Barbecued leg of spring lamb
Emily Watkins' leg of lamb recipe shows that putting in a little extra effort can take a dish to the next level. She uses a salt cure imbued with juniper, pepper and rosemary, drawing some of the moisture out of the meat and leading to a greater intensity of flavour. Using a curing mix for 12 hours, a shorter period of time than a full cure, allows the flavour of the cure to penetrate and season all of the meat evenly. As the lamb is not undergoing the full curing process, you can use normal table salt in place of pink salt if you choose - pink salt contains sodium nitrate which helps inhibit the growth of unwanted bacteria in a full curing process.
Ingredients
Leg of lamb
- 1 leg of lamb , organic
Lamb cure
- 50g of black peppercorns
- 10g of juniper berries
- 1/2 fresh rosemary , bunch
- 1 garlic clove , crushed
- 60g of pink salt , or table salt
- 250g of sea salt
- 130g of dark brown sugar
- 5 bay leaves
- 10g of nutmeg , freshly grated
Equipment
- Barbecue
- Temperature probe
Method
1
Start by making the cure. Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind together the peppercorns and juniper berries. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stems, roughly chop, and combine in large bowl with the remaining ingredients
- 50g of black peppercorns
- 10g of juniper berries
- 1/2 fresh rosemary , bunch
- 1 garlic clove , crushed
- 60g of pink salt , or table salt
- 250g of sea salt
- 130g of dark brown sugar
- 5 bay leaves
- 10g of nutmeg , freshly grated
2
Using a very sharp knife, de-bone the lamb leg and break down into the 3 main muscles. Trim off any sinew and connective tissue. If you are not confident with this step, your butcher can also do this for you
- 1 leg of lamb , organic
3
Place the prepared lamb into the curing mix, coat well and transfer everything into a large resealable bag or vacuum bag. Seal tightly and leave to cure for 12 hours
4
After 12 hours, remove the lamb from the bag and rinse off all excess marinade under cold running water for 5 minutes. Pat dry and set aside at room temperature for half an hour
5
Light the coals in a barbecue, allow to flame then leave to die down slightly to a medium-high heat. Start to cook the lamb at the edge of the barbecue and slowly brown until evenly coloured all over, turning frequently
6
Cook for 45-60 minutes, until (if you have one) a meat thermometer or probe reaches 50˚C when inserted into the middle of the meat. At this point, remove from the barbecue and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature 54˚C. Carve the meat and serve with organic seasonal potatoes and spring vegetables
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Barbecued leg of spring lamb
