- Nov 15, 2012
- 1,025
- 105
Hi folks,
I have some bone-in legs of lamb in the freezer, that were cut in half by the butcher to make them a better size for my 2-person household. I normally roast these bone-in, but for fun decided to debone it and turn it into a smoked marinated boneless leg roast.
Unfortunately the half leg of lamb I pulled out of the freezer was the upper half, and it included the aitch bone. This was bit of a bugger to bone out, but it made it easier that I have a semi-flexible boning knife. See! I knew it would someday pay off to buy that knife.
Here is the deboned half roast. The roast was about 2 1/2 lbs after the bone was removed. I threw the bone into a freezer bag and into the freezer; it will be used for stock at a later date. I could have done a better job around the aitch bone, but what the heck, it was my first time. I always make a mess when I carve a bone-in lamb roast too.
I made up a marinade of red wine, EVOO, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and kosher salt. I think next time I might throw some lemon zest in there too to brighten it up a bit.
I left the lamb in its butterflied state to marinate for about 6 hours.
After 6 hours I pulled it out of the marinade, patted it dry, and reformed it into a vaguely roast-like shape, with the ends tucked in as well as possible. I'm not the best at tying a roast, but it got the job done. I let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.
This morning I smoked it at 225-250 deg using oak pellets in the AMNPS. I took it to an IT of 135 deg F, which only took about 2 1/2 hours. I covered it in foil, and let it rest for about an hour before removing the butcher twine and slicing. Here it is after the twine was removed. It held together surprisingly well.
It sliced like a dream, holding together really well considering the hatchet job I did on it while deboning. Smoke taste was really good. Oak is becoming my favorite wood. It seems like a great all-purpose wood for a smooth strongish smoke taste, and you can sweeten it up with some fruit wood if you want it sweeter. It was great in the tri tip I smoked last week, too. I like it better than pecan or hickory, at least with beef and lamb.
So there it is! A fun new way for me to prepare leg of lamb. The lamb came out very tender and juicy with good flavor from the marinade and a really good smoke taste.
Thanks for looking!
Clarissa
I have some bone-in legs of lamb in the freezer, that were cut in half by the butcher to make them a better size for my 2-person household. I normally roast these bone-in, but for fun decided to debone it and turn it into a smoked marinated boneless leg roast.
Unfortunately the half leg of lamb I pulled out of the freezer was the upper half, and it included the aitch bone. This was bit of a bugger to bone out, but it made it easier that I have a semi-flexible boning knife. See! I knew it would someday pay off to buy that knife.
Here is the deboned half roast. The roast was about 2 1/2 lbs after the bone was removed. I threw the bone into a freezer bag and into the freezer; it will be used for stock at a later date. I could have done a better job around the aitch bone, but what the heck, it was my first time. I always make a mess when I carve a bone-in lamb roast too.
I made up a marinade of red wine, EVOO, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and kosher salt. I think next time I might throw some lemon zest in there too to brighten it up a bit.
I left the lamb in its butterflied state to marinate for about 6 hours.
After 6 hours I pulled it out of the marinade, patted it dry, and reformed it into a vaguely roast-like shape, with the ends tucked in as well as possible. I'm not the best at tying a roast, but it got the job done. I let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.
This morning I smoked it at 225-250 deg using oak pellets in the AMNPS. I took it to an IT of 135 deg F, which only took about 2 1/2 hours. I covered it in foil, and let it rest for about an hour before removing the butcher twine and slicing. Here it is after the twine was removed. It held together surprisingly well.
It sliced like a dream, holding together really well considering the hatchet job I did on it while deboning. Smoke taste was really good. Oak is becoming my favorite wood. It seems like a great all-purpose wood for a smooth strongish smoke taste, and you can sweeten it up with some fruit wood if you want it sweeter. It was great in the tri tip I smoked last week, too. I like it better than pecan or hickory, at least with beef and lamb.
So there it is! A fun new way for me to prepare leg of lamb. The lamb came out very tender and juicy with good flavor from the marinade and a really good smoke taste.
Thanks for looking!
Clarissa
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