I’m back after a mini break. My brain’s been going at 100 mph pretty much non stop since I started this blog, and finally I had to pull over for a quick breather. The turn signal is back on, and I’m ready to pull out into traffic again.
The best part about all of this, is how I have this great platform to talk about and share all the new combinations of ingredients and flavours that I love to try and experiment with. And hopefully along the way, I inspire someone or two, to try it for themselves!
The next best thing is how I can get Mr K to try new things! A couple of weeks ago I got him 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 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 is 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. I like a good bargain as much as the next person, but being a Kiwi, I like lamb even more than the next person. Usually I 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 a Spicy Miso Honey Roast Lamb. It was Uh-MAZING!!!
Miso does have a strong fermented, salty flavour 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 used the honey to soften it. I also used white miso instead of red, as the white is a little lighter in flavour and isn’t overpowering. I really wanted a good balance of flavours.
I made a sauce/gravy 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.
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Ingredients:
- 3 lb boneless leg of lamb preferably already trussed
- Cotton thread to truss the lamb in case it's required
Marinade
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp chili flakes optional
Gravy/Sauce
- ¼ cup white miso paste
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- Leftover lamb jus from the roast
- ⅓ cup of water
- OR ½ cup of beef stock
- Chopped green onions scallions
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.
- Mix ingredients for the marinade and rub the marinade generously all over the piece 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 allow it to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425°F/ 215°C.
- Place the lamb roast on a roasting rack (optional) and place this on a roasting pan. This is to allow the lamb jus to collect on the roasting pan. You can roast the lamb without the rack directly in the roasting pan as well.
- Place the lamb in the preheated oven for 10 min, until the surface of the lamb starts to caramelize. Flip it over and roast for another 10 minutes.
- Lower the heat to 275°F / 135°C, and roast the lamb for 2 hours. If the lamb is darkening too much, cover it with a piece of foil. 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 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.
- Serve with gravy and chopped green onions.
Gravy/Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine the honey, cayenne pepper and miso and mix until you get a smooth paste.
- Pour the water onto the roast pan (just the pan, without the lamb in it!) to dissolve and mix all the lamb jus and caramelized bits. Pour this into the small saucepan with the miso mix and heat gently until it starts to simmer. Taste and add salt only if needed.
- If you would like more gravy/sauce add up to another ¼ cup of stock.
“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.”
The lamb roast was cooked perfectly! It was still pink inside (I prefer lamb roast cooked to a medium), and perfectly juicy. The lamb was seasoned well with the miso, honey and cayenne pepper marinade. The honey had caramelized giving the meat that extra caramelly flavour and the miso actually gives the lamb a hint of creaminess that was both delightful and unexpected! The caramelly sweetness, the saltiness, the creaminess, the hint of spice… and that hard-to-put-your-finger-on umami taste… this lamb roast was 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 flavour of its own) not quite being in balance with the miso flavour, but it did! This is something you should definitely try with your next roast! Would work well with a beef roast too!
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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Nick R says
Nice idea,thanks.
Aquasan says
Perfect looking lamb!
Anna | ANNAdventure says
Wow this looks amazing!!! I love that you also explained what Miso was. I love Miso!
Dini says
Thank you Anna! I love Miso too 🙂 It has become one of our favourite marinades now!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Wow miso and honey? What a great combo! I’m doing a lamb with honey but maybe I should change tack and use miso!? 😀
Dini says
Thank you Lorraine!! I was surprise by how delicious it was the first time I tried it too. It’s all that Umami goodness! 😀
Effie says
What a lovely combination of flavours! In my house, I was the one that they had to convince to try miso, and now I love it too. Happy FF#65 🙂
Dini says
hahaha!! So glad you like Miso now! My husband was definitely converted to loving miso! 🙂
Tracy @ Served From Scratch says
This looks absolutely amazing!!! If either of my moms lived closer, I’d totally be making this for them for Mother’s Day! Heck, I may just have to make it in honor of them! 😀
Johanne Lamarche says
Gorgeous nd perfectly executed. Welcome back Giramuk!
