bit with the flavors of the marinade. This needs no accompaniment, but if you’re in the mood for some heat, a dab of harissa wouldn’t be out of place.

Don't know how to carve a lamb? Mark Bittman shows you how in this video.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 15-to-7-pound leg of lamb, preferably at room temperature, shank removed if necessary
  • ½cup whole-milk yogurt
  • ¼cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
  • 2tablespoons orange zest
  • 2teaspoons ground cardamom
  • 1teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 2teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

570 calories; 39 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 50 grams protein; 450 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 425º. Remove as much of the surface fat as is practical from the lamb. Mix together the yogurt, mint, orange zest, cardamom, salt and pepper; rub the meat all over with the yogurt mixture. If you have time, let the lamb sit for an hour or more (refrigerate if it will be much longer).

  2. Step 2

    Put the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. (You might line the pan first with aluminum foil to make cleanup easier.) Roast for 30 minutes, then check; if the lamb threatens to burn, turn the heat down to 350º; otherwise leave it at 425º.

  3. Step 3

    After about 1 hour (total) of roasting, check the internal temperature of the lamb with an instant-read thermometer. Continue to check every 10 minutes; when it reaches 130 for medium rare (125 for very rare) in its thickest part (check it in several places), it’s done. Total cooking time will be less than 1½ hours. Let it rest for a few minutes before carving. Serve garnished with more chopped mint.

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5 out of 5
520 user ratings
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Comments

Liz B.

I've made this twice now, first with a 3 lb bone-in leg and with a 3 lb boneless one. Both were excellent! However, they took longer than expected - I kept checking the temp. The flavor was perfect! For the boneless leg I did about 1.5x marinade since it's rolled up, and I added a few minced garlic cloves and some Aleppo pepper and sumac to it for some extra bite and tang. Lemon zest worked great when I had no orange. Caramelizes beautifully and you can really taste the cardamom!

Peter

Subtract 32; multiply result by 5; divide result by 9.
The resulting number is the Celsius temperature.

Molly Gordy

Have you ever seen a lamb with a leg big enough to weigh 10 lbs? That’s a sheep

Gordon Wassermann

This is absolutely superb and apart from the marvelous taste, one of its advantages for cooking for a family with children is, there's no alcohol in it (most lamb recipes need a bit of wine).

TishT

Garam masala makes a terrific substitute for the cardamom but I agree with others that spices in the marinade should be doubled.

Minna

What does “remove as much fat as practical” mean?

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