Make a long story short, I have a whole leg of a lamb. How the heck do I cook this thing???

The short version of the long story, a friend has about 10 acres and raises all kinds of animals. Another friend..a devout descendant of Ishmael loves lamb...and he's a freak when it comes to slaughtering..I mean sacrificing the meat. I have to admit, his method makes the meat taste exceptional.

We slaughtered a huge ass steer, and 3 sheep 2 weeks ago. I'm really not into all that...

Nonetheless, I got a freaking leg in my freezer. What the heck do I do with it????

braise that sucker

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Braised-Leg-of-Lamb

mmmmm..... does look good

"Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb".... I did this once and it was fantastic to me, but I dont have any lamb lovers in my family. "Meat and Potatoes" means BEEF !

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/grilled-butterflied-leg-of-lamb-with-lemon-herbs-and-garlic-101877

I wish I was daring. Lamb doesn't do it for me. I'd say roast the leg, cube it and freeze as dog food.

Furlock Bones said:

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lamb is so freaking good. amazing how little of it we Americans eat.

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Rack of Lamb is my favorite meal to prepare.

I also like making kabobs with leg meat.

I just did a 8.5lb semi-boneless last weekend. I made a Greek dressing and let it sit on the lamb for several hours. Then put it on the grill (Kamado Joe in this case) and cooked indirect at 400 until the internal temp was about 130-135. I basted with extra Greek dressing about halfway through. Came out fantastic.

Recipe for dressing -
Kokkari Dressing
6 Tbs EVOO
2 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
4 tsp minced capers
2 tsp minced shallot
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced flat leaf parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1/4 tsp dried wild Greek Oregano, crumbled
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Note- I added some fresh Thyme, about 1 tsp.

Also I made slits all around the outside of the leg and inserted sliced fresh garlic and a small sprig of rosemary.

Also, for those who have never tried it, I have recently started using avocado oil in all my marinades.

It's thinner and has a much more mild flavor than olive oil. I feel like it gets into the meat more and results in a moister meat after cooking. Plus it will handle some major heat.

I started using it for my homemade mayo. Good quality fat with a neutral flavor. I hadn't thought to use it as a marinade ingredient. Thanks for the tip.

Smoke to an internal temp of 145. Rub with salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary. Catch the drippings off the smoker and reduce it with a little red wine.

Lamb is the best meat going

Dayum boys...

Making me hungry...

RebelE Infantry said:

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I just did a 8.5lb semi-boneless last weekend. I made a Greek dressing and let it sit on the lamb for several hours. Then put it on the grill (Kamado Joe in this case) and cooked indirect at 400 until the internal temp was about 130-135. I basted with extra Greek dressing about halfway through. Came out fantastic.

Recipe for dressing -
Kokkari Dressing
6 Tbs EVOO
2 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice
4 tsp minced capers
2 tsp minced shallot
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced flat leaf parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1/4 tsp dried wild Greek Oregano, crumbled
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Note- I added some fresh Thyme, about 1 tsp.

Also I made slits all around the outside of the leg and inserted sliced fresh garlic and a small sprig of rosemary.

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This sounds really good. I'm gonna give this a go soon.

Furlock Bones said:

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lamb is so freaking good. amazing how little of it we Americans eat.

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I don't know what it is but lamb in Europe definitely tastes better that US lamb.

queso1 said:

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Furlock Bones said:

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lamb is so freaking good. amazing how little of it we Americans eat.

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I don't know what it is but lamb in Europe definitely tastes better that US lamb.

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Well for sure we would get better at it if it was sitting on HEB's shelf at a competitive price. Just like we may know how to do a damn good brisket, Europe knows all the little things necessary to make lamb taste good.

Looking at a recipe.... they score the meat, they make a rub and rub it in real good, they let it sit/marinate for an hour, etc etc Hell maybe they feed the lambs differently.

Soon.

Mmmm, make sure you show us a "finish" pic too!

My whole family likes lamb. When we make kebabs, I marinate the cubes overnight in oil (I have always used olive oil but I may try that oil suggested above), red wine, minced garlic, salt and oregano. I am writing this from memory so I may have omitted a few ingredients. We serve it on flat bread with a cucumber sauce. Tastes great on a hot day in summer with fresh tomatoes and onions...

In all honesty, at most restaurants that have lamb on the menu I'll choose that over steak most of the time. Same for duck, depending on how it's prepared.

range maggots

You must have missed that song from the musical, "O, the shepherd and the cowman should be friends, O, the shepherd and the cowman should be friends...." **



**Apologies to Mr. Hammerstein for the paraphrasing.

Prior to WWII lamb was the most consumed meat in the U.S. When an entire generation of men went to war, they were fed canned mutton that had been shipped from Australia and most of the time when it ended up in front of our boys, it was rotten. When they all returned from the war lamb consumption in the U.S. plummeted and has never really recovered.

The key with lamb is in the processing. If it is processed by someone who takes care not to touch the wool and then touch the meat, it is the best thing out there to eat. Touch the wool to the meat and it will taste rancid every time.

Im going to smoke some Lamb Chops over pecan tomorrow for lunch or sunday definitely second no longer than medium rare or its ruined.

If you are in the BCS area or coming to town for a nice treat, get the Moroccan Lamb Chops at Cafe Eccel. We order them almost every time we go if they are on the menu. They are good to share and the dipping sauce is tasty. A bit pricey, but sexy good!

Oogway said:

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Mmmm, make sure you show us a "finish" pic too!

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Finished pic is forthcoming......in about another 26+ hours. Those shanks have been in with the circulator at 146F for 18:15 now. 24:00 or so to go.

Grandma always said,"patience is a virtue,' but I guess starvation is too! Jk. Bet it will be delicious!

Oogway said:

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If you are in the BCS area or coming to town for a nice treat, get the Moroccan Lamb Chops at Cafe Eccel. We order them almost every time we go if they are on the menu. They are good to share and the dipping sauce is tasty. A bit pricey, but sexy good!

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they are damn good.

Where do y'all get your lamb? Ive been wanting to try and recreate this mint lamb that I had in Ireland.

Right out of the sous vide, 43 hours at 146*.


Individual pre broil.


About to visit the broiler.


Bones and some meat post serving. I totally failed to get an "out of oven pick".


Plated with some sauce on the left, straight in the middle, and MIL's crockpot pork on the right. Sauce was separated water/fat from the sous vide bag reduced and then hit with butter and cream.


All in all it was glorious.

It looks glorious too. Are those shallots mixed in with your broccoli?

Shallots on the lamb. Red onion with the broccoli. I almost added a shallot to the broccoli but thought the amount of red onion would've overpowered it.

Where do y'all purchase your lamb meat?

Mule_lx said:

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Where do y'all purchase your lamb meat?

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The local meat market if i want a whole leg. I'll get ground or smaller roasts at HEB