How to debone, tie and stuff a leg of lamb

There is nothing more delicious than a succulent leg of roasted lamb. It tastes wonderful with the classic flavours of rosemary and garlic or it works wonderfully with aromatic spices too, depending on what you fancy.

Supermarkets sell lamb legs part or fully boned but they often cost a little more. A deboned leg of lamb takes away the fuss when it comes to the most important part of cooking - the eating! You can simply carve the meat without trying to navigate around the big hefty bone in the middle. Deboned lamb is perfect for stuffing or the meat can be diced for stews and curries. It is well worth the preparation.

Deboning a whole leg of lamb is very straightforward with the right equipment and know-how. This step-by-step guide will show you just how easy deboning a whole leg of lamb is so that you can feel more confident handling the meat.

How To Debone, Stuff and Tie a Leg of Lamb

Start with a sharp knife

Step 1: Butterfly boning a leg of lamb means removing the bone and opening the meat out so that it is an even thickness. You need a really sharp knife for deboning the lamb; a boning knife is handy because it has a thinner blade.

Cut along the leg bone

Step 2: Guide your knife very carefully along the leg bone, feeling your way as you go, and make small cuts.

Keep your knife close and remove the whole bone

Step 3: Keep your knife close to the bone and cut the meat. The closer you keep the knife to the bone, the less meat you will lose.

Trim any excess fat or sinew

Step 4: Trim off any excess fat and sinew. The aim at this stage is also to open the meat up along the sides to get an even thickness. This will help get a consistent cooking result.

Stuff

Step 5: Once you have a pretty even thickness, spoon on your stuffing.

Roll your meat over

Step 6: This stage can get a little messy but just keep stuffing the filling in and rolling the meat over.

Begin to tie your joint up

Step 7: Using butchers string, tie the meat in interval leaving a gap of a couple of centimetres between each knot.

Trim any excess string and roast

Step 8: Trim off any excess string and then you are ready to roast.