Greek-Style Lamb

Presented by The Running Bum…

Today’s recipe for Greek-style lamb was written by the BF aka the Running Bum, and enjoyed by the two of us last weekend at Easter dinner in Incline Village. The amount of lamb RB prepared was easily enough for 4-5 people, and the portion of meat that I brought home (1.5 pounds or so) lasted me four nights (used cold as one of my many salad toppings).

Cavegrrl (CG): For this recipe, what cut are we looking for from the butcher?

Running Bum (RB): Well, the lamb is a boned fresh leg of lamb, normally about 7 lbs after they remove the bone…lamb is in season right now, and Taylor’s [Market, in Sacramento] has all cuts available.

CG: Cool, so how do we prepare the meat?

RB: I rub the whole thing with extra virgin olive oil so a small amount of sea salt will stick to it.  After it’s lightly salted, I pour a little bit of lemon juice over it.  Then I completely encrust the outside with coarsely minced garlic and organic oregano, or a reasonable facsimile.  I like it so that about all you can see is garlic and oregano, and not the meat. 🙂

In the case of something huge and wrapped in twine, I tilt the whole thing upright in a bag and pour about a ½ cup each of additional olive oil and lemon juice down the center of the roast and also let a small amount dribble along the outside.  Then I leave it stationary in the bag in the refrigerator for about 15 to 25 hours.  About 3 hours before I’m going to start cooking it, I take the bag and its contents and shake it and turn it about every 45 minutes, making sure the bag is securely sealed.  This really does the job of completely saturating and marinating the lamb.  Pre-heat the oven [to] 250 degrees [when you are almost ready to cook the meat and before you garnish it in the roasting pan.]

RB: Garnish with freshly cut oregano, if you’ve got access to it.

RB:  Cook it (6-8 lbs.) for two hours and then finish an additional 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  This will yield perfectly medium rare meat.  For medium, add 20 minutes at the original 250 degrees and finish with the aforementioned 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  For rare, cook the initial 250 degree stage for 1:40, and then add the hotter 30 minutes at the end.  Time everything precisely, and don’t open the oven or turn the meat while it’s cooking, and it’ll turn out perfect.

CG: Ah, very nice. Let’s not forget to allow plenty of resting time after you remove the meat from the oven. The last thing you want is for all the juices to seep out. I think we waited about ten minutes before slicing. If this seems like a long time to wait, you can occupy yourself by plating up the other sides you are going to eat during the meal. Also, make sure you cut the meat on a surface that will retain the blood/juices or else your counter will be a big mess. 🙂

CG: As you can see, The Running Bum knows how to cook lamb to perfection! Thanks for joining cavegrrl.com today.

RB: Ah, I’m so glad you liked it.  That’s the ultimate compliment. 🙂

Here’s a picture of us taken at Autorama last month. I added this photo because I wanted you all to get a peek of the author. The couple that “Paleos” together, stays together. 🙂