National Roast Leg of Lamb Day is a holiday observed every year on May 7th. Human beings have been not only eating lamb but also using its wool for over 10,000 years. Lamb quickly became a popular farm animal, and by the Middle Ages, farmers were utilizing lambs to provide meat, milk for butter and cheese, wool for clothing, and their skins for making parchment.

Although lamb is not as popular as cows, pigs, or chickens nowadays for food, many people around the world still enjoy eating lamb. Typically, the leg of a lamb will be coated with butter and rosemary and then roasted for several hours until it is nice and tender. It is so delicious, it is no wonder someone invented this holiday to celebrate it.

Some Interesting Facts About Lambs

We’ve done a bit of research on sheep, so we decided we should list some of the facts that we learned about them below. The following facts will give you something to talk about while you’re enjoying your roasted leg of lamb and roasted vegetables.

• Raising sheep is one of the oldest organized industries in the world.
• A rack roast usually has about eight rib bones in it.
• Sheep produce milk, wool, mutton, and lamb meat.
• Mutton is the flesh of a mature ewe or ram that is at least 1 year old.
• Yearling mutton is the meat of a sheep between 12 months old and 20 months old.
• Lamb is meat from a sheep that is younger than a year old.
• In the U.S., lamb is preferred over mutton.
• In Europe and the Middle East, mutton is preferred over lamb.

Observing National Roast Leg Of Lamb Day

If you search online, you’ll find thousands of recipes for roasted leg of lamb, so the toughest part of this holiday is going to be choosing the one you like the most.

When that’s done, we suggest that you pair your lamb with whole roasted carrots, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, and a mélange of Mediterranean vegetables. We also recommend that you use the hashtag #NationalRoastLegOfLambDay on your social media accounts to announce to the world that you’re celebrating this holiday.