Auntie Pat's Well-Buggered Lamb

This recipe is from Auntie Pat who cooked this for us over a year ago. It is so scrummy we have been re using her recipe ever since and have tried it on a number of our friends. The original photo of the recipe is very well splashed!  The leftover lamb is also a real treat. 

It is also possible to use a very large saucepan to braise all the veg and lamb then transfer to a slow cooker on low or high depending on the settings on your slow cooker. 

HINT: Ask a butcher to de-skin and take the fat off the lamb leg; also to cut the leg at the knuckle as it is easier to get in the casserole dish If you buy meat from a supermarket it will take you a while to do this if you have to do it all yourself.  Contrary to other recipes with lamb, the more fat you get off the better the taste!

Foodstuff you will need:  (serves 4-6)

3 whole head of garlic

Olive oil

1 large leg of lamb about 3kg (de skinned and as much as the fat cut off as possible)

30g unsalted butter

2 leeks (sliced)

1 large red onion

2 sticks of celery (chopped)

2 carrots –chopped

500ml of dry white wine

1 bay leaf

Sprigs of fresh thyme

1 litre lamb or chicken stock

Equipment:

Very large cast iron casserole dish with a lid (able to use on stove and in oven)

Food processor/ liquidizer

Large saucepan

Oven

Big sturdy tongs (or large forks)

How to throw it together

Pre heat the oven to 130C

Peel all garlic cloves. To do this more easily you can put them in a bowl and pour over boiling water and leave for a few minutes before attempting to peel.

Set aside.

Heat the casserole dish over a medium to high flame. Add enough oil to barely cover the base and brown the lamb thoroughly on all sides, turning it with tongs.

Remove the lamb and put to one side.

Tip out the lamb fat and discard it. Add the butter to the pan and reduce to medium heat. Cook the leeks and onion for 6-8 minutes stirring occasionally. Add celery and cook for another 5 minutes. Turn to high and add the wine. Deglaze the pan for about 5 minutes or until the volume of the wine has reduced substantially. Put the lamb back in the casserole; add the bay leaf, thyme and garlic cloves. Pour over enough stock to half cover the lamb. Put lid on the casserole and braise the lamb in the oven for about 3 hours.

After 3 hours reduce the temperature to 120C and cook for a further 2 hours or until the lamb is very tender and falls off the bone. During this process, turn the lamb every hour or so.

When the lamb is forkably tender and looks really well buggered, transfer it to a heated dish placed in a warm place and drape it loosely with cooking foil. It will keep warm for 45 minutes or so. Remove it from the bone to serve

Strain the cooking juices into a large pan reserving the vegetables. Bring the liquid to the boil over a high heat and bubble madly for about 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half.

Meanwhile tip the squishy vegetables (discarding the bay leaf) into a food processor and whizz to a smooth puree. Whisk the puree into the reduced liquid to make a sauce. Check the seasoning (probably will need ground black pepper) then keep the sauce warm until you are ready to serve it. Goes very well with garlic mash or simple boiled potatoes and green veg.