My brother and I went hungry man shopping for meat. I plan to grill 2lbs. The marinade is a combo of pomm molasses and red wine, herbal spices and red onion. Then skewered and grilled.
What are your favorite preparations for leg of lamb?
Thanks, Rooster.
Butterfly it and gril it.
@bcc, do you season it beforehand? oil it?
I myself would season it with salt and pepper, then brush some olive oil over the non-fatty parts. Butterflying it lets you get a good char while still keeping the inside rare.
My man, who is of Armenian heritage, makes a mean shish kebab. He marinated the chunks for at least 24 hours in olive oil, chopped garlic & onions, mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme & parsley.
We sometimes roast a leg in the oven, for which it generally receives the same treatment.
That’s what I like a nice char.
Sounds delicious and I have all those spices on hand.
Leg of lamb is our favourite roast. Simplest of preps - nothing more than basic seasoning and a quick roast.
Or butterfly, studding it with rosemary and garlic. Or slather with thick yoghurt. Then roast.
Cubed it works as kebabs or curry.
Slow cooked for Cypriot kleftiko.
And any leftovers from the basic roast are so versatile. Sandwiches. Slivers for sharwama. Chopped for shepherds pie. Slices warmed through in the pan with a devilled sauce.
Wow, these ideas will more than use up the lamb. Yogurt sounds very delicious. Thanks again!
It just occurred to me that you are talking about American lamb, and I am talking about Swiss lamb, two very different animals. A leg here, for example, would be closer to 4 lbs than 6. And the taste is much milder. So you should only take my advice with a big pinch of salt!
Size is not important. Preparations and methods will be similar. Maturity of the animal is the major factor - lesser ones being breed and how/where it’s raised.
Almost all of the lamb eaten in this house comes from within 100 miles or so. Often much less. They run up and down hills - those legs work hard. A more developed flavour than if it’s raised on flat southern pasture.
Well, size is important as far as cooking time is concerned. And my experience with lamb in America is that it has a much gamier taste than lamb here. But I do think that American lamb will profit from the spices that you and @linguafood recommend
Interesting. I’ve generally found our European lamb to be fuller flavoured than American lamb (although I must admit I’ve never eaten it in Switzerland). But, yes, I’d agree - if your lamb is very mild in flavour then you don’t want to mask it with Eastern Mediteranean flavours such as Lingua and I were suggesting. Keep it simple but maybe get some added interest from the accompanying vegetables, etc.
Well, I believe I’ve never eaten lamb in Britain. But I have had fairly mild pre-salé in France.
I’m grilling a portion tonight and hope the lamb is as good as the butcher said. I dont have a ton of exp eating lamb.
The Agneau Allaiton leg from Aveyron is one of the best I have tasted, full of flavours, and melting in mouth, (Michel Bras uses that too, I believe). I don’t think I had Swiss lamb though, so can’t compared. The Allaiton lamb is good that I just rub olive oil and garlic with thyme 1 night before cooking …and barbecue or roast it simply. Don’t want spice to mask the lamb. We are only 2, but we always cooked the whole leg (same size as @Rooster 's) and finished it 5 meals later.
Instead of chunks for kebabs, I like to slice lamb into very thin, wide slices, then thread onto skewers as in this photo:
They take no time at all to cook this way and the large amount of surface area allows any marinade you choose to penetrate very easily. IMO leg of lamb can be a bit tough when cut into kebab-sized chunks but these thin slices just melt in your mouth no matter how you flavor them.
Good tip! I will try that version of slicing nxt time.
Due the number of different muscles in the leg, my favorite method is to braise and get melt in your mouth tender results.
You could set aside a pound or so to grind and use for lamejuns. Purchase pitas or lavash bread if you don’t want to make the bread component.
