Leg of Lamb

Makes 8-10 servings | Boning time: 30 minutes | Preparation time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: About 2 hours

Process

Have your butcher bone the leg of lamb by removing the hip bone and thigh bone but leaving the shank and knee socket just above it intact. Or bone it yourself.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine butter, garlic, shallots, lemon juice, parsley, cognac, salt, pepper and thyme in a food processor until well blended and evenly green. Stuff this mixture into the cavity left by the thigh bone. Using a trussing needle and butcher's twine, sew the open flap of the lamb shut. (If you don't have a trussing needle, you can punch holes through the meat with a 4-inch length cut from a clothes hanger and then use the wire to poke the string through.)

Place the lamb on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast, uncovered for 1 1/4-1 3/4 hours, until an instant-read thermometer registers 135-140 degrees. Remove pan from oven and tent aluminum foil over the top. Rest on the counter for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Remove string with scissors and carve even cross-sections at the table.

If desired, you can scatter scrubbed new or fingerling potatoes around the edges of the pan after the first 45 minutes, and then turn them in the drippings every 15 minutes.