Recipe Lamb Roast Slow Cooker

Hands down the easiest way to cook lamb leg, this Slow Cooker Roast Lamb Leg is fall apart tender and incredibly succulent.2 minutes prep, pop it in the slow cooker, brown it briefly in the oven while you make a killer gravy using the lamb juices. A roast made for sharing with family and friends!

In my world, there are only 2 ways to cook a leg of lamb: either perfectly cooked so it’s pink and juicy inside (see my classic Roast Lamb with Gravy), or long and slow so it’s fall apart tender.

Fall-apart-tender slow cooked lamb leg can either be done in the oven or in the slow cooker. Click here for the slow roasted oven recipe, this is the slow cooker version!

Slow Cooked Lamb With Cipolini, Dates, Kale And Almonds Recipe

I know it sounds counter-intuitive to use the words “roast lamb” and “slow cooker” in the same sentence. But actually, it’s the right description for this recipe because it is cooked in the slow cooker and finished off in the oven to get that beautiful browning. And also to reheat it, in case the slow cooker finished and it was sitting on the warm function for a while.

My slow cooker is a standard size round oneand I was able to fit in a 1.9kg / 3.8lb lamb leg purchased from the grocery store (Woolworths in Australia) because the shaft of the leg comes cut so it can be bent to fit into the slow cooker. Vereeee practical!

I’ve used a small full lamb leg here, but it can easily be made with half lamb legs whichdon’t have the shaft so they will easily fit inside a standard slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder

And of course, if you have one of those oval shaped slow cookers, you could make this with a full size lamb leg! After all, arguably one of the best things about roast lamb are the leftovers. Sandwiches with lamb and gravy. SO GOOD!!!

No need to deal with the clunkiness of making the gravy in a roasting pan, like you do when you roast lamb in the oven. Nope, this is a super simple onemade in a saucepan using butter instead of the drippings in the roasting pan. And of course the juices left in the slow cooker.

This is the sort of food made for sharing with family and friends. I know there’s something grand about placing a whole lamb leg on the table as a centrepiece. But a pile of incredibly juicy, tender lamb is just as impressive in my books –

Slow Roasted Leg Of Lamb Recipe

Recipe video above. The easiest, most succulent roast lamb you'll ever have! This is not the carving sort of lamb, you can just tear the meat off using tongs.

1. Make sure you get a lamb that fits in your slow cooker! I have a standard size round slow cooker and I was able to fit in a 1.9kg/3.8lb lamb leg which had the shaft partially cut so it bends which I got from Woolworths. In Australia, you can purchase half lamb legs (also Woolworths) which come without the shaft /bone which will fit in easily into a standard slow cooker. If you have an oval slow cooker, you can probably fit in the lamb leg even without the shaft cut.

If your lamb is about 1 -1.25kg / 2 - 2.5lb, you can reduce the cook time to 8 hours. If your lamb is larger than 2.25kg /4.5lb, increase it to 12 hours.

Best Tender Crock Pot Leg Of Lamb Recipe

2. If you use chicken broth, the gravy is slightly lighter in colour. The reason I use broth and not just the lamb juices is that lamb juices are very...well, LAMBY. 🙂 Too lambyfor gravy. I find that 2 cups of broth combined with lamb juices = perfect gravy flavour.

4. Servings - 2kg/4lb bone in is about 1.5kg / 3 lb of meat which reduces to about 1.2kg/2.4lb of meat after cooking. This serves 4 generously or 5 for normal servings (in my opinion!).

5. Nutrition - This is a conservative calculation because it doesn't take into account the lamb fat and drippings that are discarded (which accounts for plenty of the calories!). Unfortunately I don't know how to estimate that, so I've not made an adjustment to exclude discarded fat.

The Best Roasted Lamb Shoulder Recipe

I don’t want to come across as a snob, but seriously Dozer, if you’re going to stowaway on a boat, you can do better than that!!!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!Slow cooking results in the most tender lamb meat that falls off the bone. Infused with your choice of mint and rosemary flavours and the leftover juices make a lovely lamb gravy.

