Lamb Cooking Specs


 
A

Albert Sanchez

TVWBB Super Fan
Family has requested smoked leg of lamb for Easter.....
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I've poked around this forum a bit looking for recommended dome temperatures and cooking duration - but have not read anything too definite. Seems like this ought to be a dry water-pan, 300 degree cook.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

-Albert
 
I treat a leg of young lamb like any other relatively tender cut of red meat. Trim the excess visible fat and use a simple rub of salt, pepper, and maybe a little garlic powder. Stronger flavors like lots of garlic or rosemary strikes me as better suited for the meat from an older animal.

I set the Bullet to run in the 275-300 degree range until the the meat reaches medium-rare, about 140 internal. Seems like this takes 20-25 minutes per pound.

Sometimes, I'll also brush it with a little oil and sear it on all sides directly over the coals to form a bit of a crust before finishing the roast indirect. Sprigs of rosemary can be tossed on the coals to add a subtle flavor to the smoke.

Enjoy!
 
Sadly, I can't help you with times and temps, but I can tell you that my mom used to make a leg of lamb that was outrageously good -- she'd trim as much fat as she could, insert thick slices of garlic here and there into small cuts she made in the meat (about the size of her knife blade), then she'd coat the thing in mustard (Grey Poupon -- "the Poop", we call it) and sprinkle a heavy coat of parsley over that. She would carefully weigh the thing (prior to adding the mustard) and calculated the cook time based on the weight. And Ken, that garlic doesn't overwhelm the meat at all. In fact, it's the perfect combination. And you CAN taste the mustard, but it combines with the juices from the meat and the parsley, and it tastes nothing like it did coming out of the jar. Simply awesome. Maybe she'll make it on Sunday...
 
I do a similar thing as Ken. I start with the cooker cranked though, then add the meat and let the temp drop to 275-300. I also cook til medium-rare (although I once couldn't get home to get it out of the smoker. It cooked to 170 and was surprsingly good--normally I can't stand well lamb).

I differ on the flavor front. I think even young lamb does beautifully with garlic and rosemary, you just need to watch quantities.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Art B:
Simply awesome. Maybe she'll make it on Sunday... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sounds wonderful. Perhaps if you ask her nicely...
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I agree that mustard works well here. Mediterranean flavors like lemon, olive, garlic, rosemary, sumac, mahlab, et. al. are nice, as are the farther east flavors like cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, etc.

If you're cooking to medium rare it will not take long, sometimes easy to forget when one's been doing lots of long low-and-slows. Lamb leg can take higher temps so you need not worry if you have spikes or whatever. I use an empty pan as you noted, and grapevine (if I have any) or bay leaves, mixed with citrus wood. Doing one myself on Sunday. Ribs tomorrow. Enjoy your lamb, Albert.
 
Albert, not yet. But soon!

She puts the mustard on towards the end of the cook (within 15-30 minutes of the end). That's probably why you can taste it, as opposed to when you use it to hold a rub on a pork butt. It gets a bit brown, but isn't on long enough to burn.

Sorry this is coming after Easter -- I just didn't see your post until now. Hope your lamb turned out great!
 
Well the aussies loved it when I removed ALL visible lamb fat used rub and cooked to an internal of 160*f (med/well) while cooking at 225*f dome temp.
 
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