LAMB!

[itch22]

I will be buying a whole lamb, approx. 70 to 150 days old, from a local organic farm. This is for an Easter feast! I am interested in anyone's ideas for cooking? So far my plan, albeit basic, includes BBQing two legs, cutting the other two legs into chops to braise, and roastin the saddle.

Any other ideas, or thoughts? What else can I do some of the other parts of the lamb?

[jackal10]

You mean you are not spit-roasting it whole?

There isn't much left after that:

Shoulders: boned and roast

Breast: boned, stuffed and rolled or as short ribs

Neck: chops, but the cut for hot pot or Irish stew

Offal: Offaly good

[Carolyn Tillie]

Offal: Offaly good

[itch22]

You mean you are not spit-roasting it whole?

I've never spit roasted a whole animal before, and to be honest, I am worried I could screw it up and leave a very large and angry crowd hungry. It's kind of a risk to get ones feet wet. I did read the tutorial about spit roasting a pig. I suppose a lamb, being smaller, might be a bit easier?

[Priscilla]

I was party to spit-roasting a whole lamb, once. V-shaped sticks stuck in the ground, a long sturdy straight branch denuded of bark for the skewer, minimalistic seasoning, s & p only, as I recall, although there might've been rosemary in there too. Fire beneath, everyone taking turns turning, turning turning turning. Pretty cool overall.

[itch22]

What are some of the pitfalls to watch out for when spit roasting?

[budrichard]

Jaques Pepin 'The Art of Cooking' Vol 1 explains it all with very nice color pictures!

I would debone the saddle and stuff with the tenderloins and a stuffing. Makes a very elegant preparation that slices very nicely. Jacques tells how to prepare and how to cook as well, which is very important to this preperation. The legs can be cooked on the bone or boned out and tied or butterflied and cooked on a grill. Jacques has a very nice marinade also. I would debone the shoulder and use in a stew with the bones reserved for a stock. Have fun! -Dick

[Oreganought]

I generally cut it up and use it for different occations.For Easter I normally bone

out a leg of lamb,butterfly and marinate in olive oil,rosemary,thyme,onion,red

chilli,garlic and black pepper for 2 or 3 days,then onto the outdoor weber.

EDIT: How could I've missed the garlic.

Edited February 19, 2004 by Oreganought (log)

[itch22]

Jaques Pepin 'The Art of Cooking' Vol 1 explains it all with very nice color pictures!

I've heard a lot of people recommend, or at least refer to, his book. What publishing house is he with?

[torakris]

Now I see why you suddenly have an interest in Genghis Kahn BBQ......

[itch22]

You can only eat so much moussaka!

[Huevos del Toro]

Don't forget to braise the shanks!

[chefrodrigo]

We had a whole lamb last year. Roasted legs, shoulders into sausage, grilled loins, etc. All of the meat was great but my favorite 2 pieces were the grilled liver and grilled heart.

Rodney

[itch22]

All of the meat was great but my favorite 2 pieces were the grilled liver and grilled heart.

Any tips for telling the doneness of lamb's heart on the grill?

[Carlovski]

You could try stuffing it into a Camel

[chefrodrigo]

All of the meat was great but my favorite 2 pieces were the grilled liver and grilled heart.

Any tips for telling the doneness of lamb's heart on the grill?

It was cut in half and fairly thin so it did not take long. It was the first time I had cooked a heart and I had no idea of what degree of doneness it should be. It only took a few minutes per side to be completely cooked.

Rodney

[itch22]

Then I'll have to give the grilled heart a try. Saddly though, camels are not readily available in Canada.

[StInGeR]

Then I'll have to give the grilled heart a try. Saddly though, camels are not readily available in Canada.

how bout in a buffalo then??

[jackal10]

Lamb is pretty tolerant, so easy to spit roast.

- Try and enclose the spit and the fire so it acts as a slow oven - rig up some sort of roof and side shield. Corrugated iron works well.

- Secure the lamb to the spit well - its an off-centre slippery load when its hot, with much less structural integrity cooked than uncooked. You want it to turn with the spit, not drop into the fire. It helps if you can get the butcher not to split the breastbone, otherwise you will need to wire it together

- Quarter of a turn every 15 minutes

- The meat is at the ends, so you need a small fire at each end and nothing (or the gravy pan) in the middle

Use a meat thermometer - 55C for rare 65C for well done

Usually takes 4-6 hours.