This recipe will walk you through everything you need to know about how to cook a leg of lamb in a slow cooker, from choosing the right size leg joint to preparing it for cooking and cooking times.

Slow Cooked Lamb With Garlic And Rosemary

I will go into more detail throughout the blog post. You can jump straight to the step-by-step recipe below if you don't want to read it.

You need to work out how many people you are serving to decide on the leg joint size you need, but also bear in mind the size of your slow cooker pot!

I recommend always using a fresh leg of lamb for this recipe. If using a frozen leg of lamb, always defrost thoroughly before starting to slow cook.

Slow Cooker Leg Of Lamb Recipe

As a general guide when buying a leg of lamb, allow 300g per adult. So, for example, if you are cooking for four adults, you would need a 1.2 kg large half leg of lamb.

However, if feeding a family of two adults and two children, a smaller 800 gram joint will be enough for your family.

A half leg of lamb will fit in most slow cookers. Half lamb legs come from 600kg to 1.2kg and will serve 3-6 people.

Slow Cooked Lamb With Tom Hixson

The chump end is the more tender of the two and a better shape for the slow cooker pot. You could even fit two chump ends in next to each other.

The shank end is tougher but has more flavour, and slow cooking will tenderise it beautifully. It is better suited for oval-shaped slow cookers.

If you have a large enough pot and want to feed more people, go for two half-leg joints or a whole leg of lamb, which comes in sizes 1.3kg - 3kg to feed 6-15 people.

Slow Cooked Lamb

It may sound crazy but measuring your pot and taking a tape measure with you to measure the leg of lamb is the best advice I can offer to avoid disappointment!

You may need to ask the butcher to chop the leg bone so it can be folded to fit into the slow cooker.

If you can not fit a leg of lamb into your slow cooker pot, worry not. I also have an oven recipe for slow roast leg of lamb.

Slow Roasted Lamb

With just a few key ingredients and a little know-how to preparing lamb for the crock pot, you can easily impress your family with this roast lamb dinner and an absolutely delicious gravy too.

A little drizzle of oil over the lamb helps the salt & pepper to stick; also, use a slight drizzle of oil in the pan when searing the meat.

The vegetables are used to raise the lamb joint off the base of the slow cooker pot but also help add extra flavour to the juices, which will be turned into a gravy to serve with your lamb roast dinner.

Slow Cooked Greek Leg Of Lamb

I like to use garlic cloves for extra flavour. Peel and add them in whole to help add flavour to the stock.

You can add other vegetables to the pot, like turnips, parsnips, potatoes, or sweet potatoes. They all add flavour to the gravy.

We find the stock pots add more flavour than a stock cube. Use beef or chicken stock if you can't find lamb stock.

Easy Slow Cooked Greek Lamb (lamb Kleftiko)

Dried herbs withstand slow cooking times better than fresh rosemary. But you can still use fresh herbs if that's all you have.

Mint is a classic flavour that goes beautifully with the lamb; adding a tablespoon of mint sauce to the stock adds flavour and helps produce a killer gravy to serve with your Sunday dinner.

You can substitute 200ml of the water used in the stock for red wine or white wine; make sure to boil it in the pan first to evaporate the alcohol.

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder With Balsamic, Rosemary, & Garlic

No, you do not need to brown the lamb leg before cooking. However, searing the meat will add extra flavour to the dish and makes it look better once cooked.

If you don't sear it first, you may need to oven-cook it at the end of slow cooking to give it a more traditional roasted appearance. This will take a longer time than searing first does!

Adding a small amount of liquid when roasting lamb in the slow cooker helps produce steam to prevent the meat from drying out and also creates a lovely gravy to serve with your roast lamb dinner.

Slow Roast Leg Of Lamb

The cooking time for a leg of lamb will depend on whether it is a whole leg