A butterflied boneless leg of lamb got defrosted by accident, so I thought I’d try smoking it along with some brisket. Followed the brisket recipe in which I rub the meat with salt, brown sugar and black pepper then smoke for 4 hours or so in the Weber bullet followed by 2 or more hours wrapped in foil in a slow oven. Except in this case I pulled it aside after the initial smoke because I didn’t want to overcook it.
The result is what you see here. Ended up medium with just a bit of pink, vs the bloody rare you usually expect for leg of lamb. The sweet seasonings were also a bit off for a gamy meat; next time I’d do a olive oil then add rub some herbs like this pellet grill prep. But I’m not unhappy and it will make for some nice sandwich meat.
Made a nice lamb sandwich, with shiso leaves subbing for the mint jelly.
I have previously encountered smoked mutton, lamb’s older sibling, at Davis Grocery in Taylor TX. They used a shoulder cut and smoked it to fall-apart tenderness not unlike pulled pork. AI tells us smoked mutton is a specialty in Owensboro, KY where it’s dressed with a vinegar based mop.
Aftermarket hinge on my new Weber Bullet
Back to my experiment, I also got a chance to test drive my second hand Weber bullet purchased from a retired Army gadgeteer who had attached a bunch of random hardware like the top lid hinge shown here. My 30 year old Weber had a rusted bottom and smoke chamber and a non functional access door so if I swap out these parts and keep my middle section and top I will still come out ahead considering the exorbitant aftermarket prices for those items. Also, there is some magic attached to the patina of cooked on smoky fat in a well used smoker so I don’t dismiss it lightly. And maybe having two mostly functional smokers is not a bad thing though my spouse may disagree. Your thoughts?
You only have ONE backup smoker!?
Lamb sandwich? I as a kid I asked my parents why we never had lamb. They said among other things, it’s inedible cold. Somehow, still a child, we managed to have lamb and indeed sandwiches from the leftovers.
Mutton vs Lamb. I always wonder why when I saw Australian compared to American lamb it was 1/2 scale, often looking like a long turkey leg.
I like beef steak medium rare for best flavor. I was Bleu aka Pittsburgh Blue in the past. Lamb? Medium, pink. I lead a mint jelly free life.
Pro tip: if you have very rare cold lamb, you can reheat it for example to make a curry and it will be delicious.
In my grilling days a boneless leg of lamb was training wheels for my lamb impaired pals. Burnt ends progressing to rare. Something for everyone. Some got to like lamb. Some dropped by the wayside.
hmmm I think I have a boneless leg of lamb in the freezer…now you got me thinking!!!