I just wanted to remind all you procrastinators that time’s running out to get your Menu for Hope donations and raffle bids in. If you haven’t put a ticket in for my King Arthur Flour $100 gift certificate (prize code UW04), now would be a good time. How about a couple of brotforms, Hamelman’s Bread (my favorite bread book), or a digital scale?
Now I have a little hope of my own: that some of you kind people will steer me in the direction of a foolproof recipe for boneless leg of lamb, which I have never cooked before but somehow thought that Christmas dinner would be the ideal time to learn. At least it seemed like a good idea last month when I put the lamb order in to my meat CSA. Because, you know, the holiday shopping and decorating and baking and partying don’t occupy nearly enough of my bandwidth, and cooking the second most important meal of the year for three times as many people as I usually cook for is always the best time to try new things, and waiting until the last minute to figure this sort of thing out is just… well, it’s just me.
So here’s a deal for you: the first ten commenters to give me a recipe link or constructive advice for “lamb for people who don’t know how to cook” by noon (PST) tomorrow will get one extra virtual Menu for Hope raffle ticket, on me. Just indicate the 4-character code of the prize you’d like it to be for (prize codes are here), and I’ll buy a ticket for it, and if I win it, it’s yours. (But please make it something other than my prize, because I don’t think I should bid on my own.) Check out the list of prizes if you don’t have all the codes committed to memory by now.
So how about it? Will you help make Menu for Hope, and my Christmas dinner, a success?
While I haven’t done it myself, a friend of mine, who is Greek and considers himself an expert on lamb, slow roasts his in the oven for most of the day. He liberally applies salt and pepper to the outside, and cuts small holes in the meat and sticks garlic cloves inside. From the crust, I’d say he first puts it in a very hot oven (450+), then turns it down to the lower temperature when he sticks the meat in. I do that with beef roasts, with excellent results.
Like I said, I haven’t done this myself, but my friend’s lamb is always tender and juicy, and full of garlicky goodness. If this is at all useful, please put me in the running for a brotform. Thanks!
Thank you northside food! Please go to the Menu for Hope master prize list (http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2008/12/menu-for-hope-2.html) and find the code of a prize you’d like, and let me know.
Susan, if you like lamb persillade you might like this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated ….http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/cooks-illustrated/115080/roast-boneless-leg-of-lamb-with-garlic-herb-and-bread-crumb-crust. Merry Christmas.
UE21
make about 8-12 little slits in the fatty part of the lamb and stick slivers of garlic in them. press a little salt and pepper onto the surface, also some dried herbs if you wish. Roast at 500 F for about 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375, and scatter some sliced onions and carrots around the meat. Roast another 30-60 minutes, or until the meat is done however you like it (I like mine rare so I go with the shorter time) Let the roast rest for 10 minutes before carving. Meanwhile add about 12 oz chicken or beef stock to the roasting pan and boil it on the stove to get all the browned bits in. Strain the sauce, skim the fat off, and season with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Merry Chrismas!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/silence-of-the-leg-o-lamb-recipe/index.html
Alton Brown does this on a grill but you can do it in the oven by searing the leg on all sides and placing it in around a 300-350 degree oven until it reaches temperature.
UW 27
It would have to be “Lamb you can eat with a spoon”
one of the best ways to cook lamb, even if it seems strange to cook it for a long time – it melts in your mouth, the sauce is fantastic, AND it could not be any easier to make
here we go for the link:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Means-Lamb-You-Can-Eat-With-a-Spoon-23495
UW02
Dear Susan,
I found a couple of sites that look promising:
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001720roast_leg_of_lamb.php
http://www.bestcookvideos.com/2007/08/23/how-to-make-roast-leg-of-lamb/ –> a video!
http://www.lambrecipes.ca/recipes_by_cuts/r_boneless_legs.htm –> many ideas for boneless leg or lamb
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/meat/lamb/mp-leg-lamb-coll.html –> another collection of leg of lamb recipes
My dad loves lamb and I’ve tried a simple salt & pepper, rosemary, garlic “rub” and then baked it at low heat (~325-350F) until it’s juicy and he can’t wait any longer to dig in.
No need to enter me because I will do some bidding myself for a certain gift card heh heh. Your posts and yeasty wisdom are as great a gift as I can ask for. Good luck, and have a very Merry Christmas!
If I were doing it, I’d rely on the cooking lamb for dummies recipe that can be found here: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/garlic-roast-lamb-with-potatoes.html
UE21 (although yours IS the best!)
As an alternative to all the roasting suggestions, leg of lamb could also be braised. Simply season the lamb with some salt, sear it all around in a large pot, sweat a mirepoix (diced onion, celery, and carrot) and some garlic, and deglaze with some red wine (enough to have 1″ to 2″ in the bottom of the pot). Toss some bay leaves in the pot, and add some freshly ground black pepper. Cover the pot, bring everything up to a simmer, and place in an oven at 300 F. Every so often, it might be a good idea to turn the leg over in the liquid, and check for doneness (about 160 F). Some mashed potatoes would probably make a good accompaniment.
This won’t be quite as luscious as a braised lamb shank (which has more connective tissue to keep things moist), but I think it works nicely.
If this qualifies as constructive advice, a ticket for UE10 would be great. Thanks, and good luck with the lamb.
I have made a roast leg of lamb under a salt dough crust that was delicious. I’m not close to my books right now, but there are several recipes online to give a sense of how it works. The salt dough locks the moisture in, making it a very forgiving method, and it is a bread-related tip, to boot! Good luck, and happy holiday eating.
UE15
Thanks so much for all the great advice and suggestions. I think I can pull it off! Menu for Hope bids have been made, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you all win. Merry Christmas!