Roasted Lamb With Sweet Caramelized Crust

Lamb is one of the meat that is available and affordable in Saudi Arabia. I don't like its pungent smell when cooking, but I love the taste of its meat. It reminds me of  Durian, an exotic fruit in the Philippines, many people couldn't take the aroma of the fruit but the taste is just heavenly.

Back in Al Khobar, I tried cooking lamb but I didn't like the aroma. But the meat is always on sale and more available than beef. I would say it is an opportunity to indulge in lamb while here while it's cheap. Until a Cambodian friend of mine advised me to rub chinese five spice on it. I was surprised because I did miracle removing the pungent smell of lamb I liked the sweet smell as it cooks. The shredded ginger and sugar also added a delectable caramelized and crispy crust on the meat. It is now a regular dish in our house because it is easy to cook and doesn't require too much preparation. So here is the recipe I made and experimented myself.

Sweet Lamb Roast

Ingredients:

1 medium Leg of lamb, or lamb racks

3 cloves of garlic (I shred it finely)

lots of shredded ginger 

chinese five spice just enough for rubbing

5 tbsp brown sugar for rubbing too

salt and pepper

250 ml sprite or 7 up

1. Make incisions on the flesh of lamb and put some shredded garlic in it.  Then rub the remaining garlic, ginger, chinese 5 spice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Then soak the lamb in sprite or 7 up. Marinate for at least a day. 

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Place the lamb in a baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 2-3 hours or until tender. Once it is tender turn it over and remove the foil and   return it back to the oven. You might want to taste the sauce so you can adjust the sweetness you may sprinkle some more brown sugar and salt on top to suit your taste, it will also help caramelize the top part so you can have a crispy and sweet crust on the meat. Once the meat has caramelized or browned you may flip it over to brown the other side.

And don't forget to cover it again with foil after you take it from the oven, this will help keep the meat moist.