Leg of lamb help needed

[Slamdunkpro]

I have to do grilled leg of lamb for an event coming up and it's something I don't do very often so i turn to you wise folks. I find leg of lamb to be on the lean side so I was considering larding it. Would you use garlic infused lard or perhaps duck fat?

Anyone have any killer recipes?

Edited June 5, 2013 by Slamdunkpro (log)

[Keith_W]

There is no need to lard it. The meat is tender enough.

[nickrey]

If not overcooked that is.

[sachieauckland]

i have once made it bacon larded.

[Mofassah]

Nothing beats a good leg of lamb. The meat itseøf is so tasty and tender that there's no point in making a lot of fuzz about it. This is what I do. Brine the whole leg overnight in a mild salt solution (60 grams of salt per liter water). Take out the bone, fill it with some nice fresh herbs (rosemary and thyme are classic and hard to beat) and a handfull of whole garlic clefts, and then tie it up nicely. Now it's ready to cook, and I have done it two ways, sous vide and in the oven, oven is best:

Sous vide: Vacuum seal it and cook it sous vide at 150F (60C) for 10-12 hours. (that's for medium, go for plus or minus 10F if you want it less or more cooked).

Oven: Put the meat in a buttered pan and cover it with tin foil. Put it in the oven at 250F (120C) and roast it for 8 hours, then turn up the heat to 475F (240C), remove the tin foil and and let it get another half an hour to crisp it up on the outside. Check it with your thermometer. Core temp should be 140F (60C) for medium, 150F (65C) for rare and if you like it well done, 160F (70C). Good luck.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Mofassah (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

If you're so concerned about fucking it up you could:

• Debone and butterfly
• Sous vide
• Hold until service
• Salt then sear over a hot grill

Done. Little risk of taking it too far if you're inexperienced.

[Keith_W]

He did say grilled, guys. I would suggest a simple rub of olive oil, salt, and oregano and serve with chimichurri.

[Mofassah]

He did say grilled, guys. I would suggest a simple rub of olive oil, salt, and oregano and serve with chimichurri.

I really don't see any way of grilling a leg of lamb that gives a better result than a regular oven, or sous vide, unless you have a kamado (and know how to use it) or a really advanced gas grill with really good temperature control. If it's one thing you don't want, it's a leg of lamb that is chared on the outside and raw in the center.

[Denadar]

I like leg of lamb cooked in the oven and still pink on the inside. I think one of my favourites is making incisions in the meat and inserting slivers of garlic with some rosemary and anchovies - It is really delicious. Another favourite is to coat with a shawarma spice mix as Yotam Ottolenghi recommends in his book "Jerusalem".

[rlibkind]

If you are grilling -- which to me means over direct heat -- then you definitely should go with boneless leg butterflied. That said I've made an ersatz lamb pastrami using either shoulder or leg on the bone, but strictly with indirect heat; the reason why I cooked it indirectly on a charcoal fire is so that I could add smokiness with wood chunks. Otherwise an oven roast makes more sense for the bone-in cuts, at least to me.

BTW, the lamb pastrami recipe:

Coat meat in full fat yogurt for 24 hours.wipe off, then coat for another 24 hours in mix of mashed/minced garlic, salt, sage, coriander seeds, black pepper before cooking.

[heidih]

I remember making this butterflied leg of lamb from Sunset magazine back when it was published. It was very well received.

[Shel_B]

Some friends in Napa recently grilled a butterflied leg of lamb using the following marinade and basting sauce. I liked it a lot and thought I'd pass
along the recipe and technique.

Vineyard Lamb

1 butterflied leg of lamb (about 5 lbs.)
3 cloves garlic, minced fine or pressed
2 tsp mild - medium curry powder
1 cup white Zinfandel wine
S&P to taste
3 Tbs currant or apple jelly
--------------------
Combine all the ingredients except the lamb and blend them well.

Put the lamb into a shallow dish or plastic bag and marinate for about 2
hours at room temp or overnight in the fridge.

Reserve the marinade and place the lamb on a grill over hot coals to brown
quickly. Brush with marinade, turn and brown the other side. Cover grill
and cook the lamb, turning a few times and brushing with marinade each time,
until lamb is done. It should take about 30 - 40 minutes for medium rare.

Try using a blend of mesquite and grape vines for the coals. Regular
charcoal is probably OK, but I've never used it.

[Jaymes]

I have to do grilled leg of lamb for an event coming up and it's something I don't do very often so i turn to you wise folks. I find leg of lamb to be on the lean side so I was considering larding it. Would you use garlic infused lard or perhaps duck fat?

