If you want medium-rare lamb, this is not the recipe for you. We’re going completely in the other direction - lamb cooked so long that it is fall-off-the-bone tender.
(To paraphrase Terry Pratchett, we’re so far from medium-rare lamb we’re approaching it from the other side.)
Traditionally, this recipe is pitched as “Lamb so tender you can eat it with a spoon.” Now, that’s a little bit of hyperbole - a spoon? Not really. But if you’re a fan of tender braises and pot roasts, you’ll love this leg of lamb.
Now, for a pressure cooker recipe, this one takes a while. A 4 pound lamb roast is a big piece of meat, and it takes about 90 minutes at high pressure for the lamb to cook all the way through, plus a natural pressure release. And, it’s not the weight so much as the thickness. The heat has to penetrate into the center of that blocky piece of lamb.
“90 minutes!” I can hear you saying. “That’s not fast!” Well, it is if you’re starting with traditional French recipe that roasts for 7 hours in the oven. If you’re curious, I tried out different timings: at 60 minutes, it was still tough most of the way through, and at 75 minutes, it was almost tender enough, but it was not quite done in the center of the roast, near the bone. 90 minutes was perfect - tender all the way through.
(Looking for a quicker lamb recipe? Check out pressure cooker lamb shanks - the smaller pieces of lamb cook in about half the time. Or, for a different style of braised meat, try my Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs.)
Recipe: Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
Inspired by: Ambassade D’Auvergne’s seven-hour leg of lamb, Patricia Wells, Bistro Cooking
Equipment
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric PC)
- Fat separator
Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes) - the classic French recipe, sped up with the help of a pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4-pound bone in leg of lamb roast (the sirloin half if possible)
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 large onion, sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup dry white wine (dry Riesling)
- 1 cup chicken stock (or water)
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- Minced parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Brown the lamb: Heat the tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat (“sauté” mode on an electric PC) until shimmering, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the lamb roast all over with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and the fresh ground black pepper. Sear the lamb roast, about 4 minutes a side, then move it to a bowl.
- Sauté the onion and simmer the wine: Add the onion to the pot, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt, and sauté until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the white wine and bring to a simmer, scraping any browned bits of lamb and onion from the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes.
- Add everything to the pot: Pour in the chicken stock, then stir in the garlic, rosemary, and thyme sprigs. Add the lamb and any lamb juices in the bowl
- Pressure cook the lamb: Lock the pressure cooker lid and bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure. Cook on high pressure for 90 minutes in an electric PC, 75 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down with a natural pressure release, about 20 minutes.
- Serve: Carefully lift the lamb roast out of the cooker and transfer to a platter (I use a slotted spatula and a pair of kitchen tongs). Strain the liquid in the pot into a fat separator and let it settle for 10 minutes. Slice the lamb roast, pour some of the defatted liquid over the slices, and serve, passing the rest of the defatted liquid as a sauce. (Or serve the lamb family style, with the sauce straight out of the pot. Just pour it over the roast after you discard the herb sprigs).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: French
Would you like to save this recipe?
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Instant Pot Boneless Leg of Lamb
Pressure Cooker Lamb Shanks
Pressure Cooker Irish Lamb Stew
Pressure Cooker Beef Pot Roast
Instant Pot Oxtail : Easy Braise
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner via eMail or RSS reader, recommend DadCooksDinner to your friends, and buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you.
PattiAnn says
A long time ago (20 years?) I had dinner at a Basque restaurant in Reno, NV. All was servved family style as the Basque do. One of the platters they brought out for main course was a beautiful sliced leg of lamb along with a boat of gravy. I could see the lamb was well done and I kinda turned up my nose cause I always made medium rare lamb. OMG! It was the most tender and flavorable lamb I have ever had, not to mention the gravy. I could 'nt stop eating it.
Needless to say I have been trying to recreate that recipe ever since without much luck. But read your post today and I think maybe I have finally found the right technique.
Thank you and I will try this.
Merry Christmas!
