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Pressure Cooker Lamb Leg

4 from 3 votes
This recipe creates moist and tender lamb with minimal cooking time. In this post I share two dipping sauce recipes and three ways to serve the lamb!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 8
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 pound (1.5 kilogram) whole lamb leg

Marinade

(Option 1) Chinese traditional dipping sauce

  • 1/4 cup Chinese black vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 3 tablespoons Garlic , minced
  • 1 teaspoon chili oil or fresh diced red chili peppers (Optional)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar

(Option 2) Honey cilantro lime sauce

  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup loosely packed cilantro
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 lime , juiced
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

(Optional) Crispy lamb leg

  • 150 grams panko bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch
  • Chopped cilantro for garnish (Optional)

Instructions

Cook lamb

  • Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Mix well.
  • Transfer lamb leg to a 1-gallon ziplock bag. Pour marinade over the lamb leg. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal the ziplock bag. Massage the bag a few times, so that the lamb is covered evenly with marinade. Marinate in the fridge overnight. Flip the bag once during marinating.
  • Transfer the lamb leg to a large plate, saving the marinade liquid. Carefully remove the Sichuan peppercorns from the lamb and discard them. Drain marinade through a fine mesh strainer. Transfer the marinade liquid into pressure cooker. Discard all solid ingredients.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet until hot. Carefully place lamb into the skillet. Let cook until the bottom side turns golden brown. Flip and cook the other side, until nicely charred. Transfer lamb leg into the pressure cooker.
  • Cook at high pressure for 40 minutes. If you’re using an Instant Pot, click manual, set timer to 40 minutes, and make sure the valve is pointed to “locked”. If you’re using a stovetop pressure cooker, lock the cover and cook over medium high heat until the target pressure is reached. Turn to medium low heat and continue cooking for 40 minutes. You can either use the natural release or quick release once the lamb is cooked.
  • If you’re not going to serve the lamb immediately, transfer it to a large plate and let it cool completely. Transfer the lamb with all the liquid into an air-tight container. When the sauce cools down, there will be a thick layer of fat floating on top. It will help preserve the meat. You can always skim and discard the fat later. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Sauce

  • While cooking the lamb, prepare the sauce.
  • To serve the lamb the traditional way, mix all the ingredients for the Chinese traditional dipping sauce in a small bowl. Stir to mix well.
  • If you like a creamy sauce, combine Greek yogurt, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and honey in a tall bowl (or a blender). Use a hand blender to mix well everything while slowly adding olive oil. Mix until the oil is emulsified and the sauce even in color.

Serve

  • There are three ways to serve the lamb.
  • Option 1 - The quickest way is to serve the lamb directly after pressure cooking. The lamb will be very tender and can be pulled apart easily.
  • Option 2 - You can slice the lamb. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet until hot. Grill the lamb until the surface turns golden brown. This method is a great choice if you are reheating the lamb.
  • Option 3 - If you want to create crispy lamb steak without deep-frying, use this method. Spread breadcrumbs on a large plate. Mix egg with potato starch in a separate plate. Slice lamb meat. Heat a thin layer of oil in a nonstick skillet until hot. Dip both sides of lamb in the egg mixture, and then cover with bread crumbs. Cook in the skillet until both sides turns golden brown.
  • Serve warm as main, or top on steamed rice, with whichever sauce you prefer.