Anyone have any killer recipes?

Butterflied, grilled leg of lamb has been one of my very most successful dinner party recipes for a very long time, beginning when I was living in the Philippines, and we got fresh lamb from New Zealand. That was back in the early 70's. For all these years, from then until about two months ago, this method/recipe has been my number one "go to" to make a big, never-fail, impression at an important meal.

As far as larding - leg of lamb has a fat cap. I don't usually remove all of it. I grill or broil it fat side up, and it bastes the meat. Also, as you can see in this recipe, I marinate it overnight in a mixture of seasonings and some olive oil. Have never had a problem with the meat being dry because it's too lean.

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/126404-butterflied-leg-of-lamb/?p=1695036&hl=lamb&fromsearch=1#entry1695036

[Slamdunkpro]

Thanks all, This is for an outdoor event so I can't really sous vid it. I will have my trailer cooker (smoker) there so I can use that as an oven. The client is providing the lamb and i won't get it until the morning so an overnight brine isn't possible. I may look at some kind of infused injection. Right now the plan is to cook them in the smoker then do a quick high heat sear on the grill. Any sauce (not mint) suggestions?

[boudin noir]

Thanks all, This is for an outdoor event so I can't really sous vid it. I will have my trailer cooker (smoker) there so I can use that as an oven. The client is providing the lamb and i won't get it until the morning so an overnight brine isn't possible. I may look at some kind of infused injection. Right now the plan is to cook them in the smoker then do a quick high heat sear on the grill. Any sauce (not mint) suggestions?

Lamb is so good by itself I wouldn't overwork it. I would butterfly it and rub it with minced garlic, rosemary, and perhaps some lemon rind. Grill it to 135- 140F. Serve with a garlic/yogurt sauce

[ChrisTaylor]

A tzatziki variant.

[furzzy]

Almost didn't read this thread because I rarely have lamb, and then it's the old rack or chops. This has gotten me thinking I should really try a leg. Does the season make a difference ? Like using spring lamb?

[Jaymes]

Almost didn't read this thread because I rarely have lamb, and then it's the old rack or chops. This has gotten me thinking I should really try a leg. Does the season make a difference ? Like using spring lamb?

It's been my experience that the younger, the better. In fact, when I've queried most people that say they "don't like lamb," it turns out that they have bad memories of mutton.

[furzzy]

Almost didn't read this thread because I rarely have lamb, and then it's the old rack or chops. This has gotten me thinking I should really try a leg. Does the season make a difference ? Like using spring lamb?

It's been my experience that the younger, the better. In fact, when I've queried most people that say they "don't like lamb," it turns out that they have bad memories of mutton.

I think you're probably right about the mutton thing. My daughter says to never serve her lamb...but I'm certain she was first introduced to it while living in France, and that it was mutton. I don't care for mutton, either.

[Jaymes]

Almost didn't read this thread because I rarely have lamb, and then it's the old rack or chops. This has gotten me thinking I should really try a leg. Does the season make a difference ? Like using spring lamb?

It's been my experience that the younger, the better. In fact, when I've queried most people that say they "don't like lamb," it turns out that they have bad memories of mutton.

I think you're probably right about the mutton thing. My daughter says to never serve her lamb...but I'm certain she was first introduced to it while living in France, and that it was mutton. I don't care for mutton, either.

As I say in my recipe for the grilled, butterflied leg of lamb, when I served it at my innumerable dinner parties through the years, I never said what it was until we were all at the table, happily eating. I learned that lesson a very long time ago. People that have it in their heads that they "don't like lamb" often won't even try it. So no definitive announcing until we're all at the table and they've eaten a goodly share. Invariably, some arguing begins: "What is this? It doesn't taste exactly like beef. Is it pork?"

And while I'm at it, let me say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a homemade savory mint sauce. Not that sweet store-bought jelly, you understand, or even sweet homemade jelly, but a non-sweet sauce made with fresh mint. Very very good. That sweet mint jelly has given all mint accompaniment a bad name but, if you think about it, mint has been a traditional garnish for lamb for a very, very long time. Long before mint jelly was even invented.

[janeer]

I have nothing to add to the butterfly, marinate, grill, don't tell people who "don't like" lamb advice. I marinate mine in a bottle of red wine, etc (I think the recipe is on this forum somewhere). It is invariably great. Can serve with all kinds of things, from apricot pilaf to potato salad, depending on the season.