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Butterflied Leg of Lamb

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    Butterflied Leg of Lamb

    I have a 6lb. butterflied leg of lamb. My plan is to dry brine with salt overnight, then apply the Dolly rub (as a paste with water) the next morning, and let that sit until I cook in the afternoon. I will set up the WSM for 225-degrees and let the lamb cook until it hits 115, then move it over direct coals to reverse sear until it hits 130-135 for med rare. I won't roll and tie this, it will be cooked as a "slab" of lamb. Curious as to how long I should leave from putting the meat on the grill until I take it off. Since it won't be rolled, and there is no bone, does 2 to 2.5 hours sound about right?

    #2
    Depends upon the thickness. I would bump my temp up to 250-275*. You should be alright in that time frame.

    Comment


    • 30acrewoods
      30acrewoods commented
      Editing a comment
      Thank you Troutman! The all-important thickness...I'll shoot for a bit higher temp and see how it goes. I love lamb, but it needs to be properly cooked. And please, no mint!

    #3
    I just picked up a boneless leg of lamb at Costco. I was planning on doing the same thing. Please keep us posted with results and tips! Thx!

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    • shify
      shify commented
      Editing a comment
      Ditto your ditto. Got a leg of lamb from Costco and likely to cook this weekend. May go jerk paste and cook on my PBC but trying to figure out the logistics and if I tie it up or leave it open.

    #4
    I agree with Troutman You should be good be good in that time frame. But be careful lamb has fooled me more than once and shot right past that 130-135 range I want. If you have a Maverick or Smoke insert them and set the alarm for 125-130. Carry over cooking will take it towards 135. We love lamb had one for Easter.
    Last edited by mountainsmoker; May 12, 2020, 08:16 PM.

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    • 30acrewoods
      30acrewoods commented
      Editing a comment
      Excellent. Thank you! I do have a Signals, so will keep a close eye on things. We love lamb as well. I've not yet cooked it this way, though. I did a butterflied leg on a rotisserie once and alternated every 15-min basting with butter, then salt water. It was amazing. This will be fun - a big slab of meat, very primal! It's in the fridge, dry brining right now. I've got Dolly's rub all ready to go for first thing in the morning. It's for my mom for her birthday - a surprise.
      Last edited by 30acrewoods; May 12, 2020, 08:24 PM.

    #5
    O.k. It is done! Here are the details: The butterflied leg of lamb was 6lbs as delivered from the butcher. I spent a bit of time further refining the cut so that it was about 5.5 lbs or so when all the trimming was complete. I dry brined it at ~1/2tsp per pound using Mortons Kosher salt*, and into the refrigerator overnight. 12hrs later, I added the Dolly rub as a paste, and then back into the refrigerator for another 6hrs or so. I fired-up the WSM and set Signals with Billows to run at 230F. When temps were stable, on went the leg, fatty side down (mind you, I trimmed most all of the fat and sinewy material prior to dry brining so as to maximize flavor and minimize folks having to cut around non appetizing parts). I slipped one temperature probe into the largest, thickest section, and another into a smaller, thinner section (I cooked this as a slab, not rolled and tied).

    The weather and bbq gods were with me today - after 90-min the thinnest section was at 120F and the thickest section was north of 110F. I pulled the meat, broke down the WSM, opened the vents, and let 'er rip. Set the meat back on the grate right on top of the charcoal ring, used the probes and thermopop, and flipped often until the thickest portion was at 130F. During this time, I cut the leg into three sections - that's just how it seemed to break out, and it afforded me the opportunity to manage the hot and less hot parts of the charcoal with the thicker and thinner sections of the leg. It just so happened that as I was pulling the meat off the grill, my uncle stopped over to drop off a cake (this whole lamb effort was for my moms 72nd birthday, and with social distancing, the elves were about delivering cake, cooking meals, shuttling food, etc. - all to culminate for an previously arranged Zoom birthday party with grandparents, kids, grandkids, aunts and uncles). We just HAD to slice a chunk and have a taste. It was absolute perfection.

    Here is my yardstick: My wife joined my family not having had any good lamb experiences. She has since come to appreciate lamb. My mom is a first generation American, and back where my roots run deep, lamb is king. We have always had lamb, and cooked lamb in every way imaginable. It is always good - and NEVER with mint. My wife now LOVES lamb. And this one she said was the best she's had. I'm still getting texts at this very moment from my family to do this again.

    As always, the recipes, expertise and folks on this site were the key to coming in over the top. You all are the best. Thank you!

    *A note on the dry brining: I've found that 1/2tsp/lb is good for Boston Butt and for brisket, however, with ribs and with this leg of lamb, it was just a bit too salty for me. Mind you, nobody complained - quite the contrary (see above)! - but for my taste, it is a bit much. I think with the ribs it is due to the bones, and thus I will try about 1/4tsp/lb on my next go 'round and see how that turns out. My sense with the lamb is that for whatever reason, it just didn't need so much, and I'll try about 1/3tsp/lb next time and see where I end up. The best part about it, is that every cook is an experiment - and it never goes so bad you can't eat it...so you invite some folks over, dig-in, and then do it again to try and chase perfection!

    After dry brining and the Dolly rub - ready for the WSM

    Click image for larger version

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    Just off the grill, sliced, and ready to devour. Minimal fat, Med-rare to med, a nice reverse sear crust, full of juice and maxed out with flavor.
    Click image for larger version

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    Comment


    • Jfrosty27
      Jfrosty27 commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks for the results update! Looks fantastic.

    • Bkhuna
      Bkhuna commented
      Editing a comment
      Trimming is the difference between good but often gamey and great tasting lamb. It does take time removing all the silverskin and extraneous fat. But it's that fat that gives lamb that off-putting flavor.

    #6
    That looks great!! Nice work.

    Comment


      #7
      As a lamb lover, I cannot wait to try and replicate what you have done. I especially like your approach to IT measurement.
      Last edited by DaveFNQ; August 9, 2020, 05:10 AM.

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        #8
        I'm going to see if our Costco has any on sale. Lamb is one of my favorites.

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