Lamb à la 7h is a traditional French dish that is often served for Easter.
Cooking in a wood-fired oven not only results in tender meat with a melt-in-your-mouth texture, but also provides the heat needed to cook it for a long time. Check out our recipe for 7-hour wood-fired lamb—the perfect way to treat your guests to a cozy meal.
Ingredients for 4 people
- 2.5 kg of leg of lamb.
- 4 cl of extra-virgin olive oil.
- 200 g fresh tomatoes.
- 80 g of carrots.
- 120 g of onions.
- Herbs: thyme, bay leaf, parsley.
- 12 cl of beef broth.
- 20 cl of white wine.
- Salt, pepper.
- Water.
Equipment and utensils
- Cast-iron casserole dish.
- Traditional wood-fired oven.
- Accessories for wood-fired ovens.
- Kitchen utensils.
Preparing the wood-fired oven
To ensure the meat is tender and flavorful, it must simmer gently for several hours. As it cooks, the lamb absorbs the various flavors released by the vegetables and herbs, giving it a unique taste.
Cooking is done over residual heat, after removing the embers from the hearth, when the temperature in the oven drops to about 120 °C. You need to light your wood-fired oven several hours in advance so that the wood burns completely and the temperature drops sufficiently.
Our tip: Before cooking your Easter lamb, take advantage of the oven’s higher temperature to bake other seasonal dishes, such as pizza or wood-fired flammekueche.
Preparing the lamb
Start by preparing the meat: place the leg of lamb in a cast-iron pot, which is ideal for cooking over a wood fire.
Add salt, pepper, the peeled vegetables, the herbs, and olive oil.
Next, pour the beef broth and white wine over all the ingredients.
You can add 2 to 3 cups of water to the dish to make more juice.
Cooking lamb in a wood-fired oven
Your home wood-fired oven is at about 120°C: it’s time to place your casserole dish inside and let it cook for about 7 hours. Slow cooking over a wood fire gives the dish an incomparable flavor. The heat radiating from the hearth and the entire firebox allows the dish to simmer evenly. Be sure to cover the casserole dish with a suitable lid to achieve tender, braised meat that’s almost confit-style.
Keep an eye on the cooking: if the dish starts to dry out, you can add water to the pot; the meat will stay tender.
Take the casserole out of the oven, lift the lid, and take a moment to savor all the wonderful aromas wafting from the dish—it’s a real treat! The meat is tender, succulent, and flavorful—it’s simply irresistible.
Serving and pairing suggestions:
When prepared for Easter, Easter lamb can be served with seasonal vegetables: new potatoes, carrots, turnips, and onions.
When it comes to wine, there are several options available to you. Tannic red wines, such as those from Bordeaux, pair perfectly with this delicate and flavorful meat: Saint-Émilion, Pauillac, Gigondas. You can also choose red wines from the Rhône Valley, such as Côte-Rôtie, which pairs perfectly with lamb. Red Burgundy wines such as Côte-de-Nuits-Villages or Givry are also excellent choices to pair with this dish.
Rédaction : Ephrem Fusion
Photographies : Libres de droits
