Jez wrote: ↑Sun Aug 26, 2018 6:32 pm
BBQ pls
OK, can't remember where I picked this one up from, but it is a good one for lamb. I tend to use the leg, but I expect shoulder would work too.
What you will need:
A BBQ and a temperature probe
1 large disposable foil drip pan
1 leg of lamb
Garlic, probably a whole bulb
Rosemary
Vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
2 carrots
1 onion
1 large glass of red wine
1200ml of lamb stock, beef stock is also fine if you can't get lamb
Take the lamb and using a sharp knife, make incisions about 1" deep. Peel the garlic and slice each clove into quarters and push about 4 cloves-worth into the incisions. Then take a small sprig of rosemary and stuff that in with the garlic into each incision. Using about 1tbsp of olive oil, rub the whole of the joint and then season with pepper and salt and the lamb is prepped. Next take your carrots, peel and chop into large chunks. Quarter your onions
Set your BBQ up for 50/50 direct/indirect cooking, basically you have all your charcoal over on one half of the grate (your BBQ does have a lid, right?).
Put the carrot, onion, the rest of the garlic and any leftover rosemary into the drip pan, and pour in the wine and the stock. Add a twist of salt and pepper.
Sear your lamb to a nicely browned state over direct heat, right over those coals. This won't take too long. Then pop it into the foil pan with everything else, and cook it
indirectly (not over the coals) - ideally you want your BBQ to be somewhere between 180C and 200C - if you have a thermometer built in and can manage the amount of air getting to the coals this is pretty easy to achieve. The leg will have a meatier 'outside' edge and the thinner inside (inside and outside equating to the position when it was still attached to the rest of the lamb) - start your cook with the outside meatier side up.
So - get the lamb in and roasting, lid on your BBQ - it should take between 90 mins and 2 hours so make sure you have enough coals*. If you are not sure, use the minion method - pop down some unlit coals that your lit coals are poured on top of - this will extend the life of your cook significantly.
If you have one, and I can't recommend them highly enough, get a temperature probe. While for smoking I use the all-in-one fan and temperature monitor in my Flame Boss, for BBQ and a lot of non-bbq cooking I use
one of these. It won't break the bank and it will make all the difference whether you are cooking burgers, steak, chicken or any roasting joint.
Half way through the cook, turn the lamb over. Cook it until you have an internal temperature of 65C at the centre of the meat. Remember, the centre of the meat is not the centre of the joint - if you measure the temperature at the bone it will heat up much faster than the meat and you will end up with an under-cooked mess. you want the probe in the centre of the thickest part of the meat. Once it hits 65C (65C will give you a medium cook on the meat), wrap the lamb in foil and pop it somewhere warm to rest for around 15-20 minutes.
Take your foil tray and pour the contents into a saucepan through a sieve. What you should have should be a rich and slightly thick stock with a fantastic flavour. If you want to thicken in, put the pan over the coals and cook on direct heat to let it reduce. Skim off any fat that rises to the top.
Serve it however you like
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So that's my preferred means, although I have done a nice honey-glazed leg too. Smoking lamb you have to be so careful as if you overdo the smoke-wood it can nuke all the flavour of the lamb.
*Charcoal - worth a separate post. See below.