Leg of Lamb with Harissa Yogurt Crust Recipe
A simple recipe for Leg of Lamb with a Harissa Yogurt Crust. This bone-in lamb leg yields a beautiful flavorful crust with juicy tender meat.
How to Make the Best Leg of Lamb with Harissa Yogurt Crust
This stunning Leg of Lamb with Harissa Yogurt Crust is the perfect centerpiece for any special occasion. The combination of spicy harissa paste, tangy Greek yogurt, and aromatic spices creates a flavorful crust that caramelizes beautifully in the oven while keeping the meat incredibly juicy and tender inside.
North African cuisine inspires this impressive roast, bringing together warming spices like cumin and caraway with the signature heat of harissa. The yogurt acts as both a tenderizer and a vehicle for all those delicious flavors to penetrate deep into the meat through the scored cuts. Don’t skip the resting time at the end—it’s essential for ensuring every slice is succulent and flavorful.
Whether you’re hosting a holiday dinner or simply want to elevate your Sunday roast game, this recipe delivers restaurant-quality results with surprisingly little effort. Serve alongside roasted vegetables, couscous, or a simple green salad for a memorable meal that will have your guests asking for seconds.
Leg of Lamb with Harissa Yogurt Crust
A simple recipe for Leg of Lamb with a Harissa Yogurt Crust. This bone-in lamb leg yields a beautiful flavorful crust with juicy tender meat.
Ingredients
Lamb and Marinade
Instructions
Prepare the Lamb
- Trim the fat off the leg if you prefer a leaner version, or leave some on for extra flavor. Score all sides of leg 1/2 inch deep, 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart (crosshatch if you like), sprinkle generously with salt and bring to room temp for at least 1 hour.
- Place garlic, shallot, harissa paste, preserved lemon, salt, cumin, pepper, caraway seeds, thyme, and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until uniformly chopped. Add the yogurt, pulse a few times (don't blend or it will get runny). Taste for heat, adding more harissa paste to taste.
Roast the Lamb
- Place the lamb over a rack in a roasting pan (or over veggies). Lift the bone end of the leg straight up and brush the underside of the leg with the harissa yogurt, getting into the slits and cuts as best you can. Lay it down over the rack, brush the remaining marinade over the top, getting into slits and lathering it up generously. Nestle in any roasting veggies you like (toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper first). You could brush any remaining marinade on the veggies if you like.
- Place the lamb in the lower third of the oven, loosely covered with a foil tent for one hour. Remove foil and check temp. Because every oven is different, keep an eye on the roast after the first hour, checking every 20 minutes or so for over-browning. You can always re-tent with foil if getting too dark. A little color is good here, but you don't want it to burn. If you leave the fat on, you can carefully brown using the broiler at the end to help crisp up that fat.
- When the lamb reaches your desired internal temperature, pull it out, tent it again and let it rest 15-20 minutes before cutting into it. This allows the juices to remain in the meat, keeping it tender.
Notes
- For medium-rare lamb, aim for an internal temperature of 130-135°F. For medium, aim for 140-145°F.
- Leftover lamb can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheated gently.
- The harissa yogurt marinade also works wonderfully on lamb chops or rack of lamb.
