I hadn't heard of Aleppo Pepper before, and looked for it for this recipe. Current conflict in Syria (Aleppo) has affected the availability of this spice. Pray for peace! Here is a substitute: 4 parts sweet paprika, one part cayenne pepper.
I used John's recipe to cook a leg of lamb for Christmas. Home run for my finicky eaters. I like the way he details how to prepare the meat by cutting slashes. I did substitute honey for the molasses. Chef John is my go-to when trying new dishes.
Thank you, Chef John, for making our Christmas dinner a smashing success! I followed your special pomegranate mollases recipe and it was wonderful! I tripled the recipe for 3 boneless lamb roasts of about 5 pounds each and, after marinating them overnight, I gave a fun layer of fresh baby spinach leaves, goat cheese and chopped sweetened dried cranberries before rolling them up. I used the elastic wrappers that came with the lamb roasts to package them up and placed them side-by-side on a roasting rack with a little water at the bottom of the pan. They turned out perfectly! And we made lamb gravy for the mashed potatoes with the drippings. Wow! Heaven! Merry Christmas Chef John and thank you for your excellent advice! Leslie
I had to make my own pomegranate molasses, but it was pretty easy and the roast was awesome! Recipe I used for the molasses was 4c.pomegranate juice, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/4 c. lemon juice reduced down over low simmering heat - about one hour.
Chef John I want to thank you for sharing this recipe for all of us to make. I did it exactly as you describe. It came out outstanding!!! I will certainly be making this again. Thank you!!
Even if I didn't love cooking I would watching you. I grow my own pomegranates and make my own jellies--this year I will also add molasses and syrup. This one goes in the oven---but the one sitting in the freezer I will cook south Texas style==outside over mesquite. Since I do alot of cooking for ranch hands and family I want the best ideas. Every time I see one of your recipes try it. I like your quality.Thank you very much.
I made this for the family this weekend and it was simply amazing! Although I could not find Pomogranate Molasses I took some plain dark molasses and added cranberry juice then reduced it. For anyone who hasn't made a lamb roast before (like me!) I highly recommend watching Chef John's video. It was soooo helpful. The recipe is definitely a holiday type, or great serve for special guests you want to impress and, the best part is that it isn't hard at all. Thanks again!
Fantastic. The only change I made was that I omitted the garlic from the marinade. Instead i used about 10 cloves, cut into thick slivers and cut deep slits all over the meat and inserted the garlic into the slits. After cooking, I defatted the juices from the pan and added 1 Tbs of pom molasses and served that on the side. I started with a boneless leg weighing about 3 pounds. Cooking in my convection oven, it only took about 75 minutes to roast.
Delicious! Our guests loved it too! The only change I made was to add a little organic dark brown sugar to the marinade, as I found it too tart without it. All Chef John's instructions about how to prepare the leg of lamb were clear and worked out perfectly. Thank you!
I was honestly displeased with this. Maybe my oven is on the hotter side, but it turned out dryer than a toenail. The molasses (naturally) burnt , but didn’t provide a good flavor as a result (it just tasted burnt) . First time I ever made lamb with mint and truthfully, we did not enjoy that flavor addition either. I will not be making this again sadly, my guests were polite but did not enjoy it as well. I do love the pomegranate molasses and its flavor , so I might try cooking a rack with it or something that doesn’t roast as long as this did.
