Conference turris::cooks

E,
  I would suggest a fresh leg of lamb from either a reputable butcher or
from a good supermarket. (i.e., Triple A, Stop & Shop or Star.)  It's
hard to judge lamb from the exterior, it is usually encased in a layer
of fat/muscle.  Some butchers strip away some of this to reveal the meat.
Lamg should be red or pinky red, not brownish or faded.

    I would suggest a large leg for 6 people. Allow 1.5 to 2 pounds per 
person since you must include the bone in your estimate.  Lamb also
shrinks when cooked.

    I would recommend that you follow the roasting time recommended in your
favorite cookbook.  Roast it uncovered.  I like to trim away some of the
excess fat.  I then insert 4 to 6 cloves of garlic into the leg.  Sprinkle
with oregano and black pepper; dot with butter.  I add water to the pan to
prevent splattering during cooking.  

(Mutton is usually greasy so stick with fresh lamb.)

Suggestions for meal:   How about steamed small red potatoes.  You can
season these with rosemary and thyme while they are steaming.  Fresh peas,
either pods or mature peas go well too.  Sometimes I serve mint jelly
as a relish.  A good hearty red wine is best for lamb.  (Cabernet Sauvignon
or Merlot or Pinot Noir.)

I hope this helps -

Bon Appetit

S

When you buy the lamb, I suggest you ensure that it is American rather than
New Zealand lamb.  American sheep are fed a diet of corn or other grains
for a time before they are butchered, whereas NZ ones are allowed to graze
free on grass until slaughtered.  The latter method imparts a flavor which
I can easily notice and which I find unpleasant.  (This corroborates the
comment on frozen lamb; most NZ lamb comes frozen, most US lamb is fresh.)

Rosemary is a good seasoning for the outside of the meat.  A method I use
is to trim most of the fat (leave a thin but noticeable layer), insert garlic
into slits cut in the meat, rub the outside with a good Dijon mustard, 
and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and crushed rosemary before roasting.

You're right about lamb being a fatty meat, and the problem becomes acute
and unaesthetic if the fat is allowed to cool and congeal on the plate.
You should therefore preheat the serving platter and the guests' dinner plates
at the time you serve the carved meat.  Serve about what you think will be
consumed, and go carve more if anyone wants seconds.

A good condiment is chutney.  (Good ol' Major Grey's, or any other you fancy.)
New potatoes and a fresh green veggie are my favorite side dishes, too.

If you don't already have a copy, go the the nearest friend/library/bookstore
and get JOY of COOKING, by the Rombauers.

Although they are a *little* opinionated, all the basic information on how to
prepare ANYTHING is clearly explained, and I have never followed by following
the instructions contained therein.

Steve

for more informal occasions, i recommend butterflying the leg of lamb
(removing the bones and flattening out the meat into a more or less
even piece).  this can be marinated or brushed with a dijon mixture or
simply brushed with oil and rosemary and then grilled on a barbeque or
broiled, much as you would a steak.  i recommend "craig claibourne's
kitche primer" as an excellent, inexpensive basic cookbook (in paperback)
which has step-by-step instructions on basic preparations for meats,
poultry, and fish.

lamb sould be served pink (or rarer still for some), not done to a gray
fair-thee-well.  some older cookbooks seem to treat lamb the same as pork
and grossly overcook  it.  fanny farmer seems to be a prime offender...

I am not a real lamb lover, in fact hardly eat it at all, and the same for my 
family.  However, when I decided to cook a leg of lamb a read many, many 
recipies on how to cook it.  Its amazing that there are so many different
ways to cook this meat.  After reading thru many recipes I settled on a
combination of a James Beard one, and another taken out of a magazine in
1981(I save recipes).  After cooking it my family and I all raved about
it and since then I have cooked it twice with great results.

There are many things that one can do with leg of lamb.  The important thing
is to prepare it properly in the first place.  The outer papery skin MUST be
removed; if not, the meat steams inside it.  The more fat you can pare away,
and it can be tedious, the more delicious the meat is.  Leave just a hint of
fat to help the browning process.  There are many ways to enhance the flavor of lamb when it goes in the oven.  The most popular seasoning besides salt and
pepper is fresh garlic.  Cut garlic into small slivers, make incisions on the meat with a sharp knife and stuff in the bits of garlic.  Ten run the lamb well
with rosemary, roast it that way and you'll have a most successful dinner.

For a 6-8 pound roast use about three cloves.

slice about two carrots, 2 onions, and two ribs celery and place this in the
bottom of the pan.

lay the leg of lamb on the veggies

add 1 cup dry white wine

add 1 cup chicken broth

occasionally baste with the juices in the pan and if it looks like they are being
absorbed by the veggies, add what you feel is necessary

cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes per pound - this will give you pink meat

when done, remove roast from pan and place in warming oven.  spoon off as much
fat from pan as possible and dump veggies, juices, etc into pot to make gravy.
cook over high heat until reduced by half.  adjust seasoning, strain into
dish (I usually squeeze as much juice as I can from veggies) and serve.

