Greek roasted goat (or lamb) leg recipe

Published: May 21, 2017 · Modified: Apr 3, 2023 by Makos

This one pan slow roasted goat leg recipe with pomegranate glaze, served with baked potatoes is one of the best goat recipes! You can also make it with lamb leg, there's no difference, except maybe from the cooking time.

Slow roasting the meat, makes it tender and succulent and your guests will surely be impressed! Also, roasting some potatoes in the same pan is a common practice in Greece, something that makes dinner simpler and fuss-free.

Roasted goat leg in the oven with potatoes.

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Ingredients
Variations
Goat vs Lamb meat
Internal temperature for cooked goat and lamb
How do you make goat meat tender?
What to serve with
Recipe

Roasted goat or lamb in the oven is widely favored in Greece, especially during Easter and Spring.

Many people refrain from eating meat during Lent (the 40 days period before Easter) and their diet includes recipes like this taramasalata dip, this Greek brown lentil soup and these Baked giant beans (Gigandes Plaki).

As you can understand, meat dishes are highly anticipated after this fasting period. This article about planning a Greek Easter meal from thespruceeats includes many other traditional Greek Easter dishes.

If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments!

Ingredients

For the pan:

One goat leg with the bone. You can also use lamb leg.
Garlic cloves
Rosemary
Lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Dried oregano
White wine
Baby potatoes (or regular potatoes)

For the glaze:

Pomegranate syrup (grape syrup, maple syrup or honey will also do)
Ground coriander seeds
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Pomegranate arils for decoration (optional)

Variations

The most delicious variation of this recipe is probably the simplest one.

So, forget all of the extra ingredients and just use a good quality meat, potatoes, salt and pepper and some olive oil. Maybe also some oregano for the potatoes.

Salt and pepper are enough to make a dish you’ll remember for the rest of your life! BUT, (yeah… it seems there’s always a “but”!) the meat needs to be of really good quality, meaning young, grass-fed and free-range if possible!

I don’t usually eat lamb or goat because of this reason. If the meat is not good enough, it has a strong taste/smell I cannot get accustomed to. I strongly believe this has to do with the way the animals are raised and fed.

An animal that’s raised inside a stable, with no sun, with high levels of anxiety and low-quality food will taste a lot different from one that’s raised in the fields, under the sun, happy, eating grass and herbs.

Image of Greek roasted goat leg with potatoes

In conclusion, the simple variation is perfect for an everyday dinner, but If you want something more festive, then try this recipe mostly because of the pomegranate syrup glaze.

Pomegranate syrup, also known as pomegranate molasses, is just pomegranate juice that has been cooked down and reduced to a thick syrup. It’s sweet and tangy at the same time and can be used not only in meat recipes but also in salads as part of the dressing.

You can make it yourself by boiling pomegranate juice, or you can buy it from the ethnic aisle in big supermarkets and online.

Goat vs Lamb meat

Taste-wise, goat meat is milder than lamb and that's why many people who don't like the lamb taste prefer to eat goat. Lamb meat is more intense and tastes kind of gamey.

Regarding the nutrition value, goat has more protein and less fat than lamb.

In many recipes, like this one, you can use goat instead of lamb and vice versa, but keep in mind that lamb may need some extra cooking time. Other than that, there shouldn't be any problems.

Internal temperature for cooked goat and lamb

You don't need an oven thermometer for this recipe and you don't have to worry about the internal temperature of the meat. The long roasting method cooks the meat perfectly and makes it fall-off-the-bone tender.

But if you just want to know, then for goat meat, according to the fsis.usda.gov the internal temperature should be about 160 °F (70 °C).

For lamb, the internal temperature should be about 145° F (62.8° C) .

How do you make goat meat tender?

First, you have to choose a young animal. Remember that the older the animal is, the more tough the meat will be.

Then, you should opt for a slow-roasting method which melts the collagen of the meat and turns it into gelatin, something that makes it tastier and much more tender. For this recipe, 356°F (180°C) may seem too high, but this is how it's done for many years in most Greek homes and it works.

Goat leg with pomegranate glaze in a pan.

What to serve with

This dish already contains a lot of protein from the meat and carbs from the potatoes. A nice, healthy salad would be ideal on the side. My favorite options are:

As for dessert, this refreshing lemon possets recipe or this healthy yogurt parfaits would be a great finish to your meal.

Some note/tips:

Long baking time will make the meat tender, succulent, and fall-off-the-bone! Just remember that lamb needs a little more time to cook than goat because it is higher in fat.
Search for good quality meat!
Since you’re already using garlic, wrap some whole bulbs aluminum foil and bake them in the pan to get caramelized, roasted garlic. When done, open the foil, cut the bottom of the bulb and squeeze into a jar. Top with olive oil and store in the fridge or freezer. For a detailed recipe check this article for how to roast garlic in the oven.

Recipe

Roasted goat leg in the oven with potatoes. featured image.

5 from 6 votes