Boneless Lamb Roast

DynaGreaseball

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My friend is bringing over a 5 lb., de-boned and netted leg of lamb. He wants me to cook it on my medium. I've never done lamb before.

He said he'd like to do it sorta like a boston butt. But, when I mentioned "low and slow" that's not what he meant. He meant that he likes rubs and smoke.

Anyone got any special recipes and methods they like to use with this cut of meat? Should I just treat my egg like an oven here? What wood works best with lamb? I have hickory, apple, and Jack's bourbon barrel wood chips. Rubs??? I have a lot of John Henry Pecan Rub, and some Dizzy Dust. At what temperature does one pull lamb off? Does it need resting to re-distribute juices like beef?

My friend is a Chef, and I want to act a little like I know what I'm doing.

Thanks for any help.

Richard Fl

Here are a couple of ideas.


http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1993/02/lamb-stuffed-shoulder.html



Lamb, Leg, Boneless, Stuffed, Richard Fl




INGREDIENTS:
1 3 1/2-5 Lbs Boneless Leg of Lamb
5-6 Pieces Bacon
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 Twigs Fresh Rosemary
Stuffing
1 Pkg Spinach
Garlic, Minced
Olice Oil
Ricotta or Cottage Cheese
Capicola sliced thinly
Mango Chutney
Pignole nuts
2-4 Pieces Apple or Guava Wood for smoking
Marinade
1 cup Italian Salad Dressing
4-6 Cloves Garlic, Whole
1/3 cup Sweet or Red Onion, Diced
1/3 cup Rosemary, Fresh Leaves
1 Tbs Black Pepper, Fresh Ground
1 pinch Sea Salt
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Lemon, Juice From
Fresh Mint leaves, ( Optional )
1/4 cup Soy Sauce, ( Optional )




Preparation:
1 Insert several pieces of whole garlic into the exterior of the meat. Marinate the leg of lamb 4-6 hours in the refrigerator. Never more than 24 hours as the lemon juice will cook the meat and make it tough when cooked.
2 Sauté the spinach with minced garlic in olive oil., drain and press liquid out.
3 In the open pocket layer the various ingredients, cheese on bottom, pignole nuts, mango chutney, spinach, capicola.




4 Tie with 4-5 pieces of butcher twine. Place in a "V" rack and layer the bacon on top. Add the rosemary twigs on top of the bacon.
Cooking:
1 Get BGE set up indirect, plate setter legs up, drip pan, 350°F. Add smoking wood
2 Cook for 1 1/2 -2 hours, looking for an internal temperature of 140°F
3 Let rest 15-20 minutes as the temperature will creep up 5°F or so.
Marinade
Preparation:
1 Place all in blender and puree. Place meat in ziploc bag and marinate for 4-6 hours, overnight is OK but be careful after 12 hours as the lemon juice has a tendency to "COOK" the meat.
2 This works well for lamb kabobs, legs, rack or shoulders and shanks.
3 Soy sauce may be added for optional flavor.,
4 If doing shanks, like to cut into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces as this tends to reduce the cooking time.
5 Save the rosemary twigs for smoke!


Recipe Type
Main Dish, Meat

Recipe Source
Source: BGE Forum, Richard Fl, 2007/08/31

Big'un

Richard Fl posted a link to a great recipe made by Dobie Dad. I based mine on that and great results. I added kalamada olives, and sun dried tomatoes too. Just unnet it (save the net for later) and add the ingredients, parsley, sauteed garlic and onion, anchovy paste, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard....

The Naked Whiz

Leg of lamb is easy peasy. It is hard to mess it up. What I do for a simple roast is simply oil and rub with Tsunami Spin. TS is da bomb for lamb! If you don't have any, you could try looking for anything middle eastern in nature. Williams Sonoma has a good Moroccan grilling paste.

If you do rub it, take the net off. The net is made from rubber bands and when you get a nice crust of rub on the roast, pulling off the net will send pieces of crust flying all over the kitchen. I'd take the net off and tie it back up with some string. Or you could just unwrap it and open it up and cook it butterflied. There is one big muscle that you may want to cut into in order lay the whole thing flatter.

I usually use apple wood for smoke. Lamb is very flavorful meat and can handle the smoke. I cook them to 145 internal. Very tasty!

