Just grilled a butterflied leg of lamb, 6#, rubbed with Mrs. O'Leary's, dry-brined for 5 hours, and grilled flat and indirectly with Rockwood lump. My fire was a Mae West--two nice mounds with the meat in between. My grate temp started at 465 and slowly but steadily declined to 354 at the end of the 37-minute cook, followed by adding more ignited lump and a quick sear. I pulled it at 130 and carved it at 135. It was rare/medium-rare, delicious, but tough, despite the dry brining. Am I right that I should (1) switch to briquettes so I can grill low-and-slow more effectively (2) and (or?) dry-brine longer?
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Butterflied Leg of Lamb Tough--Bad Technique?
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Charter Member
- Oct 2014
- 2814
- Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
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Cookers:
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Weber Kettle 26
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Not something I cook very often. Your process sounds about right. Maybe more dry brine time and longer on the indirect side might be my only changes. Could have just been a tough cut.
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Sounds like ya' done good, pics look moist, tender, delicious...; Mighta jus' been a tough lamb leg...
Did it have any tattoos, or smell like cigarette smoke, when ya' got it?
Re; Extra picture:
Click Edit on yer post, then make like yer gonna post another pic to it...
See th' list pop up of images?
On yer third (last one), click "remove"
Great pics, BTW, just tryin' to help ya' learn th' forum software...
It can drive ya' buggery mad, when loadin' photos...Last edited by Mr. Bones; September 4, 2017, 10:20 AM.
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Thanks, all; I'm only too happy to recognize it could be the meat! But (I think) I've also learned it's harder to grill low and slow with lump than with briquettes, at least right out of the bag. I've saved Elder Ward's tutorial on sorting lump to make it easier, but I've not tried it yet. I'll give it a go, and I might try a different source for lamb as well!
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Agree with EdF . A few hours in sous vide should help "tender" a lot. Leg of lamb is awesome tasting, but anatomically it's the lamb equivalent to beef round steak. Slicing it thinner will help but some parts may still have some chew.
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We eat a lot of lamb in New Zealand, only a really good leg can be served rear and come out tender. Generally cook to medium/well and you’ll have a much nicer finished piece of meat. There are much nicer cuts of lamb to have rear. Or you can go low and slow with the leg or shoulder and come out with an amazing result. Slow with lamb is only about 3 1/2 hours. Good luck
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holehogg Not that many people eat lamb in US. When folks try it they usually buy from high volume grocery stores or Sam's/Costco. Almost always NZ/Aus origin which tends to be lean. I think many are put off because they expect red meat to taste like beef and it does not! North American lamb usually ends up in specialty meat shops & high end restaurants. It is absolutely awesome grilled/smoked!!!
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HorseDoctor It is not a cheap meat here either some cuts are nearly R200 / kg apposed to A grade beef at R130 but I can vouch for the quality and tastiness of Karoo lamb. Chops are one of the most popular cuts to be grilled when braaing. I must smoke a bone in leg of lamb. Thanks for the feedback.
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We've not tried it, but my wife, who knows her way around a kitchen, has suggested we try Jamison for top quality lamb: https://www.jamisonfarm.com. Apparently a high-end restaurant supplier in the US.
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