PattiAnn
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Jen says
Great recipe! Perfect for the pressure cooker. I used red wine instead of white and it was just delightful! Thanks - will definitely repeat
Jawed says
I cooked without wine.added water..end result..fantastic tasty leg of lamb
Corie says
I'm so glad there is someone besides me who isn't afraid to cook their meat well done to the fall off the bone state. Whatever time roast recipes call for, I always add 20 mins to my IP because my friends and family, and I appreciate fall-off-the-bone tender meats. Especially leg of lamb! In my opinion, there's no other way to make it! The slow cooker is good enough when I'm traveling, but the when I am home, the IP is the Absolute Best! I wouldn't cook it any other way! This is the most requested dish for events and holiday entertainment. Thank you for a great recipe!
Bill says
Made this today and it turned out great. Very tender and flavorful. Served it with roasted potatoes and tzatziki
Hi
Jenna says
Perfection! We made this using a 4.45lb semi-boneless leg of lamb relying on the 90 min cook time as recommended in the Instapot (ours is the standard 11.6psi) and it was perfect! Instead of fresh herbs, we had to use 1T dried rosemary & 1.5T dried thyme. We used 1C chicken stock prepared earlier in the week, and the resultant lamb broth was amazing! Saving this recipe! Thank you!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Casey says
I made this tonight, for our quarantine dinner on Easter Eve. To say it was a crowd pleaser is an understatement! Brought the sauce to a boil and added a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up into a lovely gravy. Served with cream cheese mashed potatoes and Parmesan garlic green beans. This recipe will definitely go in our rotation!
Mike Vrobel says
Great! Glad it worked so well for you.
Rebeca says
Easy and delicious. Thanks!
Melissa Merritt says
My family loves this. I get a Costco lamb roast boneless about 4-5 lbs. It does great!
Wil Stevens says
I made this with a 1.5# leg of lamb. I used a 1/2 onion, Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine) and used 4x the amount of rosemary and thyme, because I had a ton in my garden. For the garlic, I cut into the lamb and inserted the garlic into those 'meat slots' : p
I did pressure for 25 minutes, trying to measure from a few different recipes. It wasn't near fall off the bone, but it was definitely done, I hope next time to get it closer to the 'done' temperature for lamb, that is how I like my lamb.
Thoroughly impressed with how good and easy this was. My roommates were beside themselves as well. Go Dad Go!
Renee says
Ditto to all the good reviews above.
Had a 5.25 semi boneless leg of lamb roast and made per the recipe. I also threw in cut up carrots when adding the stock and meat before sealing. Everyone loved it. I didn’t carve it, but found the bones clean of meat afterwards and every bite was tender.
I’m thinking this would be a great base recipe no matter the kind of roast (beef, pork or lamb) since it’s the thickness of the meat that makes the difference. You could adjust what wine or kind of stock and herbs you use.
I’m sharing this with my friends and family.
Thank you so much for publishing this. All the best for the new year and decade!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
Gerald Gerrard says
Superb, if I could give it 6 stars I would. Meat was so tender , best I’ve ever tasted 👍
K says
It was absolutely spoon-cutable. My son wanted to replicate a recipe in one of his novels for Easter. I wanted instant-pot convenience. This was perfect. I did 75 minutes for 3.66 pound boneless and natural release for about 10 minutes because of time restraints. It was a little dry but the gravy took care of that and it was so delicious and tender. The leftovers made a fantastic greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and feta for a light dinner. Leftover salad wrapped in pita for next days lunch. This is the recipe that keeps on giving!
Dee says
Exquisite! Yummo... Thanks for sharing. The lamb's so tender I don't have to carve it off the bone, it just falls off with a fork!
Jude says
Wow! Talk about tender and juicy. I had a 4.25 lb. boneless leg of lamb. I didn't have fresh rosemary or thyme. I browned it in the PC, it took less time than the recipe to brown each side. I had some little red and white potatoes on hand, so after the meat was browned I threw them in the pot and followed the recipe. I used a little more chicken stock/white wine, enough to cover the potatoes. I sat the lamb on top of the onions and potatoes and let the pc come up to full pressure and let it cook for 60 min. I then let the pressure release, took the meat out and placed it on a baking sheet with a foil tent and let it rest for 10 min. I checked the internal temp. The meat was medium and tender and just plain delicious! It is a new favorite and so fast and easy!