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Recipes
April 2022

Seven-Hour Braised Leg of Lamb

By Rebekah Peppler

3.5

(17)

Large slow roasted leg of lamb
Photograph by Joann Pai, food and prop styling by Rebekah Peppler

“I’m not a lamb person unless it’s this leg of lamb,” writes author and food stylist Rebekah Peppler in her masterful ode to French cooking, À Table. In this version of a Provençal classic, a whole leg of lamb is braised low and slow with a few aromatics and some dry wine until the meat is so tender you could eat it with a spoon—in fact, this dish is commonly known as gigot à la cuillère (or “spoon lamb”) in France.

A popular mainstay on the table of Peppler’s Parisian home, this succulent lamb is paired with a vibrant green, garlicky persillade, providing a sharp counterpoint to the rich meat. Serve with cheesy new potatoes and a citrusy radish salad for a well-rounded meal. Any leftover lamb can be deliciously repurposed in sandwiches with bitter greens and plenty of mayo.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    6 Servings

Ingredients

Lamb

1

4–6-lb. bone-in leg of lamb

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

¼

cup extra-virgin olive oil

1

large onion, chopped

5

garlic cloves, lightly crushed

8

sprigs thyme

2

bay leaves

2

cups dry rosé

Persillade and assembly

1

cup (packed) parsley leaves with tender stems

6

garlic cloves

½

cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Lamb

    Step 1

    Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 275°. Season lamb liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high. Cook lamb, turning occasionally with tongs, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes; transfer to a plate.

    Step 2

    Add onion, garlic, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves to pot. Pour in rosé and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon.

    Step 3

    Return lamb to pot, cover with a lid, and transfer to oven. Roast until meat is very tender and nearly falling off the bone, 5–7 hours.

  2. Persillade and assembly

    Step 4

    At least 2 hours after the lamb has been cooking, pulse parsley and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Pulse in oil just to combine. Season persillade with salt and pepper; transfer to a small bowl.

    Step 5

    Carefully remove lamb from cooking liquid and transfer to a platter. (Strain cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl and skim fat; save liquid to use in soups, in braises, or for making beans.) Serve lamb with persillade alongside.

    Do ahead: Persillade can be made 5 hours ahead. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

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Recipes adapted with permission from  ‘À Table: Recipes for Cooking + Eating the French Way’ by Rebekah Peppler. Copyright © 2021 by Rebekah Peppler. Published by Chronicle Books.

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