Perfect roast goat leg using reverse sear
Reverse seared goat leg is one of the easiest ways to cook a larger cut of meat.
Servings: 6
Equipment
- Heavy sauté or cast iron pan for searing
- Digital thermometer
- Roasting pan with a cooling rack
- Kitchen twine, for tying the roast to ensure even cooking
Ingredients
- 1 Goat Leg roughly 4 - 5 lb (or purchase a boneless leg approximately 3-4 lb)
- Flavorless high heat cooking oil, like grape seed
- Aromatic herbs like rosemary sage and thyme, finely chopped to yield ¼ cup
- 5-2 teaspoons kosher salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or more to taste
Instructions
Deboning
- (If using a bone-in leg, refer to the photos below for instructions on deboning.) When working with a whole lamb or goat leg, this method requires deboning the meat first, but fear not: As long as you have super-sharp knife, that’s not nearly as hard as it sounds. Or purchase a boneless leg but give up the option of using the leg bone for soup.
- From there, the rest is easy: You cook the meat at a low heat (I like 250 °F). When the meat comes up to desired temperature (see guidelines below), you take it out of the oven, rest it thoroughly, then sear it in a hot pan on the stove top, and serve. The result is a perfect, evenly cooked rosé interior and a beautifully browned crust.
- First, remove the bone, I like to save it to make soup or broth afterwards. Raw, it also makes a great dog treat. See the photo gallery in this post for help on deboning.
Salting, Searing and Roasting
- Season the meat with salt, pepper and herbs inside and out. Roll the leg up tightly and tie with kitchen twine to ensure even cooking. Let it sit uncovered in the fridge overnight. I’ve found about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt for a 3-4 lb goat leg is great.
- The next day, 1.5 hours before you want to serve (assuming a 3-4 lb leg) preheat the oven to 250 °F and place the leg in the oven. Set a timer for 1 hour, and take the temperature in the middle of the roast with the thermometer. When the internal temperature comes up to your target temperature, remove the leg from the oven and allow to cool on its rack in a warm-ish location for 15-20 minutes. You could even turn the oven off and let the roast rest in there with the door slightly ajar.
- Meanwhile, heat up your sides and garnishes and prepare to serve.
- Finally, heat a few tablespoons of oil in the sauté or cast iron pan on high. Turn on the hood, and or open a window, since you’ll be using some high heat for a few minutes. When the oil is just starting to smoke gently, reduce the heat to medium-high and brown the roast deeply on all sides.
- After the roast is browned, transfer to a cutting board, remove the twine, cut into slices with a sharp knife and serve immediately.