To cut, hold lamb by leg and cut slices parallel to table towards you - I know
this sounds dangerous but if youre careful you wont be serving sliced thumb.

As far as veggies go, almost anything will go.  One thing I always like is
a cooked stuffed tomatoe and of course any kind of potatoes.  The wine to
serve is thee wine your guests like, irregardless of red-white-rose,however
I prefer any kind of dry red.

Hope your dinner is a great success.

Enjor

Rick

Lamb can be cooked easily and with little effort.  To have the least amount
of effort, your basic ingredients should be 1)leg, 2) garlic juice (or oil),
3) flour.  A meat thermometer, while not mandatory, makes things easir.

You don't have to have the fell (the papery skin) removed.

Preheat oven to 325-350.
Rub garlic juice/oil over all exposed surfaces.
Dredge the fell with flour.
(a sprinkling of salt and/or pepper is optional, but unnecessary)
Place in roasting pan in rack.
Insert meat thermometer, if you have one.  Otherwise, 25-30
minutes/pound.  Without thermometer, expect lamb to pull
bach from bone by shrinkage.

Can be served with a variety of veggies, from potatoes (pan roast is fine)
to exotics.

Pointers.  For smaller groups, shank half of leg's easier to carve.
Lamb can tolerate a spectrum of wines, though a rose may be a safe bet.

Hope this helps.

Apollonius

Most of the recipes say pretty much the same thing.  Being Greek I've 
had lamb ever since I can remember and over the years have experimented 
with cooking it.  My best success (tenderness-wise/flavor-wise) is to 
cut off every bit of fat I can.  I make slits in the leg and insert thin 
slices of fresh garlic.  I then take olive oil and rub over the outside 
of the lamb; squeeze some fresh lemon over it; sprinkle lightly with 
salt, pepper, and oregano.  Then I bake in the oven at 450 for one-half 
hour.  I remove from the oven and scrape the pan adding about a cup or 
so of boiling water (this makes great au jus).  Return the pan to the 
oven and continue baking at 325 until the cooking is completed.  I use a 
meat thermometer and consider it finished when the temp reaches just a 
little over medium-rare for lamb (can't remember the temp, sorry).

For veggies I enjoy making ORZO rice (it's like regular rice only 
thicker) cooking it in the aujus from the lamb.  I haven't been able to 
find it here in Lynchburg (small city, no ethnic specialty shops) so I 
wind up making rice pilaf.  

Billie

I hope your non-veggie family enjoyed the lamb.  Personally, I love lamb.
It is about the only red meat we eat, and we have it usually once a week.
I like to roast a leg of lamb the way my mother taught me: cut up several
cloves of garlic into thin slices, jab the surfaces of the lamb with a
knife to make small slits, and stick in the garlic slices.  Then cover the
exposed surfaces with a thin layer of good mustard, like moutarde de meaux
(don't use yellow hotdog stuff - ycch!).  Don't worry, the finished result
will not taste like either (yellow hotdog) mustard or garlic.  Then roast
it up on a rack (lets fat escape) for however long and at whatever
temperature your trusty general-purpose cookbook says to (I usually
refer to Betty Crocker for these things - Joy of Cooking will intimidate
you into think that only experts can cook.  Actually, anybody can cook!).
The resulting roast is good with a fruity red wine, a Beaujolais or
a Burgundy.  I like it with fiddlehead ferns when I can get them - delicious,
taste like mild asparagus (also delicious).

Charlotte

    It's way past Easter, but I just joined this conference.
    
    I usually cook lamb on a spit. Cook it slowly and leave it pink and the
    fat tends to run out.
    
    If cooked slowly in the oven on a rack with the skin scored like a
    pineapple you will get similar results but not as good.
    
    We in Aus use the leg or rack, although the rack needs defatting.
    
    If you want a really top alternative try baby goat, kid. Italian
    butchers sell it as capretto (the italian name for it). It has a
    similar taste and far less fat, but needs to be very young and very
    pale pink.
    
    If you want any recipes from the land of the lamb eaters, just yell.
    
    It is traditional in parts of Italy to eat lamb at Easter and there are
    some great Italian recipes for it.
    
    Cheers, 
    
    Stuart

    There's nothing better than good roated lamb!
    Buy the smaller leg you can find... (the smaller the best delicate and
    tender) rub leg with some mashed garlic/rosemary/pepper diluted in a
    bit of oil and roast till golden tender.  I always serve it along with
    roasted red potatoes and either broculi or green beans (live them both)
    
    I use the drippings of pan, already deglazed, to make gravy.  I use l
    cup or water and 1 spoonful flour, I add 1/c cup of good wine and some
    rosemary or even better, a fresh spring of mint.
    
    "Cordero Asado" is the spanish name for this dish and it is delicious!
    but beware, the lamb must be joung and all fat is removed from meat
    before roasting... if fat is left on, it gives the meat a very heavy
    smell/odor/taste that not many people like, but small lamb... that's
    pure heaven!
    I hope you enjoy your dinner.  Ana