It's Friday night where I am, and I've got a 1.6kg boneless lamb shoulder that I'm planning on putting in on Sunday, wanted to post up my plan and see if anyone sees any holes in it.
I found a recipe for shawarma a while ago and the spice mix looks good:
2 tsp black peppercorns
5 cloves
½ tsp cardamom pods
tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 star anise
½ a cinnamon stick
½ a nutmeg, grated
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp sumac
¾ tbsp Maldon sea salt
25g fresh ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, crushed
40g chopped coriander, stems and leaves
60ml lemon juice
120ml groundnut oil
However, since this is an oven recipe, designed to be cooked at 350F/180C and I'm going to be smoking at 225F, I think I'm going to swap out the groundnut oil (which is what, anyway?) for brown sugar and make a rub like you would for ribs or pork, and leave it saran wrapped overnight like you would a pork butt.
The lamb shoulder is a flatter piece of meat than a pork butt is, not sure if I should tie it up or not. On the one hand, more surface=more smoke, but on the other, quicker heating which means less breakdown of the fat and connective tissue. Thoughts?
Finally, I plan to pull it, so I think that cooking it pretty much the same way I did my last pork butt will work: smoking (with apple) at 225 until the IT is 165, then foiling for the rest of the time, maybe with a bit of apple juice in the foil. I've read a couple recipes that say that lamb should be injected, and a couple that say it doesn't matter, not sure on that bit or not.
I'll be cooking in an MES 30 digital, so temps will hold steady whatever I choose.
Anyone see any gaping holes in this plan? I'm still very new to this, so I know I've got a lot to learn.
Thanks for looking, Q-view in 40 hours or so :)
I found a recipe for shawarma a while ago and the spice mix looks good:
2 tsp black peppercorns
5 cloves
½ tsp cardamom pods
tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 star anise
½ a cinnamon stick
½ a nutmeg, grated
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp sumac
¾ tbsp Maldon sea salt
25g fresh ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, crushed
40g chopped coriander, stems and leaves
60ml lemon juice
120ml groundnut oil
However, since this is an oven recipe, designed to be cooked at 350F/180C and I'm going to be smoking at 225F, I think I'm going to swap out the groundnut oil (which is what, anyway?) for brown sugar and make a rub like you would for ribs or pork, and leave it saran wrapped overnight like you would a pork butt.
The lamb shoulder is a flatter piece of meat than a pork butt is, not sure if I should tie it up or not. On the one hand, more surface=more smoke, but on the other, quicker heating which means less breakdown of the fat and connective tissue. Thoughts?
Finally, I plan to pull it, so I think that cooking it pretty much the same way I did my last pork butt will work: smoking (with apple) at 225 until the IT is 165, then foiling for the rest of the time, maybe with a bit of apple juice in the foil. I've read a couple recipes that say that lamb should be injected, and a couple that say it doesn't matter, not sure on that bit or not.
I'll be cooking in an MES 30 digital, so temps will hold steady whatever I choose.
Anyone see any gaping holes in this plan? I'm still very new to this, so I know I've got a lot to learn.
Thanks for looking, Q-view in 40 hours or so :)
