This is a dish that we love. It's Sunday or maybe Saturday evening. You want to receive and reunite with your loved ones but you have a melancholic heart, that is to say ready to party. You need a leg of lamb, but not just any leg of lamb: a baker’s leg of lamb .

At the oven entrance

This recipe inherited from our ancestors owes its name to the simple fact that this dish was brought to the baker so that he could cook it in his bread oven before leaving it to rest at the entrance while these ladies come back. If you want to try it, kindly ask your baker if he or she would be willing to resume this tradition .

Table and film

When preparing the recipe at home we advise you to listen to Nino Rota. Fellini's favorite Italian composer was also - since we are talking about an oven and a bakery in this recipe - that of the film Le Boulanger de Valorgue (1953) by Henri Verneuil with the great Fernandel. And why not see or rewatch this film? The southerner brilliantly plays his irresistible bread master act at war with the grocers. Enjoy your meal and enjoy your movie!

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Ingredients

For 4 to 6 people

• 1 nice leg of lamb
• 800g potatoes
• 3 large yellow onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 spoon of oil
• 25g butter
• 150ml veal stock
• A few sprigs of thyme or rosemary
• Salt
• Mill pepper

Preparation

1. Start by taking your meat out two hours before so that it is at room temperature. Peel your potatoes and cut them into thin slices using a mandolin . Blanch the potatoes with cold water until the first boil. Drain and rinse with cold water. Reserve. Finely slice the onions with a mandolin. Reserve.
2. Peel the garlic. Cut your pods in half and remove the germ.
3. Prepare 150ml of veal stock.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Massage the lamb with salt and pepper with a little oil . Rub the flesh with the garlic. Depending on the weight, calculate the cooking time (see the question: “ Is another cooking temperature possible?”).
5. In a buttered dish, mix the sliced ​​potatoes and onions. Add a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary. Place the leg of lamb and place the dish in the oven.
6. Halfway through cooking, lower the temperature to 180°C and continue cooking the leg by covering it with aluminum foil. Several times, every quarter of an hour, baste this meat with the veal stock and turn it over . Using a needle or meat thermometer, test the meat for doneness. Once cooking is finished, wrap the dish. Leave this pretty aluminum dish on the open oven door to take a nap for at least ten minutes. Yes, you have permission to serve yourself an aperitif while waiting.

Your questions

What wine to pair with leg of lamb à la baker?

A Gigondas, a Pauillac or a Châteauneuf-du-Pape in red. For white, you can dare to have a Condrieu, a Crozes-Hermitage or - well - a Pinot Blanc Auxerrois from Alsace. Your suggestions are welcome.

How do you know if the leg of lamb is cooked?

A tip for checking doneness is to prick it with a long needle. If it is hot when it comes out, the meat is pink. If the needle is hot, the meat is cooked. Otherwise, you can also use a meat thermometer and wait until you get between 55 and 60°C in the core.

How to calculate the cooking time for leg of lamb?

Cooking depends primarily on the mass of the leg. For a rare leg of lamb, it takes about 10 minutes per pound (453g). Fifteen minutes per pound for a pink leg of lamb. And to obtain English cooking between 20 and 30 minutes per pound. Start cooking in an oven at 200°C and once you have measured a core temperature of 55°C to 60°C, your leg of lamb will be cooked. Always sprinkle with juice, reduce to 180°C and cover with aluminum foil halfway through cooking before giving it a final temperature at 200°C to obtain a golden brown color.

Do you want to improve a recipe? Would you like our advice for preparing a dish? Contact us directly by email or telephone . Our customer team will be happy to answer you.