# Smoke roasted Lamb



## brianj517

Hi All!

This category was recently added at my request (Thank you, Jeff), so I figured that I should open the first thread...

In some parts of the world, lamb/mutton is the main staple in barbecue. I read somewhere that in Australia, for example, Sheep farming is or was so common that sheep outnumber people by nearly twenty to one! Lamb is also used predominantly in Greek, Indian, and Middle Eastern cooking as well. To say the least, I think it certainly makes for a delicious alternative when looking for something a little "off the beaten path," as many of we self described "Q" connoseurs are prone to do. 

I personally have not tried lamb in the smoker yet, but have enjoyed many a chop, steak, or kebob seared on a hot grill. It is a wonderfully flavorful kind of meat that seems perfectly suited to the smoker when using larger cuts, like a bone in leg roast, for instance. 

I'll just bet that there are a few of our friends out there in cyberspace who have tried this and could offer some insight as to cooking times and temps, as well as some very tasty recipe ideas. I intend to do some experimenting in the coming weeks and will gladly post my resuts as I go. 

I will eagerly (and hungrily) await any expert and not-so-expert ideas from the group. The combined knowledge and creativity that we all share will, I'm sure, turn out something wonderful in "low & slow" time...

Cheers,
Brian


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## hoosiersmoker

There is a fairly large Greek Orthodox Church north of South Bend IN and they have an annual Greek Festival at which can be found some of the best food known to the world! Among the treats available is sliced roasted lamb. They use large "oil drum" smokers to spit roast the lamb halves over hardwood and you can watch them take them out and carve of slices of the best lamb in the world (at least mine) complete with Baklava and a greek salad. If you have the opportunity to have Souvlaki Take it. Souvlaki is also grilled lamb chunks but served like a Gyro on pita.
I feel a trip to the meat dept coming on... gotta go!


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## Dutch

I remember one year when we butched some lambs for a Greek fellow that happened to stop by the shop.  He raised the lambs for a party he was having and his kid went and named them all. He could bring himself to slaughter his kids "pets" so he asked for our help.  In turn, he invited us to come back to his place later that day for some spit roasted lamb.  He used a mop that was made up of olive oil, lemon juice and granulated garlic and every now and then he would he would give the lamb a sprinkle of salt and pepper.   Boy was that some good eating!!


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## ranger72

Hi Guys!

I love lamb too! I have a bunch of ways to do lamb but on this thread I'll keep it simple til we get the hang of it and then build from there.

This is a creation by Bon App'etit columnists Jinx and Jefferson Morgan and it is *Primo*!

*Martini Lamb*  :twisted: 

Martini Paste

1/2 medium onion,chopped

10 garlic cloves

juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons gin

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

5-6 pound leg of lamb, Boned, rolled and tied


*martini mop*   :twisted: 

1 cup gin

1 cup beef stock

2/3 cup water

juice of a lemon

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


Procedure:

The night before your going to *"Que"* prepare the paste. In a food processor, combine the onion, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, gin and salt and then process to combine. 

When those items are processed pour your 1/4 cup olive oil in slowly while processing until a thin paste forms.

Generously spread the paste on the lamb. Place the lamb in a plastic bag and refridgerate overnight.

Next day remove the lamb from fridge and bag and let come to room temperature.Mix the mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm the ingredients over low heat.

Transfer the lamb to the smoker which has been preheated to 200*-220* and *"Que"* it up for 35-40 minutes a pound until the internal temperature of the meat is 145*. this will be rare to medium rare.

Start basteing your lamb with the heated mop after first hour and approximately every 45-50 minutes in charcoal/wood burning pit or as appropriate for your style of smoker.

remove the lamb, wrap in foil, let sit for 10-15 minutes slice and serve.

some people don't like lamb heavily smoked and they can wrap the roast in foil after the first hour in the smoker and cook down the mop a bit until it thickens and use as a dipping sauce on the side instead of using it as a mop.

In my opinion Lamb has the best flavor when it is served rare to medium rare so please don't overcook it unless you are the type of person who just can't eat rare meat.

