Easter is synonymous with lighter evenings, chocolate and, of course, the ultimate Sunday lunch.
But if you really want to impress your family and friends on Sunday you might need to rethink how you cook your leg of lamb, experts say.
Researchers have warned the nation is likely to serve dry and chewy meat because supermarkets are not giving the best preparation guidelines.
And to achieve perfection, it should be taken out of the oven early and given a full hour to rest – quadruple the typical recommended timeframe.
Thermapen, who carried out the study, said: ‘If resting a whole leg of lamb tented in foil, we’d recommend waiting around an hour before carving.’
If you really want to impress your family and friends on Sunday you might need to rethink how you cook your leg of lamb, experts say (stock image)
Laboratory tests found that lamb did not finish cooking, or begin to cool, until it had been out of the oven for an average of 25 minutes.
This is referred to as ‘carryover cooking’, when the retained heat within food means it continues to cook even after being removed from the oven.
The study, carried out by Thermapen – who make cooking thermometers – found that on average, the inside temperature of lamb legs after being taken out of the oven rose by 13°C.
The research could explain why some many Easter roasts end up being overdone.
The scientists recommend removing lamb from the oven when the inside is 12°C less than the temperature necessary for the desired level of pinkness.
Rare lamb only needs to reach a temperature of 52°C, medium requires 60°C and well-done has to reach 71°C.
Laboratory tests found that lamb did not finish cooking, or begin to cool, until it had been out of the oven for an average of 25 minutes
The team said home chefs should wait about an hour before carving, allowing the meat to reach its peak temperature and then begin to cool.
This will give the juice time to thicken, they added, helping to create the desired tenderness.
A separate study, published in the journal Foods, found that grilling legs of lamb led to higher scores for tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall liking compared to roasted legs of lamb.
The researchers, from the University of New England, said: ‘There was a consistent effect of the cooking method on consumer scores across muscle type cuts tested, with grilled muscle cuts yielding higher sensory scores than roasted muscle cuts.’