Loretta says
Wow Dini, this roast lamb is perfect. I love the pink center, you have it cooked just right. I imagine when you lived in NZ, you got the best lamb? Thanks for sharing your recipe with us at Fiesta Friday 🙂
Dini says
Thank you! 🙂 Yes we did Loretta!! New Zealand and in Australia there was amazing Lamb! It was still more expensive but it was fresh and absolutely delicious! 😀 I used to love stocking up on Lamb cutlets and sear them for a quick and easy dinner! 🙂
James says
This looks absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing with FF.
Natasha Fredrickson says
Please excuse me while i mop the drool off of the floor.
Lori says
This looks delicious! I love lamb! I was wondering what Miso was and then you explained it…yay! 🙂
Julianna says
Wow Dini! You have me drooling over here! 😀
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook says
Huh? Are you talking to me?? If I am correct, even if you took a short break, your brain did not stop thinking what to make for your blog. 😀 This looks delicious and mouth-watering, Dini. You never cease to amaze us with all you drooli-cious photos. Happy FF. xx
Dini says
Thank you Jhuls! 🙂 It’s hard to stop the brain isn’t it?? But I love everything about this… the failures and the wins! 😀
Kaila (GF Life 24/7) says
I’m glad your back, and that you took the time you need for yourself. This recipe looks absolutely divine, and I’m so glad that you have Mr. K trying new things. I must admit that when I see someone else trying out a new ingredient, it inspires me to try out something new too (not that it always happens). Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend!
Dini says
Thank you Kaila! 😀 I get intrigued by new flavours and ingredients too! It’s always wonderful to read and see others trying new things too, because it gets me to think about it too!
ChopinandMysaucepan says
Dear Dini,
The miso in this lamb sounds interesting as I have always used the classic combo of garlic, lemon juice, rosemary and olive oil.
Dini says
I hope you do! 🙂 I’m usually a traditionalist when it comes to Lamb Roast, but now love this combination! 🙂
mira says
I love lamb, but rarely cook it, since it takes a little longer than other meats! This looks amazing! Love the miso seasoning! Pinned!!
Dini says
Thank you so much Mira! 😀
Julie @ HostessAtHeart says
How beautiful is this roast! And, cooked perfectly. I’ve never cooked with Miso. I’ll have to put on my must list.
Erin @ Platings and Pairings says
The flavors in this dish sound amazing – Chili, miso and honey – CANNOT wait to try this!
Christine says
I’ve never had miso marinated meat. It sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it.
mila furman says
Dini…this is flipping awesome!! Here is my question…what are those little brown hash brown looking thingees? I want THOSE!
Dini says
Thank you Mila! 🙂 I know right? Those were awesome!! I par boiled some potatoes and coated with with seasoned whole wheat and flash fried them! Like bite sized chips 😀
Petra says
I haven’t thought of using miso with lamb but it sounds delicious! Your pictures makes me hungry even after having just had dinner 🙂
Dini says
Thank you Petra! 🙂
Molly says
love this roast ingredients. will try this weekend.
Dini says
Thank you Molly! 🙂 I hope you love it as much as we did. I did make something more with the leftovers, so I hope you come back next week for that recipe too!
Katie @ Recipe for Perfection says
What a fantastic looking roast! I hope you’re feeling refreshed from taking a breather. 🙂 The trouble with a blog is that there’s never a point where you’re “done”!
Dini says
Thank you Katie! I know… I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to keep creating and testing recipes let alone managing the blog! I wouldn’t have it any other way though… but the break was a well needed one 🙂
Sandhya says
Dini,
Great post! Love the recipe and pictures. I am a fairly newbie blogger and already feel like I am chasing my tail all the time with the blog. I love to cook and create( if you will:)… this is my passion….but it does get super busy, right? My friend said no wonder so many food bloggers get burnt out.
Dini says
Thank you Sandhya! I’m a “newbie” too, and it can be absolutely draining but like you said it’s a passion so you don’t want to stop! 🙂 Even while I was taking a break I was still coming up with new recipes, now I’m back testing them out in the kitchen! It definitely does get insanely busy! 😀