How Long To Cook Leg Of Lamb Per Kg (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Lamb is a sheep that is less than a year old. When the meat is taken from such a young sheep it is called lamb meat. The leg of a lamb is a particularly popular slice of lamb that is consumed by people at various places across the world.

Young sheep’s meat is soft and tender to taste. When the sheep is around 6 to 10 weeks old, it is sold as lamb meat. The age of the animal has a huge impact on the taste and flavor of the meat and also influences the preparation time, and hence many people prefer having lamb’s leg as meat as it is flavorful, delicious, and easier to cook as well.

How Long To Cook Leg Of Lamb Per Kg?

As Lamb is a baby sheep, there is little fat content in it as compared to those in full-grown sheep. The meaty portion of the leg of the lamb is pale reddish to tender pink in color. Among the popular cuts of lamb like shoulder roast, loin, chops, etc the leg of lamb is the most popular and widely devoured.

The most common methods of cooking a leg of lamb are grilling (barbequing), braising, and roasting. All the methods have their advantages and give an authentic taste to the meat to be prepared. It is must be kept in mind that the time that is taken to cook the meat always depends on the quantity required to be cooked.

The cooking time could also be lengthened by the fact that lamb cuts are recommended to be brined and salted for about 30 – 40 minutes to facilitate the breaking down of complex proteins in the meat pieces before cooking.

If one knows the exact weight of the leg of lamb, it is quite easy to deduce the tentative cooking time that would be required to cook it thoroughly. For a medium done 1 kg leg of lamb, it could take about 1 hour and 15 minutes to cook it completely. However, if one prefers their meat to be well done instead of medium doneness, a cooking time for extra 30 minutes would suffice.

Why Does It Take This Long To Cook Leg Of Lamb Per Kg?

Cooking times ideally depend on the quantity of meat to be cooked. However, the temperature also has an important role to play. Thus, the time taken by different weights for the leg of lamb to cook evenly would vary depending on the temperature at which it is being cooked.

A leg of lamb of about 1 – 1.5 kg can be sufficiently enjoyed by four people. The leg of lamb is prepared by the slow roasting method which tends to lengthen the cooking time but gives fruitful results. Slow cooking the leg pieces helps in retaining moisture in the meat pieces which makes the leg of lamb tender, moist, and flavorful.

The cooking time also depends on the fact whether the leg is boneless or part-boned, whole leg or half leg. Usually, boneless meat cuts cook faster as compared to other cuts. Thus, a boneless leg could 30 – 45 minutes for a 1 kg meat, while a whole leg of lamb takes 50 – 60 mins to get cooked.

Also, just like beef, pork, and other meats, lamb needs to rest after cooking to allow the juices inside the meat pieces to settle back, making it meatier, juicer, and easier to carve it.

Conclusion

Sundays become even better when one is cooking a leg of lamb for dinner. It is a succulent dish that people love to have on any occasion. Lamb meat takes a bit longer to cook but this makes them even more delicious, juicy, and more tender in taste. The leg of lamb can be cooked as long as it does not dry out.

A 1 kg leg of lamb takes approximately 1 hour 15 minutes to get cooked and reach its optimum tenderness at medium-rare doneness. If it is cooked beyond this time, the meat might get tougher, chewy, and unappetizing.

References

1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1971.tb03298.x
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0278691590900025