At Costco the other day I purchased a small boneless Australian leg of lamb. I don’t buy them very often because even the small ones are simply too much meat for us to use. And I like to prepare them whole – not cut it in half with freezing part of it (because I think the frozen pieces never are as good as the freshly prepared ones). So I have to be creative in using the leftovers. And we generally invite somebody over for dinner when we fix it. Our son, his wife, and our young year-old grandson joined us this time. I wasn’t motivated enough to make a salsa or sauce this time, but opted to serve it simply, as is. But I did serve it with the watermelon tomato salad, the BBQ macaroni (pasta) salad, and some grilled pineapple (see below).
First I brined it. The experts say red meat (beef and lamb) doesn’t require brining, but I thought it would be a good thing to help retain moisture. I used a spicy herb brine mix that I buy from Whole Foods. As a side note, I use a whole lot less of the salt mixture than the jar indicates (if I used their proportions I’d use up the mixture in about 3 brinings. And if you’re not sure how salty to make it, add some salt to whatever quantity of water you think you need to cover the meat, then TASTE IT. If it’s mildly salty, that’s perfect. Very salty – add more water. You want it to be pleasantly salty. If you can’t really taste the salt, add a bit more.) I’m very sensitive to salt, so I prefer a mildly salt brine, but it’s completely up to your palate.
I let it marinate (turning it several times) for about 4-5 hours, drained it, then Dave threaded it onto the rotisserie probe. The roast was covered in one of those elastic mesh thingies – that held firm all through the grilling process. Because the brine was already spiced, I opted not to use the lemon marinade from the recipe (below) I referred to (Rotisseried Leg of Lamb with Lemon and Butter, from Steven Raichlen’s book, The Barbecue Bible). The recipe includes, though, a basting mixture of oil, lemon juice, white wine (I used just lemon juice), garlic, oregano and pepper, which Dave slathered on the meat every 15 minutes of its grilling. The recipe indicates to grill until the meat reaches 170 F. That’s way too long if you like red-hued meat. We took it off the grill at 140 F, and let it sit. It was still blood rare, so I might opt to cook it just a tad longer (like 145 F). We let it sit loosely covered with foil for 5 minutes (should have been 10) before carving and serving. It was delicious.
As with most legs of lamb, some parts of the meat are more tender than others, but it was cooked very nicely, and I liked the flavor. The combination of the lamb with grilled pineapple was really great.
THE GRILLED PINEAPPLE: We sliced the peeled pineapple in full rounds about ¾ inch thick and grilled just long enough on each side to get lovely grill marks and be hot throughout. If you’ve never had grilled pineapple, may I nicely tell you – NOW – get yourself to a market with good-quality, ripe pineapples and buy one. It’s one of the simplest sides (or dessert with vanilla ice cream if you’re so inclined) that you’ll ever make. I mean – you cut off the skins, remove most of the eyes, slice and grill. If you do it for dessert, maybe put a tiny amount of brown sugar on one side. Either way, the pineapple gets this unctuous caramelized appearance AND caramel flavor. Not to be missed.
As for the lamb: Now we’ll see what I can concoct for the leftovers. Any of you have favorites? My first go-to would be shepherd’s pie, but it’s awfully hot weather for that. So, we’ll see what I can invent this time.
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Rotisseried Leg of Lamb with Lemons and Lemon Baste
Recipe: Steven Raichlen, The Barbecue Bible
Servings: 8
NOTES: If the leg of lamb has one very large hump of meat once you open it up, it’s wise to make a deep cut in that part of the meat to create another surface – like a flap, so to speak. Don’t cut all the way through, just enough to add another valley for adding spices and lemons.
3 1/2 pounds boneless leg of lamb — butterflied
MARINADE:
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground white pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 whole lemon — halved
6 tablespoons unsalted butter — room temp
BASTING MIXTURE:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cloves garlic — minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano — crushed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. MARINADE:Combine the salt, pepper and oregano in a small bowl. Open out the butterflied leg of lamb on a cutting board so the inside is UP and sprinkle the meat with one third of the spice mixture. Squeeze the juice from one lemon half over the meat, then cut the used lemon half into quarters. Set the pieces aside while you rub the surface of the lamb with 3 tablespoons of butter, then scatter the lemon pieces on top. Fold the lamb back into its original cylindrical shape and tie it at 1-inch intervals with butcher’s string. Place on a baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours.
2. Set up the grill for rotisserie cooking and preheat to high.
3. When ready to cook, skewer the lamb roast lengthwise on the spit and rub all over with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Add another generous sprinkling of the spice mixture. Attach the spit to the rotisserie mechanism, cover and let the meat start rotating.
4. BASTING MIXTURE: combine the oil, lemon juice, wine, garlic, oregano and pepper in a medium-sized nonreactive (plastic is good) bowl and whisk to mix.
5. After the meat has been rotating for 15 minutes, restir the basting mixture and brush it all over the lamb, using a long-handled basting brush. Cook the lamb until crusty and brown on the outside and done to taste, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. An instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the roast will register 145 for rare, or 160 for medium or 170 for well done.
6. Uncover the grill every 15 minutes to brush more basting mixture on the meat throughout its cooking time. Add more of the seasoning mixture from time to time. (If using a charcoal grill, add 10-12 fresh coals per side after one hour.)
7. Transfer the roast, on the spit, to a cutting board. Extract the spit and let the roast rest for 10 minutes. Remove string and slice.
Per Serving: 477 Calories; 33g Fat (62.8% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 152mg Cholesterol; 836mg Sodium.
Toffeeapple
said on August 21st, 2008:
Mmm…that smells delicious, even from here! Lamb is lovely when it’s still pink in the middle. My poor mother could only afford the really cheap cuts (even though we lived in Wales which is covered in the things!) so had to cook everything slowly for a long time.
Toffeeapple: It was delicious. I have another day before I must figure out what to do with it. Am still leaning towards shepherd’s pie, even though we’re in the middle of summer. I do love the stuff.
Toffeeapple
said on August 21st, 2008:
Oh yes, Shepherds Pie is so comforting! I have been known to add a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce to the meat before covering it with lovely creamy mashed potato. Scrumptious.
Indeed, I always add some Worcestershire to my shepherd’s pie mixture. I think of it more with beef than with lamb, but this lamb I made didn’t have any taste, particularly, of lamb, so it likely will work just fine. . . . Carolyn