Thirty years ago I was reading The New Yorker and saw a joke mentioning Gigot the Sept Heures.  Of course, I was intrigued and went to my Larousse Gastronomique to see if there was, indeed, such a thing.  And, indeed, there was!  And so, at least once a year since I have bought a whole leg of lamb and made my “Gigot”.

The roast is, as the name implies, cooked in the oven for seven hours.  Once the roast begins to cook, you can forget about it, checking it once mid way and perhaps turning the roast over for it cook evenly, but that is really not necessary.  Enjoy the aromas that begin emanating from the oven after an hour or two and go about your business.  The only caveat is that you do need a large roasting pan and a long roll of tin foil to cover the roast.

Ingredients

1. 1 leg of lamb, bone in
2. salt & pepper
3. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4. 1 tablespoon olive oil
5. ¾ cup chicken broth
6. ¾ cup red wine
7. 2 heads of garlic
8. sprigs of rosemary
9. sprigs of thyme
10. 2-3 bay leaves

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Gather the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves.

Prepare the garlic by peeling the cloves. Set aside. Click here for tip on peeling garlic!

Salt and pepper the leg of lamb

Measure out the broth & wine

Using a large, heavy pan, melt the butter, add the oil, and brown the leg of lamb on both sides.

Add the garlic, the herbs, and the broth/wine mixture.

Cover the roast and cook for 7 hours, turning once mid way.

To make the sauce

1. Remove the roast from the oven and set on a platter.
2. Remove thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves from the pan juices.
3. Pour the pan juices into a large measuring cup. If you have a de-greaser, that works well.
4. De-grease the pan juices: A quick method I use is to plunge ice cubes into the pan juices. The fat clings to the ice cubes. Remove the ice cubes with a slotted spoon.
5. Using an immersion blender, blend the pan juices incorporating the garlic.
6. Return the pan juices to the pan used to cooked the lamb, or pour the contents into a small pot, and cook over high heat reducing the pan juices to a sauce consistency.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with the roast.