This recipe for Chinese Five-Spice Roasted Lambs features tender, juicy lamb in a flavorful mixture of spices, perfect for your holiday table.
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Why you'll love this recipe
This recipe for Chinese roasted lamb is:
Easy to prepare: with minimal ingredients, and not much active cooking, this Asian-inspired roasted lamb can be made with ease.
Unique: it's not your typical turkey roast, prime rib in terms of flavoring, and is inspired from Xi'an-style cumin lamb.
Ingredients you'll need
- boneless lamb leg roast: typically encased with meat netting
- Chinese five-spice: a ground/powder mixture of five spices used in Chinese dishes: fennel, star anise, clove, Sichuan peppercorn and fennel
- ground cumin: adds an earthy flavor; used in East Asian and Mexican dishes
- sea salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- ground Sichuan peppercorn: a mixture of red and green Sichuan peppercorns, ground; used in mala spice
- all-purpose flour: builds a little bit of a crust on the exterior of the lamb
Where to find?
You can find these ingredients at your local Asian supermarket.
How to prepare roast lamb
Remove lamb leg roast from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Set oven rack to the middle and preheat oven to 500F/260C.
Combine Chinese five-spice powder, ground cumin, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ground Sichuan peppercorn, and all-purpose flour in a bowl and mix well.
Tip the seasoning over the roast and generously rub into the meat.
Elevate lamb roast onto a roasting rack and place into oven.
Roast at 500F/260C for 25 minutes and then turn the oven off. DO NOT OPEN oven door. Let the meat roast for 2 hours undisturbed.
Remove roast from oven, check the internal temperature for doneness, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
Slice and serve.
How to serve
Serve the Asian five-spice roasted lamb with other Asian-inspired side dishes such as kabocha mash, purple sweet potato buns, along with five-spiced gravy, and cranberry yuzu sauce.
For more traditional side dishes, try pairing the lamb with creamy mashed potatoes, apple cranberry sausage stuffing, parker house rolls, and gravy.
How to store & reheat
Store the roasted lamb in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
To reheat, place lamb slices on a plate, add a splash of water and cover with a lid. Microwave at 60-80% power in 30-second intervals until warmed through.
Internal meat temperatures
For medium rare: 125°F
For medium: 135°F
Expert tip
If you have leftover lamb, mince the meat and add it to lamb dumplings, or slice thinly and sub out the beef shank in these green onion beef rolls.
Other Asian-inspired Thanksgiving recipes you may like
Did you make this recipe?
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Chinese Five-Spice Roasted Lamb
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
- 5 lb boneless lamb leg roast
- 3 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 3 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Remove lamb leg roast from the refrigerator and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Set oven rack to the middle and preheat oven to 500°F/260°C.
- Combine Chinese five-spice powder, ground cumin, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ground Sichuan peppercorn, and all-purpose flour in a bowl and mix well.
- Tip the seasoning over the roast and generously rub into the meat.
- Elevate lamb roast onto a roasting rack and place into oven.
- Roast at 500°F/260°C for 25 minutes and then turn the oven off. DO NOT OPEN oven door. Let the meat roast for 2 hours undisturbed.
- Remove roast from oven, check the internal temperature for doneness, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Heidi
I loved the rich, complex flavor of your amazing seasoning blend. Your tips for how to prepare roast lamb were perfect and so easy to follow! I also loved your tips for how to use leftovers!!
Michelle
Thanks Heidi, glad the post was helpful 🙂
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
What a beautifully cooked lamb - it looks perfect, and it sounds great. Such a perfect recipe for the festive time of the year - that's why saving it for any case 🙂
Michelle
Thanks Ben! It's a great way to change up the flavor of roast lamb 🙂
Raymund | angsarap.net
Ohhh never thought of this, now this made me think anything can be 5 spiced now 🤣 this looks absolutely delicious
Michelle
Glad you think so too, Raymund! 😀
Linsey
I really like this way of roasting the lamb, so simple and easy without too much time for preparation.
Michelle
Thanks Linsey, this method is really hands-off and yields a delicious roast!
Mar
This is simple to make and the lamb is very succulent. A good choice for the upcoming holidays!
Michelle
Thank you Mar! Glad you think so!