AWESOME Leg of Lamb for T-Day - Thanks Stogie!

QBabe

Hey Everyone:[p]Today is the first I've been able to get out here, but I had to report the AMAZING success of the cook I did for Thanksgiving. Since other members of the family were doing the turkey and ham, I decided to try my hand at lamb. Never having cooked lamb before, I did not know a thing about it and got some advice from you kind folks.[p]I used a recipe that Stogie provided, and it was incredible. It was the 2001 National Lamb Cook-Off winner by Chef Paul Kirk. Stogie warned that the recipe was invovled but worth the effort and boy, he was right on the money there.[p]So, first I sprinkled the lamb with the rub on Wed night, sealed it up with my FoodSaver (saran wrap works fine too) and let it sit overnight. I actually opened up the mesh wrapping the roast came in and did all sides of the meat, and then re-wrapped it into a roast shape. Here's the rub:[p]1/4 cup dried brown sugar
2 tbsp garlic salt
2 tbsp onion salt
2 tbsp Hungarian paprika
2 tbsp lemon pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp whole celery seed[p]Then, on Thanksgiving day, I made the Raspberry Ginger Barbecue Sauce, but before I could actually make the sauce, one of the ingrediants (Melba sauce) proved very difficult to buy, so I ended up making it from scratch.[p]Raspberry Melba Sauce:[p]1 (10 oz) pkg frozen raspberries or
2-3 cups fresh raspberries (I used about 3 cups fresh)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup black current or apple jelly (I used the black current)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Cognac[p]In blender, puree raspberries. Strain out seeds through a fine sieve. In a small saucepan, heat the raspberry puree with the current jelly until it comes to a boil. Mix the lemon juice, Cognac and cornstarch to make a slurry. Add the sugar and the cornstarch slurry to the raspberry mixture. Cook until the mixture is slightly thickened and clear. Yield 2 cups. I only needed 1 1/2 cups for the BBQ sauce, so I used the remaining 1/2 cup for ice cream...YUMMM![p]Ok, so once the Melba sauce was made, then I made the BBQ sauce:[p]2 cups ketchup
3 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 cloves garlic, presed
1 1/2 cups raspberry Melba sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup clover honey
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp Grand Marnier or other orange flavored liquor
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp orange zest
2 scallions, chopped
2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp sea salt[p]Combine all ingrediants and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Strain and remove the scallions. Yield 5 cups (mine only gave about 3 1/2 cups...don't know why).[p]Once this was done, then I packed up everything and took our small egg to the family home and set up for an indirect cook. Got there and found that I had left one of my 13" grids back at home....OH, NO! Didn't know how I would do an indirect setup with only one grid...Ended up running up to Albertsons and got one of those 4.99 portable grills and the round grid (with slight modification) worked in a pinch as my lower grid to hold the firebricks and drip pan. Whew![p]So, now that the heart attack had subsided, I just kicked back and enjoyed the delicious smells emanating from the little cooker...a little cherry wood and the smell of that meat just wafting around the neighborhood....mmmmmm! Kept a stable 350° the whole time and estimated 20-30 minutes per lb, so was guessing about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs.[p]About an hour before we expected it to be done, did the last step in the process...making the Raspberry Mint BBQ Sauce and Glaze:[p]3 cups raspberry ginger barbecue sauce
1 1/2 cups mint jelly[p]Combine the BBQ sauce and the jelly in a saucepan and heat until melted and blended, about 10 minutes. Don't let the sauce boil. Use as a glaze and a sauce. Yield about 4 1/2 cups.[p]Once it was blended, I just turned it down and about 30 minutes before the meat was to be done, I started basting it about every 10 minutes. Since the glaze only called for 3 cups of the bbq sauce and mine had yielded about 3 1/2 cups, I kept some out to serve at the table (did the same for the one with the mint too, just to see how they differed). Both variations were excellent![p]Our 4 lb boneless leg of lamb took 1 hr 45 minutes to reach 145° on the polder. Sat 10 minutes before carving. Around the edges, it was more medium, but the center was med-rare, so worked out well for everybody. Truely AWESOME flavor and that sauce is to die for! A LOT of work...but well worth it! The family is still talking about it! In fact, our uncle John was so impressed, he had to go down to the deck and look at our egg. Maybe a new egger in the works...[p]I know it was a bit of a long post, but thanks, Stogie! The recipe was fantastic and definately will be done again! [p]Mornin' Irish Coffee's to ya,
Tonia
:~)[p][p]