Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Week 8: Herb-Roasted Lamb

Brad has a thing for lamb. I have a thing for Brad. So, I called up the butcher, ordered a lamb, and whipped some up for dinner.

I chose this recipe because it had a great picture in the cookbook and also because it had lots of garlic and butter. You can't go wrong with garlic and butter.

Adapted from:
Herb-Roasted Lamb
in Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten
p. 74

12 large, unpeeled garlic cloves, divided
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 6-pound boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and tied
4 to 5 pounds small unpeeled potatoes (16 to 20 potatoes)
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven so the lamb will sit in the middle of the oven.

Peel 6 of the cloves of garlic and place them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the rosemary, 1 Tbsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, and butter. Process until the garlic and rosemary are finely minced. Thoroughly coat the top and sides of the lamb with the rosemary mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.



Toss the potatoes and remaining unpeeled garlic in a bowl with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes and rost for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the lamb is 135 degrees (rare) or 145 degrees (medium). Remove from the oven and put the lamb on a platter; cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow the lamb to rest for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve with the potatoes.



I have to admit that my shiny new meat thermometer let me down. I must have put it too far into the meat or too near the center or something. The part immediately where the probe was turned out exactly medium rare at 145 degrees. The rest of the lamb was not anywhere near medium rare. It was more like well done.

1 comment:

  1. Meat thermometers always let me down, too. The recipe sounds divine though. I give you lots of credit for trying all these new recipes.

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