Edited February 22, 2004 by jackal10 (log)

[SG-]

Definitely spit roast, soooo goood!!! It would be a waste not too.

[itch22]

Lamb is pretty tolerant, so easy to spit roast.

- Try and enclose the spit and the fire so it acts as a slow oven - rig up some sort of roof and side shield. Corrugated iron works well.

- Secure the lamb to the spit well - its an off-centre slippery load when its hot, with much less structural integrity cooked than uncooked. You want it to turn with the spit, not drop into the fire. It helps if you can get the butcher not to split the breastbone, otherwise you will need to wire it together

- Quarter of a turn every 15 minutes

- The meat is at the ends, so you need a small fire at each end and nothing (or the gravy pan) in the middle

Use a meat thermometer - 55C for rare 65C for well done

Usually takes 4-6 hours.

From what section of the lamb do you take the tempature reading from?

And when securing the lamb to the spit, do you tie its legs to the spit of do you skewer it? If you skewer it where do you put the spit through, in the mouth and out the ass?

[jackal10]

You want to take the temperature from the middle of the thickest bit of meat - the middle of the back leg/rump. 60C = 140F.

Last time I did it I used a piece of 2 inch scaffold tube as the spit, with a couple of holes drilled in it. It went in through its ass, and out through the neck, although if they have split the lamb you will need to wire the neck end together. Have the head removed as it squicks people out.

A couple of steel pins/rebars then went through the holes drilled in the scaff tube, and through the meat. They lined up with about the thickest and heaviest parts of the lamb - the legs and shoulders, and were wired in place.

I also tied back the the back and front legs so that they stretched along the bar, otherwise they dangle down too much.

If you don't use pins skewered though the spit, when it all gets greasy with the melted fat the wire or whatever clamps you have will slip, and the lamb will assume its lowest position - spine down, which will overheat and burn. When cooked it doesn't have much structural integrity, so if it is not firmly wired on bits will fall off. Some wrap it in chicken wire mesh, but I think that is going too far.

The spit support was a couple of plasterers trestles, about 5 ft high, We could have used more scaff to make a support. Jury rigged something to turn the spit and hold it in position, against the off-centre weight - a pair of stilson wrenches if I remember correctly. Remember the everything will get hot and greasy.

The firebox was a couple of wheelbarrows, filled with sand, but a half barrel would serve, or even a couple of small BBQs. Small fire at each end where the meat is, gravy pan in the middle.

The whole contraption was covered with a sort of tent or shed made of corrugated tin, more scaff and foil.

You need it high enough above the fire so that fat flares don't burn it.

A squirt gun or a hose with a tap and a fine nozzle are advised so you can damp down any flare-ups. You can use the beer you are drinking, but its a waste.

You can hire whole animal spits, or you could spatchcock the lamb and roast it pit style.

Serve on hamburger buns with mint sauce or redcurrant jelly, hot sauce, sage and onion stuffing (use packet (Paxo), make it fairly dilute, more like a lumpy sauce), baked potatoes...

edit: wish I could spell and type before my second cup of coffee

Edited February 24, 2004 by jackal10 (log)

[MobyP]

Both the French Laundry and Tom Colliccio's new book have whole lamb recipes.

Of course, neither of them are quite up to Jack's standard....

[itch22]

You won Jackal, I'll give it a try this Easterand post the results. Maybe take some pictures too.

[zora]

I roasted a whole lamb for New Year's--first time, and I had no idea what I was doing. My cohort was Greek, so maybe that helped. It was delish.

I wrote all the details on my blog (scroll down to "It takes a village.."). At the end of the narrative are the specs on the meat, cooking time, etc. There are a couple links to sets of pics too, which show our half-barrel and cinder-block setup.

What made it so good: garlic under the skin, and regular swabbing with a mix of citrus juice, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, cayenne, and probably some other stuff. Also, heroic Greek Peter sat and cranked it steadily, even through the acrid smoke.

Edited February 25, 2004 by zora (log)