Leg of Lamb w/Rosemary and Garlic

SonVolt

All these Leg of Lamb posts recently inspired me to give it a try over the weekend.  Didn't want anything too huge since it was just my wife and brother-in-law at the house, so opted for a "shank end" cut from Publix which is a bit smaller than the upper portion.   

Cooked raised-indirect at 225-250F until the center hit 130F. Let it rest for probably an hour before I seared it off on the gasser. I know, I know. Not ideal, but I still haven't used high-heat with the egg so didn't wanna practice on this relatively expensive cut. Next time I think I'll just remove the plate setter, let it heat up and then blast it over the coals at the end.  

Prep - 
Rubbed with a garlic/rosemary/lemon-zest/salt paste. Made slits with a pairing knife all along the leg and inserted a raw garlic clove into each slit. 



Rolling out some Piandine to grill along with it - it's an Italian flat-bread, not unlike a tortilla in texture. 


Tried to maintain a steady 225-250F until the center hit 130F.  The dome gauge tracked surprisingly closely to the ThermoQ... was very impressed here. 



Plopped on the grate... 




Beautiful sunny day here in the South...



A couple hours later, pre-sear... (I wiped the paste off before searing so it wouldn't burn)




Phew! Came out better than expected. I was worried the shank end would be too sinewy but was pleasantly surprised how tender it was. A+, will cook again. 




I didn't get an money shots of the slices or the bread because the 8 month old woke up and wreaked havoc on our dinner plans... such is life. 

tarheelmatt

Nice looking stuff man. 

nolaegghead

Strong work, great first food post (unless I missed another).

SonVolt

Thanks! Question for everyone - is it still possible to maintain a steady ~250F without the plate setter? Wondering if would have developed more color on the surface had the leg been more exposed to the coals during the cook. 

JohnInCarolina

Now that’s what I’m talking about!  Looks like you have a great place there as well.  Good stuff!

SSQUAL612

Nice!  Love Lamb, but haven't had on the Egg yet.   Is the BNL trying to take over my mowing gig? 

saluki2007

So you do know how to cook.     Yes it's still possible to maintain 250 without the plate setter.  Might have to pinch down your bottom and top vents.  Leg would develop more color as it would have been exposed to the direct heat.  Would prolly have to keep a closer eye on it though and flip a couple times so it doesn't char too much.

nolaegghead

250 direct or indirect is the same temp.  you could run direct with the same amount of "btu output" in your egg, but the direct heat would cause the probes to register a higher point temp.   And the cook would accelerate.  If you could achieve 250 direct, which I have never tried, I would predict a lower indirect temp on the shadow side of the meat and a longer cooking time.

tarheelmatt

Yes you could maintain 250° with or without PS.

Maybe pull when temp is close and go direct with a high temp and close for color?

SonVolt

tarheelmatt said:

Maybe pull when temp is close and go direct with a high temp and close for color?

That's a good idea. How long does it typically take to get the egg up to searing temps when you've been holding steady at 250F?

nolaegghead

not long.  trick is to close the bottom vent and leave the top open and the fire will build up over the top of your lump bed where ya want it for a sear.

tarheelmatt

SonVolt said:

tarheelmatt said:

Maybe pull when temp is close and go direct with a high temp and close for color?

That's a good idea. How long does it typically take to get the egg up to searing temps when you've been holding steady at 250F?

Doesn't take long. 

Pull your meat. Remove PS. Open bottom vent all the way. Remove daisy wheel. 

I'd say 5-10 mins max. You could help with blowing in the bottom or use a fan. Also leaving the Dome open helps induce more air  Many ways to skin it. 

nolaegghead

opening the bottom vent causes the fire to dive down.  try it both ways and you will learn how the source of the air favors the direction of the fire.

SonVolt

nolaegghead said:

opening the bottom vent causes the fire to dive down.  try it both ways and you will learn how the source of the air favors the direction of the fire.

Is that a good or bad thing? I would assume good since it would keep the flames off the meat? Preventing flare-ups etc.. 

tarheelmatt

nolaegghead said:

opening the bottom vent causes the fire to dive down.  try it both ways and you will learn how the source of the air favors the direction of the fire.

Yep, you're right on. 

With wok cooking, I close the bottom an only get air from the opened dome  

nolaegghead

once the top of the coal bed is lit, you can re-open your bottom vent and close the lid to keep flare-ups under control, but you will get smoke.  or just move the meat so it doesn't drip directly into the fire...offset the food.  presumably you didn't light the entire egg of lump to do a 250F cook.  you can control how big your fire is by closing the lid, working the vents.

blasting

Nailed it, and very purdy pics @SonVolt

blind99

Very nice. For a sear feel free as Nola says to just open the egg , pull the platesetter, and close the vent. It really shouldn’t get at all out of control. If you pull the platesetter, take off the DFMT and open the vent that’s another story - now you have a chimney and you can hit thermonuclear temps without realizing. 

Direct without platesetter - commonly done raised, for cooks like spatchcock chicken or chicken wings. Never tried a thicker cut, myself. 

SonVolt

How do you raise up your grid without the plate setter? Do they make a spacer or something?

tarheelmatt

SonVolt said:

How do you raise up your grid without the plate setter? Do they make a spacer or something?

Few ways. 

Fire bricks 
Beer cans
Homemade rig usijg bolts and extra grid 
Grid extenders
Woo rings
AR 

YEMTrey

Excellent looking cook @SonVolt .  Thanks for sharing.

SonVolt

Got an abundance of beer cans... I may try that. 

nolaegghead

SonVolt said:

How do you raise up your grid without the plate setter? Do they make a spacer or something?

no.  no one has ever thought of that.  

SSQUAL612

SonVolt said:

How do you raise up your grid without the plate setter? Do they make a spacer or something?

The Woo from CGS will set your main grid at the feltline & it has a buitlt in spider so you can put a Griddle or Grid just above your coals for a good sear.  I did a reverse sear TriTip today with a 19” stone on the spider for indirect temp of 250 then opened up lower vent & replaced stone with CI Griddle & had it to 650 within 15 min for the sear. 

blind99

Very high tech, costs about $0.39 x3

SonVolt

blind99 said:

Very high tech, costs about $0.39 x3

I'll try that first and save the beer. 

leemschu

Nice view and great food!

SGH

@SonVolt
Awesome job brother.