Dry leg of lamb
I followed this recipe for a leg of lamb. I placed the lamb in a roasting tray on top of a bunch of celery, carrots and onions. In addition, I covered the tray with aluminum foil.
I probed the lamb, had oven at 350 F and removed it from the oven at 130 F and placed it on a roasting rack for cooling and covered loosely with foil.
The internal temperature rose by 22 F!, from 130 - 152 F during the resting period. A large portions of the meat ended up extremely dry.
Now, since I had to put the stuffing in the lamb, I had to tie the lamb together again with twine. I might have tied it too tightly.
Also, I think my oven temperature was also too high for a tented piece of meat placed on top a bunch of veggies. In addition to the water escaping from the meat, moisture is also released from the veggies. The temperature inside the tent might have been high enough to generate a very large carryover.
One final note: The stuffing contains bread which sucks up moisture. Is it possible that the stuffing is absorbing the juices and drying the meat.
What can I do with my leg of lamb for better temperature control and texture?
Best Answer
With all due respect to Chef Oliver, I do see some problems with the recipe he offers.
In The New Best Recipe Book, from Cook's illustrated in the section on beef roasts they note that when beef is roasted at above 250°F the internal temperature will rise by 18°F during the resting period, however when roasting below 250°F the internal temperature only increases by 3°-5°F. For this purpose lamb is comparable to beef and the result you experienced was to be expected. IMHO the oven temp of 400° is too high, and I would recommend going lower and slower. Try 225°F, and plan on it taking much longer to cook. Continue to roast in the oven until an internal temp of 140°F is reached. This technique will afford you a much more tender and juicy roast, even if it takes longer to get there.
You are correct in directing some attention to the stuffing as well. Where the recipe asks you to add lemon juice if it the stuffing is too dry, I would suggest adding lemon juice until the stuffing is 'very moist' (not sure how to quantify that for you).
Tying the twine too tight is unlikely to have had an impact, but your choice of basting wine may have. Go with something fruitier/sweeter in flavor.
Pictures about "Dry leg of lamb"
Why is my leg of lamb dry?
Not resting the meat before slicing. Cut too soon and the juices will end up pooling on the cutting board, leaving you with a drier cut of meat. Follow this tip: For a more tender and juicy piece of meat, allow the lamb to rest for at least 15 minutes after removing it from the oven.How do you keep a leg of lamb from drying out?
The trick is to add liquid (stock) into the tray and keep the lamb covered with foil throughout the majority of the cooking. This helps retain moisture & stop the leg of lamb from drying out.Why is my roast lamb dry?
The USDA recommends cooking roasts to 145 degrees F. Avoid cooking your lamb beyond this temperature as the meat can become dried out and tough.How do you moisten dry roast lamb?
All the lamb needs is a sprinkle of salt and pepper, drizzle of olive oil. Add beef broth/stock and water into the pan (keeps everything all nice and moist + makes pan juices for gravy), cover then slow roast for 5 hours until tender and fall apart.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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