The Sunday lamb half of Australia grew up on — with all the guesswork taken out

There's a reason lamb studded with rosemary and garlic is the roast Australians come home to. It works every single time. You cut a few slits, poke in the good stuff, and the oven does the rest while the house fills with a smell that pulls everyone to the table without being called twice. This is the anchor recipe for the roast in your lamb share — one temperature change, one rest, a cheap thermometer as the referee, and zero anxiety. If you've never roasted lamb before, start here and stay as long as you like.

2 hrs 6 servings Prep 15 minsCook 1 hr 45 minsMain CourseAustralian

Ingredients

  • 1 Your Farmer grass-fed lamb roast (approx 1.5kg, leg or shoulder)
  • 3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
  • 3 sprigs rosemary, broken into small tufts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Pat the lamb dry with paper towel — a dry surface is what browns. If you remember, take it out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead (optional, it just helps it cook evenly).

1 lamb roast

With a small knife, cut 15–20 deep slits all over the lamb. Poke a garlic sliver and a tuft of rosemary into each one.

3 cloves garlic3 sprigs rosemary

Rub the lamb all over with the oil, season it generously with salt and pepper, and sit it in a roasting pan, fattiest side up.

2 tbsp olive oil

Roast for 20 minutes at 220°C, then drop the oven to 180°C and roast a further 50–60 minutes for medium. The referee is a thermometer in the thickest part: pull it out at 57–60°C and it will climb to 60–63°C while it rests.

Move the lamb to a warm plate, cover loosely with foil and rest it for 20 minutes. Don't skip this — the rest is what keeps the juices in the slices instead of on the board.

Carve across the grain, spoon over the pan juices, and serve with roast vegetables, gravy or mint sauce — whatever your Sunday table expects.

Appears in

Your Farmer CSA grass-fed lamb share — Pack B selection of pasture-raised lamb cuts, vacuum-sealed, NSW & ACT delivery
CSA Pastured Lamb Share
From $183.33

Getting to Know the Roast in Your Share

The roast in a Your Farmer® lamb share is a leg or shoulder of around 1.5kg, from lambs raised on pasture their whole lives. The two cuts behave a little differently, and it pays to know which one is on your board. Leg is the leaner, tidier muscle — it carves into neat slices and is at its absolute best pink, which is why the thermometer matters: 57–60°C out of the oven, 60–63°C after the rest, and you're exactly at medium. Shoulder works harder in the paddock, so it carries more marbling and forgives an extra ten minutes without complaint. Both love this treatment, because rosemary and garlic pushed right into the meat season it from the inside out. You can also order the grass-fed lamb roast on its own, or find it in Share A of our pasture-raised lamb share.

Swaps and Variations

The old butcher's trick is a sliver of anchovy in a few of the slits alongside the garlic — it melts away completely and leaves nothing behind but depth. A strip of lemon zest in with the rub brightens the whole roast. For a glazed finish, brush the lamb with a spoonful of honey mixed with a teaspoon of Dijon for the last 20 minutes. And if gravy is non-negotiable at your table, make it in the pan while the lamb rests: a tablespoon of flour into the juices, a couple of minutes of stirring, then 400ml of stock whisked in and simmered until it coats a spoon.

Storage and Leftovers

Cooked lamb keeps 3–4 days wrapped well in the fridge, and slices freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat gently in gravy or a covered pan with a splash of stock — a blast in the microwave cooks the pink right out of it. Or skip reheating entirely: cold roast lamb with mint sauce in a fresh white roll is one of the great Monday lunches. Come and meet the farmers who raised it, and Sunday starts making even more sense.

Frequently asked questions

Will I get a leg or a shoulder in my lamb share?

It varies with how each lamb is broken down, but the recipe is written to handle both. Use the thermometer rather than the clock: pull a leg at 57–60°C for pink, and give a shoulder up to 10–15 minutes longer — it stays juicy thanks to its extra marbling.

How do I time it without a meat thermometer?

After the 20-minute blast at 220°C, allow roughly 20 minutes per 500g at 180°C for medium — about 55 to 60 minutes for a 1.5kg roast. Then give it the full 20-minute rest. A basic probe thermometer is still the best few dollars a roast cook can spend.

Can I cook it well done without ruining it?

Yes — take it to 68–70°C internal instead, and rest it just as long. Better still, if your table likes lamb cooked right through, use the low-and-slow method instead of pushing this one: it lands at fall-apart tender rather than dry.

Can I roast vegetables in the same pan?

Add parboiled potatoes, carrots and onion wedges around the lamb when you drop the oven to 180°C. They'll roast in the lamb fat for the last hour, and can crisp up at 220°C while the meat rests.

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