Tips, hints & wine
If you’re looking to cook the perfect lamb meal, try following our useful cooking tips, and then use our New Zealand wine guide for the ideal accompaniment.
- Carving The Perfect Lamb Roast
- How Pink Do You Like Your Lamb?
- Thawing and Cooking Times
- Temperature Conversions
- Choose the Perfect Wine to go with New Zealand Lamb
Carving The Perfect Lamb Roast
Once you’ve finished cooking the perfect leg of lamb, it’s time to think about how to carve it. Many people find carving a bit daunting, but it need not be. There are no hard and fast rules for carving but if you follow the instructions below, not only will you look like an expert, but the meat will go even further.
Carving Tips
- To make carving easier, create a loose tent of foil over the cooked lamb and allow it to rest for 10 - 15 minutes after taking it out of the oven.
- A carving dish with small spikes on it is really handy to keep the lamb steady while you work.
- Always try to use a carving knife with a thumb guard. A knife with a 25cm (10 inch) blade is ideal or you can use an electric carving knife to make life even easier.
Carving a leg of lamb
Use a cloth to hold the bone at the end of the joint and turn the meatiest side of the joint upwards. Remove two slices, about ¼ inch thick, from the centre of the leg, cutting to the bone.
Continue slicing from both sides of the first cut, gradually angling the knife to obtain longer slices.
For the underside, turn the joint over, remove any unwanted fat and carve in long horizontal slices.
How pink do you like your lamb?
Everyone has his or her own preference on how well they like their lamb cooked. The roast recipes on this site are all cooked to medium, but if you prefer your meat well done, just put it in the oven for a further 30 minutes. If you are unsure of how well the leg is cooked you can use a meat thermometer to test how hot the meat is inside.
| Lamb state | Internal temperature |
|---|---|
| Rare | 45°C - 50°C / 113°F - 122°F |
| Medium Rare | 53°C - 60°C / 131°F - 140°F |
| Medium | 60°C - 65°C / 149°F - 149°F |
| Medium Well Done | 70°C - 75°C / 158°F - 167°F |
| Well Done | 75°C - 80°C / 167°F - 176°F |
Thawing and cooking times
As the recipes on this site show it’s really easy to cook a leg of New Zealand Lamb from frozen. If you do decide to defrost the leg before cooking it’s important that you leave enough time for the leg to thaw completely.
| Action | Time |
|---|---|
| Thawing time for New Zealand Lamb leg joint (Always thaw food in the refrigerator to avoid bacteria growth) | 24-30 hours for a whole leg |
| Cooking time for a frozen leg of New Zealand Lamb at 150°C / 300°F | 1 hour 45 minutes per Kg |
| Cooking time for a chilled/thawed leg of New Zealand Lamb at 180°C / 350°F | 50-55 minutes per Kg |
Temperature conversions
Recipes often include a variety of temperature instructions, which can be difficult to follow if your oven works on a different basis. Below is a temperature conversion chart for cooking instructions in degrees Celsius, degrees Fahrenheit and Gas marks to make life a little easier.
| Measure | Temperatures | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degrees Farenheit | 225 | 250 | 275 | 300 | 325 | 350 | 375 | 400 | 425 | 450 | 475 |
| Degrees Celcius | 110 | 120/130 | 140 | 150 | 160/170 | 180 | 190 | 200 | 220 | 230 | 240 |
| Gas mark | ¼ | ½ | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
New Zealand Wines
Sauvignon Blanc
A white wine that is best paired with spicy foods. Try it with Luscious Fireworks Night Lamb Curry or Twenty-Minute Tacos.
Read more about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Merlot, Cabernet & Syrah
These impressive reds are great for tomato-based dishes such as Moroccan-style Roast Lamb and Lamb with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes, or traditional favourites like Moussaka and Shepherds Pie.
Read more about Merlot, Cabernet & Syrah
Riesling, Gewürztraminer & Pinot Gris
Enjoy Riesling and the powerful Gewürztraminer with spicy dishes such as Poached and Roasted Spicy Leg, and Pinot Gris with creamy dishes like Easter Roasted Lamb with Creamy Vegetable Bake.
Read more about New Zealand Riesling, Gewürztraminer & Pinot Gris
Pinot Noir
One of the world’s most versatile food wines, this red goes with almost anything. Try it with a Crumbed Lamb Rack or Istanbul Kebabs.
