Slow Cooked Lamb In Red Wine

My brother and sister-in-law are in Wagga this weekend with their two kids. Sitting at Trail Street coffee shop this morning we were reminiscing of the days gone by when their visits to Wagga, pre-kids consisted solely of going from pub to pub to pub; managing to get kicked out of a few over the years too. (But that's another story). Many a long trip on the Hume back to Sydney were had, nursing some very sore heads and ensuring a Macca's stop for a Big Mac along the way.

Don't worry mind you, we're still managing to get a few drinks in, and are very much looking forward to an afternoon at the Tah's Ladies Day this arvo (C'mon Cork Daddy!) to hopefully see Aggies go down.

With little kids in tow however, it's easier (if trying to get 4 kids under 5 to go to bed is easy) to entertain at home instead of going out to the pub at night. It's pretty hard to find a babysitter that will pick our kids up from the rugby oval so that we can kick on at Rom's, bringing them home to the dinner/bath and bed debacle. If you're reading this and want the challenge (or know someone who might) I'll pay good money and will ensure that the fridge is stocked. We also have Foxtel, Netflix and will leave you with the wi-fi password. A babysitters dream gig.

(It's worth a try at least).

So we enjoyed this delicious slow cooked leg of lamb last night whilst putting away a couple of bottles of red. Everyone agreed that it was the nicest gravy they'd ever had. Cooking the leg of lamb in the slow cooker results in the meat completely falling off the bone and saves you having to carve, as the meat just shreds away with a fork. It's a great way to cook a roast for when you're entertaining as well as you can pop it on in the morning and free yourself up to do other things during the day.

Teamed up with some roast spuds and some steamed greens, be sure to have some fresh bread on stand-by as you'll all want to be wiping every last drop of gravy off the plate.

But better run.. don't want to be late for the $3 champers. Sounds like a Macca's stop might be on the cards for Pete and Ame tomorrow.

Who says we're over the hill?

leg of lamb slow cooked in red wine (serves 6)

2kg leg of lamb
1 x brown onion, quartered
2 x sticks of celery, roughly chopped
2 x carrots, roughly chopped
2 x beef stock cubes, diluted in 2 cups of boiling water
1 x cup of red wine
A drizzling of olive oil
6 x garlic cloves, peeled and halved
6 x sprigs of rosemary
A good sprinkling of paprika
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 x heaped tablespoon of plain flour
Roast potatoes, roast pumpkin and some steamed greens, to serve

Place the onion, celery and carrots in the base of a slow cooker.
Cut small slits in the leg of lamb and push the garlic pieces and rosemary sprigs in to the holes. Place the leg of lamb in the slow cooker.
Season really well with salt and pepper, sprinkle the paprika over the top and drizzle with olive oil.
Pour the beef stock and red wine in to the slow cooker and cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 8 hours. Turn the lamb over half way through cooking.
Pop the lamb in a moderate oven (180℃) for 20 minutes after taking it out of the slow cooker, to crisp up the outside before serving.
To make the gravy – strain the liquid from the slow cooker (discarding the vegetables) in to a saucepan and stir over a medium heat. NB: There will be a lot of liquid so you only want to use half of it to make the gravy. Add some of the liquid to a mug and mix the flour in to create a paste. Using a whisk, gradually add some of the flour paste in to the saucepan and continue to cook, stirring, until the gravy thickens slightly. You want to spend a bit of time stirring the gravy and cooking the flour out. You don't want lumps, but if you do have some flour lumps that you can't get rid of – pour the gravy through the sieve once again, in to a serving jug.

Serve the lamb with some roast potatoes, roast pumpkin, steamed greens and the gravy.

Lo's tips

Don't be deterred that the leg of lamb isn't submerged in liquid, it shouldn't be.
This goes perfectly with a glass of red wine on a cold winter's night. Corks and I love shiraz and use a glass of whatever we're drinking.
There will be a lot of liquid left in the slow cooker and you won't need that much gravy. I would discard half of the liquid (or keep in the freezer for making gravy at another time) and use only half of it for the leg of lamb.