Zinfandel-Braised Leg of Lamb (Slow Cooker)
photo by Tarteausucre
- Ready In:
- 8hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 2 1⁄2 lbs boneless leg of lamb
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, divided
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice, crushed
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 cup zinfandel
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups hot cooked egg noodles (about 4-3/4 cups uncooked pasta)
directions
- Unroll lamb; trim fat. Sprinkle evenly with1/2 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper. Reroll lamb; secure at 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Sprinkle evenly with flour.
- Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Place lamb in electric slow cooker.
- Add juniper berries, allspice, and garlic to skillet; cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned. Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Scrape wine mixture into cooker; add basil and bay leaves. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours or until lamb is tender.
- Remove lamb from cooker; keep warm. Strain cooking liquid through a sieve into a small bowl; discard solics. Add remaining 1/2 t. salt and remaining 1/2 t. pepper to cooking liquid; stir. Remove twine from lamb, and discard. Break lamb into chunks with 2 forks. Serve lamb with cooking liquid over egg noodles.
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Reviews
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Made for ZWT-8 as I'm esp fond of Icelandic lamb & adore my slow cooker. I've been slow-cooking lamb for 10 yrs, but there are differences in our methods w/the meat used & the finish. I suppose they can be found (or pre-ordered), but I've never seen a boneless & rolled leg of lamb. I've only seen bone-in lamb legs sold for oven-roasting or grilling. We do have what's called "supakjot" (literal translation = "soup meat"), but I promise you it's unlike any soup meat you've ever eaten. It's fantastic & includes the shanks, riblets from racks of lamb if the lamb chop tenderloin is removed, lamb cutlets, etc. That's what I used for your recipe & was faithful to it til I removed the meat to rest. The slow cooker lamb liquid is always richly flavoured & this was esp so. DH has a strong preference for coos cous vs noodles - So I strained the liquid, returned it to the slow cooker & added cous cous to absorb the liquid. Then I served the lamb meat w/the cous cous beside it. Both the lamb meat & the cous cous were outstanding! Thx for sharing this recipe w/us.
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Five stars on ease of cooking! I was looking for something I could "set & forget", and this fit the bill. I don't have the greatest luck with the slow cooker, though, so my expectations were low. I didn't have juniper berries, so I looked on line for substitutes, and one suggestion was rosemary. How can you go wrong with rosemary and lamb? Also, I didn't have Zinfandel, I had a red blend of cab, merlot, and zin (Menage a Trois). Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly - had a 2.5lb BLOL, etc. Mine was done after 6 hours. I turned it off until dinner time, then set it back to low. The "sauce" was very greasy - I had to degrease before using it. I found the lamb on itself to be very tender, but not very flavorful - it definitely needed the sauce on it. The sauce was very thin, I think if I make it again I'll thicken for more of a gravy consistency. I would definitely make it again for a non-grill option for BLOL.
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YUM YUM YUM, it should be a crime to leave the dog at home to have to smell this all day. I halved the recipe for 2 dinners and a lunch. Did not have juniper berries, or whole allspice, subbed for some ground instead. Very good, this will be put in our rotation. Thank you for posting! Made for ZWT 5
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
JackieOhNo!
Stormville, New York
I didn't start cooking until my early 20's, even though I come from a family of accomplished and admired home cooks. While I grew up watching my Italian grandmother in the kitchen, I remained uninterested in trying anything on my own. As a young lady, I was known for being particularly ignorant in the kitchen, with no idea how to even make a hot dog! All this changed, however, when I got engaged. I realized it was time to let my inherent talents out of the bag. At the time, the New York Times had a weekly column called The 60-Minute Gourmet by Pierre Franey. Each week, I would follow these recipes diligently, and taught myself to cook that way. From there, I began to read cookbooks and consult with relatives on family recipes. At my ripe old age now, I feel I know enough to put together a very pleasing meal and have become accomplished in my own right. Having an Irish father and an Italian mother, I'm glad I inherited the cooking gene (and the drinking one too!). One thing I have learned is that simpler is always better! I always believe cooking fills a need to nurture and show love. After being widowed fairly young and living alone with my dog and cats, I stopped cooking for awhile, since I really had no one to cook for. I made care packages for my grown son occasionally, and like to cook weekly for my boyfriend, so I feel like I am truly back in the saddle!!