Crusty Garlic bread, a nice green salad garlic mashed potatoes will round this baby out nicely! :P  8) 

ranger72


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## brianj517

*Ranger72*

Thanks for the great recipe idea! I think you may just have determined my menu for this weekend! I like my lamb medium rare as well, so this sounds perfect. I generally shy away from lamb recipes that involve alot of mint because I find that it camouflages the flavor of the meat too much, where your use of garlic and onion sounds like it would be more of a compliment to the meat.

I'm definitely going to try this in the next few days and I'll post results to let you know how it turns out. Thanks again.

Cheers,
Brian


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## ranger72

*brianj517*!


Don't forget to suck down a couple of Martoonis while making smoke!


I really like this particular recipe for lamb.

ranger72


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## brianj517

*That,*my friend, is a foregone conclusion! No smoke is complete without drinks-a-plenty at my house!

Thanks, again.

Cheers,
Brian


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## bwsmith_2000

So Brian, I'm anxious to hear. How did the lamb turn out? The recipe sounds great. I'm not a really big lamb eater but I can be coaxed....especially with a recipe like this one. Let us know.

Bill


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## brianj517

Hi Bill,

Unfortunately, I was tied up on that particular weekend at a wedding for some former co-worker friend that my wife made me attend, and I did not get to fire up the ol' smoker. Also  we were on vacation until last Sunday. So, I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I did print a copy of Ranger's recipe and as soon as I can convince my wife, I will be giving it a try. (Like you, my wife is not a big lamb eater, so it will take some convincing. I'll probably just prepare it any way and not tell her what it is until she's half way through her meal.  :twisted: 

Cheers,
Brian


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## monty

Brian, I did that once to my wife when I made "Chicken a la King" with a rabbit. The fallout was not pleasant! That subject was brought up many times. Haven't heard anything about it since the divorce, though! (Been five quiet years!)
Monty


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## Dutch

Monty, that doesn't always work (devorcing the complainer).  My little brother devorced his wife 15 years ago and whenever she's in town he always manages to catch heck from her!!  :shock:


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## monty

Earle, she did me the favor so she could make some other poor bloke miserable! Even had the decency to move over 200 miles away! Veeeery quiet here! My pooch wags her tail not her tongue! On top of that the kids are all grown, gone and successful! Friends show up by invitation, usually every other weekend. Will soon do my first smoke for a group of great folks!
Monty


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## decepticron

Just read this thread earlier today and guess what... A buddy of mine gave me a lamb leg last night from one of the many i butchered during the spring kill.  Our local lamb is second to none and this particular farmer has some of the best in the valley.  She's already rubbed with the paste and i can hardly wait till tomorrow.  I'm not big on camera stuff but maybe the mrs. will take a couple shots to share if I ask her nice.


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## decepticron

the leg just went in the smoker.  Gotta make the mop now and then i can polish off the left over gin!


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## decepticron

So the lamb leg is cooking up real nice like but I went through the leftover gin a little too quick.  Luckily the little lady went to the store and got some more so now we have plenty leftover for dinner. Hope the pics look ok or that they worked at all. more to come.
Attachment 9970

Attachment 9971


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## whs1451

I saw this Martini Lamb recipe several years ago, I did 2 boneless legs of lamb for Christmas, one for me and my 13 year old Rottie Sally, and the other for my friend's family who like lamb on the rotisserie. Got them at Costco. I followed the recipe using a little extra garlic, and marinated for 36 hours. Smoked with apple and cherry wood chips on lump charcoal (lump is sooo much better than the cheap stuff at Walmart. I did a shelf full of quartered and cooked golden potatoes on top at the same time. The lamb smelled so good it almost didn't make the 3 mile trip to their house. The smoked potatoes were for a side dish, parmesan cheese, roasted garlic, heavy cream, smoked golden potatoes, smoked russet potatoes, and butter. All whipped together and served with gravy made from the lamb drippings with sauted mushrooms and carmelized onions. You know it is good when you can't stop eating it even when it burns all the way done to your belly because you can't wait for it to cool down. Thank God for iced tea. I lost the recipe but found it once more last year, and then today. I will save it in multiple places this time. Anyone try a free range goose in the smoker? I did that this year, most searches for info were about buying a pre-smoked bird and then oven roasting it. Chef Gordon Ramsey has a spiced goose that looked good. Mine did taste like roast beef, the fat layer and skin withe the carcass and limbs made an excellent broth for ben soup and gravy.


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