Roasted Mutton

Roasted mutton is one of the delights which one can find in all parts of India, however you can find this recipe in the western countries too but the difference is that in the Indian sub-continent the recipe is prepared on charcoal and in the western regions it it made in oven (O.T.G.).

Ingredients

• 1 leg mutton (4-5 lbs)


• Generous slosh of cheap red wine


• 3-6 cloves garlic, peeled


• 4 juniper berries


• Several sprigs of rosemary


• Salt and pepper


• ravy browning (check packet for amount) or 2 teaspoons (30 ml)


• cornflour
  
  

Method

• You can ask your butcher to bone the mutton, which will make it easier to carve.


• This is also worth doing if you want to use the leg bone to make knife handles or whatever, because roasting would make the bone brittle.


• You can stuff the cavity with a mix of chopped prunes, hazelnuts, finely chopped onions and fresh herbs.


• Remember to allow for any stuffing when calculating the cooking time.


• Cut slots in the meat with a sharp knife.


• Push the garlic, juniper berries and rosemary into these slots.


• How much of each you use depends on your taste; too much juniper will make it bitter, and not everybody is mad about garlic.


• Heat the oven to 150o C (300o F).


• Put the meat into a roasting dish.


• Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and then slosh wine over it.


• Put the lid on the roasting dish, or cover the joint with aluminium foil.


• Roast the meat for 40 minutes per lb (450 g): if necessary, add more wine during cooking to keep the dish from drying out.


• Remove the lid or foil for the last half hour of cooking.


• When it's cooked, put the meat onto a carving platter to rest


• while you make gravy with the cooking juices.
  

To make the gravy

• put the roasting dish on the hob and add some water (or cooking juices from vegetables).


• You should get nearly a pint of gravy.


• Thicken the gravy with gravy browning, or mix the cornflour with a little water until smooth, and stir this into the gravy.


• Keep stirring until the gravy has thickened.


• Strain it into a warmed jug, spoon the fat off the top of the gravy and serve.