Page 12 - April 2021 Barbecue News Digital

Also ask your butcher to re- move the aitchbone, the part of the pelvic bone that has the socket into which the ball of the thighbone fits. In the photo above, you can see the aitch- bone in the lower left, the ball of the femur (thighbone) peek- ing out of the thigh, and the tibia and fibula (shank) in the upper left. Getting the aitch- bone out makes carving the fin- ished roast a lot easier, and unless you know what you are doing, it can be a real pain to remove at home.
Boneless Roast. You can buy
boneless legs, and that’s what I
often do. A boneless leg comes
rolled and tied into a more symmetrical shape, so it cooks more evenly and is easier to carve with no bones in the way. You can do it yourself, but it is tedious. Make sure you ask the butcher to remove the ugly-tasting gland located in
the triangle of fat near the knee. You can even cut the string, open the leg, and stuff the roast with dried fruits and/or seasoned bread crumbs, and then tie it up again. Prunes are a classic stuffing.
Butterflied. Another great way to cook leg of lamb is to bone it but not roll it up. When you are done, you’ll have a big flap of meat, perhaps 2 by 2 feet and 1 to 4 inches thick. The exterior will be fairly even and smooth, but the inside will be irregular and have mountains and valleys from the deboning. These nooks and crannies are perfect places to hide the flavors of
Dolly’s Lamb Rub (see the recipe below), but they can make it hard to cook the lamb evenly. If you reverse sear a butter- flied leg, you’ll get more even cooking and lots of great crispy brown surface.
BIG OL' GRILL ROASTED LEG O' LAMB
My preferred method for lamb is to roast a whole boneless leg. It makes the best presentation at the table and doesn't require as much attention while it cooks. For your next spring weekend meal, perhaps for Easter or Passover, throw a leg o' lamb on the grill and enjoy the day.
I like to dry brine it and trim the fat to a 1/4 or 1/8" layer. Lamb fat is not particularly tasty, so I trim most of it. Then I season the meat with Dolly's Lamb Rub, which I named after the world's first cloned mammal, Dolly the Lamb. Rosemary and garlic are central to the rub and classic sea- sonings for lamb. Forget the mint jelly. Lamb is very much like beef, a hearty red meat. You wouldn’t put mint jelly on roast beef, would you? A better idea: Chop up some fresh mint for a quick board sauce.
Makes. 8 to 10 servings
Prep time. 6 to 24 hours to dry brine Cooking time. 2 hours
Ingredients:
Lamb
1 bone-in leg of lamb, about 9 pounds before trimming 1/2 teaspoon Morton coarse kosher salt per pound
Dolly's Lamb Rub
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons dried rosemary leaves, crushed by hand 1 tablespoon whole mustard seeds
BarbecueNews.com - 12
APRIL 2021