Perfect Sunday roast, step by step

There's a reason the Sunday roast has lasted generations. It's the one meal of the week that brings everyone to the table, fills the house with the smell of rosemary and garlic, and leaves you with leftovers for Monday.

A great roast isn't complicated. It comes down to a good cut of meat, a hot oven, a meat thermometer and patience while it rests. Here's how we do it, step by step.

Choosing your roast

Allow about 250g of bone-in meat or 180g of boneless meat per person. Then pull the roast from the oven when it hits the temperature below. It will rise another 3–5°C as it rests.

Cut	Serves	Cooking style	Pull from oven at
Leg of lamb (bone-in, ~2kg)	6–8	Hot and fast, about 1.5 hours	55°C for medium-rare, 60°C for medium
Lamb shoulder (~1.2kg)	4–5	Low and slow, 3–4 hours	Until it pulls apart with a fork
Beef rump or sirloin roast (~1.5kg)	6	Hot and fast, about 1 hour	52°C for medium-rare, 57°C for medium
Pork shoulder (~2kg)	6–8	Blast for crackling, then slow, 3 hours	70°C or until tender
Whole free-range chicken (~1.8kg)	4	Hot and steady, about 1.25 hours	74°C in the thickest part of the thigh

For this guide, we're cooking the classic: a bone-in leg of grass-fed lamb.

Roast leg of lamb, step by step

You'll need: a 2kg bone-in leg of lamb, 6 garlic cloves, a few sprigs of rosemary, olive oil, salt flakes, cracked pepper, and a meat thermometer.

1. Take it out of the fridge early. Let the lamb sit on the bench for 45–60 minutes. Meat that starts at room temperature cooks more evenly.
2. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Give it a full 15 minutes to get properly hot.
3. Stud it with garlic and rosemary. Cut 12 small slits across the top of the leg with a sharp knife. Push half a garlic clove and a little sprig of rosemary into each one.
4. Oil and season generously. Rub all over with olive oil, then salt flakes and pepper. Be generous with the salt: it's what builds the crust.
5. Into the oven. Sit the lamb on a rack in a roasting tray, or straight on top of your potatoes (see below). Roast for 20 minutes.
6. Turn it down. Drop the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) and keep roasting. A 2kg leg takes about 1 hour more for medium-rare, or 1 hour 15 minutes for medium.
7. Check the temperature, not the clock. Start checking 15 minutes early. Push the thermometer into the thickest part, away from the bone. Pull it out at 55°C for medium-rare or 60°C for medium.
8. Rest it for 20 minutes. Move the lamb to a board and cover it loosely with foil. Resting lets the juices settle back through the meat. Skip this and they end up on the board instead of on your plate. Use the time to finish the potatoes and make the gravy.
9. Carve across the grain. Hold the shank end and slice down towards the bone, then cut along the bone to release the slices. Pour any resting juices into the gravy.

The sides

Crispy roast potatoes

Peel 1.5kg of potatoes and cut them into large chunks. Boil them in salted water for 8 minutes, drain, then shake them in the pot to rough up the edges. Those rough edges are what turn crunchy. Toss with oil and salt and roast under the lamb for the whole cook. While the lamb rests, turn the oven up to 220°C and give them a final 15–20 minutes.

Roast vegetables

Pumpkin, carrots and red onion go in for the last 45 minutes. Add greens like peas or beans just before serving.

Pan gravy

1. Pour off most of the fat from the roasting tray, leaving about 2 tablespoons.
2. Set the tray over medium heat and stir in 2 tablespoons of plain flour. Cook for a minute.
3. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of stock, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the tray.
4. Simmer until thick, add the lamb's resting juices, and season to taste.

Timing at a glance

Counting back from dinner at 6:30pm:

• 3:45pm: Lamb out of the fridge. Peel the potatoes.
• 4:30pm: Oven on. Par-boil the potatoes.
• 4:45pm: Lamb and potatoes in the oven.
• 5:05pm: Turn the oven down.
• 5:20pm: Pumpkin, carrots and onion in.
• 6:05pm: Lamb out to rest (medium-rare). Oven up for the potatoes.
• 6:15pm: Make the gravy. Cook the greens.
• 6:30pm: Carve and serve.

Making the most of the leftovers

A good roast feeds you twice. Cold lamb makes the best Monday sandwiches with mint jelly and rocket. Shred it into wraps with hummus and tomato, or dice it into a shepherd's pie. Leftover roast keeps for 3 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Start with a better roast

The biggest difference to any roast is the meat you start with. Our lamb is 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, from Australian farms we've personally vetted. It's cut fresh, vacuum-sealed and delivered to your door, never frozen.

Shop grass-fed lamb and get free delivery on orders over $500.