Turkish Style Leg of Lamb

1. Make a "spice-rub" with garlic, thyme, rosemary, oregano and black pepper.

2. Rub it all over the roast.
3. Put the roast in a plastic bag
4. Pour fresh lemon juice, olive oil and wine over the roast in the bag
5. Put the bag in the refrigerator to marinate for several hours or overnight.
6. Remove the lamb from the bag and roast it in the oven.

The Marinade

Step 1. First make a spice-rub by measuring out:
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons of dry oregano
2 teaspoons of dry thyme
2 teaspoons of dry rosemary
1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper

Put these ingredients into a small bowl and mix everything together
Now, for the liquid part of the marinade, measure out:
1/2 cup (4 oz.) of olive oil
1/2 cup (4 oz.) of lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 cups (16 oz.) of dry red wine

Step 2. Rub the garlic dry-rub spice mixture all over the lamb.

Step 3. Put the lamb in a large plastic bag and set it on a dish. I used a two gallon sized zip-lock bag. (You need the dish just in case the bag leaks when you put it in your refrigerator!)

Step 4. Pour the lemon juice, olive oil and red wine over the lamb (in the bag.)
Squeeze out as much of the air as possible from the bag, and seal it closed. As a precaution against the bag leaking, wrap a second bag around the marinating lamb.

Step 5. Set the bag in a dish and let the lamb marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight -up to 24 hours.

Step 6. Roasting the Boneless Leg of Lamb

Remove the lamb from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking it.
Preheat the oven to 450 F. degrees.
( 450º F = 230º C = gas mark 9)

Snip the corner of the bag and squeeze the marinade out into the sink. It will no longer be usable.


Pat the lamb dry with paper towels.

Put 2 teaspoons of salt and 3/4 teaspoons of freshly ground pepper into a dish. Season the entire lamb with the salt and pepper. (You put the salt and pepper into a separate dish first for sanitary reasons. You would not want to be going back and forth between touching the raw lamb and your main salt and pepper holders.)
Set the lamb into the 450-degree oven and roast for 20 minutes. ( 450º F = 230º C = gas mark 9)

After the 20 minutes, lower the temperature to 325º Fdegrees ( 325º F = 165º C = gas mark 3-very moderate) and continue cooking the lamb until the internal temperature is to your liking.

Most people avoid cooking lamb to “well done”. It will be tough and dry.
When the meat is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. The temperature will increase by about 5 degrees while the roast is resting out of the oven.

With a pair of kitchen scissors cut through the netting (or string) and remove it completely.

Slice the lamb into 1/2 inch thick slices across the grain.

Enjoy!