GirlyEgg

I grew up going to "picnics" on Sundays - spring through fall - where we got the lamb straight off the spit! We also have lamb at every major holiday! It's important to know that you are cooking a "spring lamb" - preferrably grass fed. Assuming this is REAL SPRING LAMB this method will ROCK, otherwise, use the same method below but cook as a roast - as the slow method will give some accentuate the "age" of the lamb... (think gameiness)

I come from the "Croatian" method of cooking spring lamb, which is cutting slits in the meat, inserting cloves of garlic into the slits (about 10)... then more garlic salt on top. I also put some rosemary in the drip pan with a bit of water... this helps impart a milder rosemary essence into the meat. If you like it stronger, put directly in slits. I "slow" roast indirect at 300 degrees with a bit of applewood for 3-4 hours until an internal temp of 140-150 for medium rare (which is IMO is where the flavor peaks!)

You could also use the rubs as others have suggested, but I don't thi nk you'll get the depth of flavor that the garlic cloves will impart....

thirdeye

You wouldn't have a guess on the cook time and pit temps you use would you??

We found out this morning that the yearling lamb we ordered for a barbecue on Tuesday did not make it to the processor.....So Sam's club to the rescue, picked up 8 of the 4 pound ones in the little netted sleeves from New Zealand. The pork and beef are long cooks and we're starting Monday night, but I'm thinking of not even doing these lamb roasts until early Tuesday morning.Serving time is around 1PM.

FearlessGrill

Dyna,

Whatever you do with your lamb should be fine. I love the way it comes out on the egg.

While I'm not a professional chef, I am Greek, and that does count for something with lamb. I've been eating the stuff since I can remember. Here's my favorite preparation for leg of lamb. This was made using the same kind of netted 5 pound deboned leg.

More details and pics available on our blog at http://www.fearlesskitchen.com/2008/05/recipe-smoked-l.html



- 1 5ish pound boneless leg of lamb
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

For the rub:
John's Greek-Inspired Dry Rub
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder

- 1 lemon, sliced
- fresh dill, chopped
- fresh marjoram, chopped
- wood chunks for smoking (I usually use hickory. Apple works nicely too)

If it didn't come that way, butterfly the leg of lamb so that it folds out almost flat. You will be stuffing other ingredients in between the halves before cooking. Cut 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic into thin slices. Using a small knife or the point of a meat thermometer, make small holes in the meat, and stuff a slice of garlic into each. Try and space these out all around the meat, on both sides. Mix up the dry rub, and apply to all surfaces of the meat.

Cut the lemon into thin slices, and put them on 1/2 of the inside surface of the meat. Chop fresh dill and and marjoram to taste (I used about twice as much dill as marjoram). Put the chopped herbs over the lemons, and fold the meat back to its original shape, with the herbs and lemons on the inside. Using butcher's twine, tie the roast closed to ensure the ingredients on the inside stay there.



Set up the Egg for indirect cooking, and bring to temperature. Lamb is not a meat that benefits much from 'low and slow' barbecuing. I cook mine at about 300 degrees. Add the smoking wood to the fire. Put the meat in the Egg. Your goal is an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for medium rare, which is a good preparation for lamb. As the lamb approaches this temperature, I turn up the heat for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking to get a crispier exterior on the meat. I start checking the temperature on mine after 75 minutes, and it was done in about 100 minutes. I pull at 135 degrees internal.

Once you take the meat off the grill, tent it under tin foil for 10 minutes to allow the juices to settle. Then carve and serve.

DynaGreaseball

Wow! Where have I been?

With all these great reciipes for lamb, I could be busy for days and days experimenting and trying them all. Just a note on something I forgot to mention originally. The roast is from Austrilia, for whatever that's worth. I don't know if it's a spring lamb though.

Thanks everybody. I'll take some pictures once I (we, he) decides which way to go. They all sound really spectacular. I'm short on rubs, but I got lots of fresh herbs. This will be fun.

Beli

This is my humble contribution Dyna. Mucho éxito!!

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&Itemid=55&func=view&catid=1&id=420572

The Naked Whiz

Usually I do them at 350ish (roasting temp) and it takes about an hour and a half to 2 hours. Good luck!

thirdeye

Thanks man, I needed some conformation, the lamb we usually cook is older and takes lower temps. We will most likely have one pit dedicated to the lamb and can surely get 300° from it.