This perfectly cooked, juicy honey roast lamb is well seasoned with a miso, honey, cayenne pepper marinade for a delightfully caramelly, salty, creamy roast with a hint of spice!
A wickedly delicious lamb roast, unlike any you’ve tasted before!
A couple of weeks ago, I got my husband to try miso soup for the first time! It was packed with Nori and poached eggs and he couldn’t get enough of it.
My dad has always loved miso and as a result we used to have it at home a LOT. I mean too much. I mean so much, that I got sick of it.
Having stayed away from it for a few years, I’m loving miso all over again now! 😊 For example, these Asian deviled eggs I often make as party appetizers are dripping with umami flavor, thanks to the miso!
What is miso?
For those of you who are not familiar with it, miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning that’s made out of soybeans, sea salt, and a fungus known as koji and often mixed with a type of grain like rice or barley.
And then it’s allowed to ferment for a period of time so that you end up with an enzyme-rich food that’s available (typically in your local Asian grocery store) as a thick paste. And there are two kinds of miso pastes – white miso and red miso.
Recently there were some beautiful boneless legs of lamb that were on sale in my local grocery store following Easter. Usually I either make a lamb curry or a roast lamb with the usual salt, pepper, tomato sauce and herbs.
But this time I wanted something different and tried a marinade with white miso paste. The result was this spicy miso honey roast lamb. It was Uh-MAZING!!!
Miso flavor
Miso does have a strong fermented, salty flavor to it and it’s a little creamy too. I like eating miso paste on its own and in fact I used to have the paste as a dip for veggies quite often, back when I was a student.
The saltiness of miso however can be a little harsh, which is why I use the honey to soften it here. I also used white miso instead of red, as the white is a little lighter in flavor and isn’t overpowering. I really wanted a good balance of flavors.
Miso honey roast lamb
I made a sauce to go with the lamb using extra miso, honey, cayenne pepper and the remaining lamb jus. It was unbelievably delicious. Better than I even imagined!
So much so that in the end I was dipping roasted potatoes in it! I actually made a miso and honey sauce separately and it tasted great, but it was the lamb jus that really made that marinade come to life.
I would recommend using a good quality beef stock or chicken stock in its place if you want more sauce.
It’s been a while since I’ve had lamb and in the excitement I forgot to take pictures until AFTER the lamb came out of the oven.
I promise I wanted to take the “before” shots but all I’ve got today are the “after” ones. My apologies.
Why this recipe works
- Perfectly cooked lamb roast! t’s still pink inside (I prefer lamb roast cooked to a medium), and perfectly juicy.
- Well seasoned with the miso, honey and cayenne pepper marinade!
- The honey caramelizes giving the meat that extra caramelly flavor, and the miso actually gives the lamb a hint of creaminess.
The caramelly sweetness, the saltiness, the creaminess, the hint of spice… and that hard-to-put-your-finger-on umami taste… this lamb roast is wickedly delicious!
Have you tried miso marinaded meat before? I’ve tried miso glazed fish before which was great too!
I was slightly worried that the lamb (which has a robust flavor of its own) not quite being in balance with the miso flavor, but it did!
This is something you should definitely try with your next roast! Would work well with a beef roast too!
Recipe
Miso Honey Roast Lamb
US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results whenever available.
Common Measurement ConversionsIngredients:
- 1.4 kg boneless leg of lamb 3 lbs (preferably already trussed)
- Cotton thread to truss the lamb if required
- ½ cup unsalted stock chicken or beef
Marinade
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp chili flakes optional (reduce or omit if you do not like spicy food)
Gravy / Sauce
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp flour
- ¼ cup white miso paste adjust to your liking
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper adjust or omit to suit your heat tolerance level
- Leftover lamb jus from the roast
- 1 cup unsalted stock (chicken or beef)
- Scallions chopped (for garnish)
Instructions:
- If not already trussed, roll up the boneless leg of lamb to get a "log" of roughly equal diameter. Truss this with cotton string along the length of the piece of lamb.Cotton thread to truss the lamb
- Mix ingredients for the marinade and rub the marinade generously all over the piece of lamb.¼ cup white miso paste, ¼ cup honey, 3 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp chili flakes, 1.4 kg boneless leg of lamb
- Keep this on a dish / plate and marinate in the fridge overnight.
- Take out the piece of lamb about 45 minutes before roasting to let it come to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 425°F / 215°C.
- Line a roasting pan with foil or parchment paper and place a roasting rack or cooling rack on top.
- Place the lamb roast on the roasting rack. This will allow the lamb jus to collect on the roasting pan below. You can roast the lamb without the rack directly in the roasting pan as well.
- Place the lamb in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, until the surface of the lamb starts to caramelize. Flip it over and roast for another 10 minutes. This will ensure that the lamb roast will have some caramelization all over.
- Lower the heat to 275°F / 135°C, and gently pour the stock into the half sheet pan below the roasting rack. Skip this step if you're roasting directly on the roasting pan. The stock will create a humid environment that will help keep the lamb juicy AND prevent the drippings from burning.½ cup unsalted stock
- Roast the lamb for about 2 hours (time will vary). If the lamb is darkening too much, cover it with a piece of foil. If the drippings below look dry and it might be burning, add a little extra water.
- If you have a meat thermometer, roast until the internal temperature reaches 145°F / 63°C (this takes two hours in my oven).
- Remove from the oven and transfer the roast onto a large plate / platter. Cover with a piece of foil and the roast will continue to cook for a couple more minutes. Rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
- Pour the extra jus on the baking tray into a bowl and set it aside to make the gravy.
- Serve with gravy and chopped green onions.Scallions
Gravy / Sauce
- In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk it in until there are no lumps. Cook the flour for about 1 – 2 minutes to create a roux.2 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 tbsp flour
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the honey, cayenne pepper, and half the miso, and mix until you get a smooth paste.¼ cup white miso paste, ¼ cup honey, 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- Add the jus from the roast and stock, and whisk to mix well.Leftover lamb jus from the roast, 1 cup unsalted stock
- Heat the gravy over medium heat while whisking frequently. Bring to a gentle boil to allow the gravy to thicken.
- Taste and add more miso paste to taste. It's easier to mix the miso paste if you dissolve it in a little of the warm gravy / warm water in a separate bowl first.¼ cup white miso paste
- Add more stock or salt to adjust to your preferred consistency and seasoning.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
If you’re like me and usually have leftovers from a roast… why not make these delicious Miso and Mango Lamb Sliders with these {Almost} No knead Slider buns!
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