Last Updated on January 3, 2024 by Michele Tripple
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Christmas is a special time of year to celebrate with your family, so of course, it is the perfect occasion to make a special dinner to share! These Christmas lamb recipes are one of a kind and will wow your guests this holiday. Be sure to search the list for your favorite to make this year!
In Australia Lamb is a tradition around the holidays so I thought it was only fitting to bring their special tradition to the United States with these Christmas Lamb Recipes. If you have been wanting to try something a little different this year, now is the time with these delicious lamb recipes that will certainly impress!
In the United States lamb is not commonly cooked with, this makes it seem more difficult to cook than other types of meat. Cooking lamb, when following a good recipe, it actually is fairly easy to cook. The thing you want to worry about the most is the meat being too tough or too dry. If you can avoid this, then you will have a delicious Christmas Lamb recipe to enjoy.
What is the best cut of lamb to cook with?
The leg and rack are known to be the most tender cuts of the lamb. These do taste the best when roasted. Tougher parts of the lamb that are also used in cooking are the shank and shoulder. Most often these are used in stews.
What temperature do you cook meat to?
You want to be sure that you cook your lamb long enough. An internal temperature of 140 degrees is rare, 160 degrees is medium, and 170 degrees is well done. Use a digital meat thermometer to get the cook on the meat just right.
Christmas Lamb Recipes
These Christmas lamb recipes are some of our favorites from all our favorite food bloggers!
Michele Tripple is a renowned author and expert in the fields of parenting, relationships, and personal development. With her degree in marriage and family studies, her experience as a Family Life Educator, and over a decade of experience as a professional writer, Michele has authored books that provide practical advice and insights into improving family dynamics and personal growth. Her work is celebrated for its blend of research-driven information and relatable, real-world applications. Michele has been a keynote speaker at conferences and has contributed to numerous publications and media outlets, solidifying her reputation as an authoritative voice in her field and helping families build relationships.
Tips for cooking the perfect roast lamb this Christmas
Shoulder, leg, and neck are especially good when slow-roasted, as in Georgina Hayden's slow-roast lamb with fresh dates, while rump and rack of lamb are very tender, so are usually served rare or medium-rare.
And when you have a gorgeous cut, like a rack of lamb, you can cook it the good ol' Gordon Ramsay way—which is to say, lightly pan-sear it first, then baste it with an herby, garlicky butter, and finally finish it off in the oven until it's still pink and juicy in the middle. It comes out perfectly every time.
Lamb Chops pair extremely well with a number of sauces. Our Top 7 sauces to pair with Lamb Chops are: Garlic and Rosemary, Mustard Thyme, Tzatziki sauce, Balsamic Brown Sugar sauce, Chimichurri , Red Wine Sauce and Lemon Tahini sauce.
The best Lamb cut award goes to Lamb Loin Chops, hands down the best balance of flavor, tenderness, and value for money. These tasty mini T-bone shaped morsels have a wonderful buttery fat cap and extremely tender meat. Loin Chops are easily and quickly cooked in the pan and are reasonably priced.
If we look at fatty acids, like CLA and omega-3's, lamb comes out victorious and can be seen as marginally healthier. If we look at vitamins, like B12 and zinc, beef comes out victorious. The bottom line is both are excellent and both should be eaten with abundance!
Slow cooking in liquid transforms tougher cuts of lamb into fork-tender meat. Neck, shoulder and belly, either diced or as whole joints, are the best cuts for slow cooking and need to be cooked for at least 2 hrs at 150°C to soften the meat.
Lamb leg is always a great option for a Sunday roast dinner. The leg meat is juicy and tender and can slow-cooked with herbs or roasted for less time and served slightly pink in the middle. This is a very versatile cut of meat and goes well with a variety of seasonings and is a great all-rounder cut of lamb.
Fresh rosemary, fresh garlic, lemon zest, black pepper, and salt are simple but amazing flavors that pair amazingly with the lamb! Each of these ingredients adds its unique warmth and depth to enhance the flavor of the dish.
It's such a distinctive flavor that it pairs well with nice, strong spices, as well as herbs. Coriander, fennel, garlic, shallot, ginger, lemon peel --I think those work really nicely with lamb. There are other herbs that are traditionally paired with lamb, like mint.
For the perfect roast lamb, we recommend seasoning the surface of the meat, and then searing it, especially fat side down in a pan before roasting. Why bother with searing? Contrary to some stories, searing is less about locking in moisture, and all about improving the flavour!
When you're serving lamb for dinner, classic sides like mashed potatoes or baked potatoes are family faves. If you have time, try fancier sides like Dauphinoise potatoes or garlic confit mashed potatoes to level up your meal. Creamy, cheesy, and crowd pleasing dauphinoise potatoes are practically impossible to dislike.
American lamb has grain in its diet and thus tastes less “gamey” compared to imported lamb which is typically grass fed. It is also the most expensive available. American lamb is very sensitive to market conditions which makes availability and size variable.
A sheep in its first year is called a lamb, and its meat is also called lamb. The meat of a juvenile sheep older than one year is hogget; outside North America this is also a term for the living animal. The meat of an adult sheep is mutton, a term only used for the meat, not the living animal.
Lamb leg is always a great option for a Sunday roast dinner. The leg meat is juicy and tender and can slow-cooked with herbs or roasted for less time and served slightly pink in the middle. This is a very versatile cut of meat and goes well with a variety of seasonings and is a great all-rounder cut of lamb.
Tougher cuts are ideal for slow-cooking and make great braises and stews, while prime cuts can be quick-cooked, barbecued or roasted and are best eaten pink. Lamb also comes minced, which makes it a great alternative to beef in burgers, kebabs and shepherd's pie.
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