What do I do with a leg of lamb?
 

I was given a leg of lamb for Christmas by a local sheep farmer, with the comment " I can't wait to see how you prepare this!". I am way out of my comfort zone because have never even tried lamb. I have no idea how to cook or serve it. I tried looking for recipes, but since I have never tasted lamb, I do not know which recipes would be good and which would be "meh". I just know one of you wonderful cooks will have an answer for me. With beef roast I roast it on a bed of carrots, and potatoes and onions on top, pork roast is cooked into pulled pork, but what to do with this 8.5 lb lamb roast? Is lamb gamey like venison, mild like beef, oily like pork, what? Help!

I've never ever had lamb (and doubt if I will) but this article really has a ton of information and is fun to read.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/f...g-of-lamb.html

good luck with it :P

Personally I have not tried to cook a leg of lamb but I understand it and is actually a very tender cut of meat; best if roasted to a medium rare. I did find this article which seemed to have a lot of information. http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-roas...-kitchn-202391

Hope this helps.

l Lamb is wonderful. JUst add mint and rosemary and bake it. It will be wonderful

If you are looking for recipes, check out Greek Recipes. Most will have lemon, garlic and oregano.

We eat lots of lamb. It is best to not over cook it. Medium rare is cooked enough.

Lamb has a strong flavour and will get stronger if over cooked and will be stronger tasting the next day.

Lamb is fatty too, which is why lemon juice is nice it cuts the grease.

The English way to serve it is with mint jelly or mint sauce. I prefer lemon to mint.

Leftovers can be used for Shepherds pie, curry, stew, sandwiches and more.

If you have never eaten lamb, you might find the flavor what you would call gamey, but I love it. Goat and lamb are great barbequed. When I have had a lamb roast, I slip garlic and rosemary under the silverskin or cut little pockets and insert it. As someone else said, mint jelly goes well with it. My favorite lamb dish is to make Scotch Broth, which requires cutting it into small pieces for a very good soup that utilizes spices, bay leaves, and barley. I usually make Scotch Broth and put it in the refrigerator overnight, then take the solidified fat off the next day before reheating. If roast or scotch broth don't appeal to you, look up some of the middle eastern recipes that use it.
What a good neighbor you have.

Okay this may sound snippy and it is not intended to be but my first reaction to your question, "What do I do with a leg of lamb?" my thought was give it back to the lamb. My mom and dad loved lamb - but my mom never liked the way she made it so would only have it when they went out. Since I didn't care for the way my mom made it I never thought I would want to waste money on it when I could order what I want. My youngest DD likes it too. So I am sorry I can't offer you any recipes, it was just my immediate reaction to your question. I do hope you enjoy how your leg comes out.

Oh wait, I did see an Alfred Hitchcock tv show years ago, a wife came home from the grocery store with a leg of lamb she intended to fix for dinner, when she got home she found her husband was leaving her for another woman. She hit him and killed him with the leg of lamb. When she realized what had happened she called the police stating she found her husband dead on the floor when she got home from the store. She started cooking the leg of lamb and ended up serving it to the officers that came to investigate the murder. Just a thought..... ;-)

That is a funny story! We grew up eating lamb chops. Then moved to where they weren't readily available. Fast forward years and they became available again. And to me they never tasted as good as when I was a kid. Mr. Stitchnripper orders lamb in Greek/Lebanese type restaurants and he loves it. I take a taste but it still doesn't taste like it used to. Maybe my tastes have changed. Here's a google search of Barefoot Contessa recipes.

barefoot contessa leg of lamb recipes

The Hitchcock show was what I remembered immediately the minute I read "Leg of Lamb" if I recall correctly it was frozen. So it took longer to cook and that made one of the officers a bit suspicious but she fixed tea for everyone and was kinda teary ...and he was distracted. I think the garlic she was peeling is what made her teary IMHO.

I like lamb in Gyros. It is mixed with another meat..beef? I made chops once...that was enough. What a beautiful gift but, frankly, he is taking the chance of someone like me...not appreciating it. Kind of like quilts are for some recipients! Lol!

sandy