Slow cooked leg of lamb

[flybloke]

The night before;
Make deep cuts into leg and stuff with Garlic and Anchovies.
You will notice a bottle of Italian dressing, That is for basting the meat after the meat has cooked for a few hours. Use your thumb to push in the garlic and anchovies to get them right down
(I did clean my thumb nail of anchovie for the pic but some still remained)


Next the rub, I make my own and also use store bought ones.
This one has a mix of store bought Greek seasoning, Roast rub and a very light sprinkle of my own Paprika/chilly/garlic/Onion/Brown sugar mix.

Now cover and leave overnight in the BEER fridge, This will save your marriage as I can attest every time I go for a new coldy tonight.
The wife wont like it in "Her" fridge.

Tomorrow I expect to start the Webber up at around 6am
Start to cook at about 7am.

Next post will be about getting the correct temp and how I monitor the meat temp and the oven temp.

[Tangles]

what time you intend to pull it off the bbq?

mike

[PinHead]

I have to ask...why the garlic and anchovies..good lamb is tasty enough without anything else added to it ??

[Ausfish]

Anchovies are great with lamb, be it roast or rack of lamb. It adds salt and the anchovie fishy taste is only slight.

[flybloke]

I started at cooking at 9am, Im about to pull it off at 5.30pm,
It looks the goods:D
The reason for anchovies is when you slow cook, a lot of salt (Flavour) is extracted from the meat. Adding salt(Anchovies) and rubs maintain the salt content and therefore , Flavour.
You cannot taste the anchovies after that amount of ours cooking.
After dinner I will finish the post

[flybloke]

The leg was spotted in Coles, after fumbling through I found one with clear red meat right through the cut end, and a consistent and fine marbling throughout.
Now to the smoking.
Early morning (before 9am) I started the Webber with 17 heatbeads on the one side.
Let them burn till ashed, place lid on and monitor temp.
You will need a temp gage with a 2" probe available from BBQ shops (2 inch probe).
Today was great as 17 heat beads showed up 120 oC at the top of the webber exhaust hole.
Place joint on opp side of heat beads with a pan of water underneath.
The temp will be lower at the grill level so you must maintain 120deg at the top.
If its too hot close the bottom air venta bit or take out some beads. Not hot enough? Add a few more beads.
Now add a chunk of hickory wood on top of beads. dont bother soaking as it will only put your beads out and play havoc with maintaining 120 deg at the top.
Check every 15min for the first 45mins to make sure temp is stable at 120 deg.

After 2 hrs place a new hickory chunk and baste with Italian salad dressing for the first time. Also add a few more heat beads.
Do this every hour then on until the fifth hour were I stop placing hickory chunks.
Now it just a matter of basting with the Italian salad dressing and adding heat beads to maintain that magic 120 deg at the top. I check it every hour.
The meat temp needs to be slowly brought up to about 80 degrees and this can take a long time for it to move past 60 deg. DONT make it hotter to quicken the reaching of the 80 deg mark.
It will get there as long as you maintain 120Deg at the top.
I use a set temp probe placed at the start and also a another one for testing at various places of the joint as It cooks.
With this one, It took 8 1/2 hours then removed, wraped in foil and laid to rest with clean T towls over the top for 15 mins.
With 5-6 hours of smoking this will have a red ring on the surface layer of meat.

[flybloke]

Some more during cooking

[flybloke]

Some more that didn't come through

[flybloke]

The salad is small pieces of roasted and caramelised pumpkin left to cool and then tossed into a normal green salad with a sprinkle of toasted pine seeds and avocado sliced over the top.
Our preferred dressing for this is French dressing.

[LostNearBribie]

And if you can get hold of Tassie lamb, get it, the best there is!

[Adam_G]

Hi Flybloke,

Thanks for your effort with recipie and instructions.

Do you have problems with fumes affecting the meat from adding fresh beads to the cooking meat or do you pre heat the additional beads in a pre heating chimney?

Adam

[flybloke]

I use the heat bead brand and I cannot tell the difference of pre heating or just throwing a few on cold.
I think they throw off fumes at every stage of there burning.
I used to do it (pre heat) But came to the conclusion that a few beads on a already very hot surface tend to just start burning. There is no naked (Cool) flame trying to start up a bunch at once where I do notice the fume smell.
So, to answer, I ash over the initial pile then place meat. I do throw on more during cooking and cannot taste or smell any kero or fumes.
We had seconds tonight and it was just as tender as last night, the smoke flavour had mellowed and was great.
Normally day old roast lamb is best for cold sangers or shepherds pie.
Not so when its smoked, It keeps and stays tender.

I also use the coconut shell brickets that are basically just carbon, They throw bugger all fume and burn hot and long (Bunnings)

[sleepygreg]

what size was the leg you used (kg).
Is the time of cooking using this method determined by the size of the joint?
Do you have fights over who gets the shank? :D

(am lining up the webber to try this one very soon)

Greg

[pubgolf]

Sounds excellent Flybloke.
Just let me know what time you want us over next time you cook that one.

And here i was thinking I put a lot of effort into my cooking

Well Done

:thumbsup:

Rod

[deepfried]

Thanks for the directions. Will be doing my first slow cooked lamb or pork for the long weekend. Looks mighty tasty. Great job mate

[flybloke]

what size was the leg you used (kg).
Is the time of cooking using this method determined by the size of the joint?
Do you have fights over who gets the shank? :D

(am lining up the webber to try this one very soon)

Greg
Greg, It takes about 3.3- 4.0 hours per Kilo. That one above was about 2.1 kilos from memory. The time till done can vary I just pull it off when its done.
The bigger the joint the more it takes the get the internal meat temp to 80 deg
A large, say 5kilo but of beef would take up to 20 hours:o
Also I think the larger joints tend to slow cook beter then pissy little 1.2 kilo ones.
The smaller ones tend to dry out a bit.
I did the cooking and I get the shank;D No one argues that in my family;)
But I then feel selfish and calve bits off to share around and the kids usually get it in the end after my wife does that "Thing" when she starts on about the muscle meat not being good for my heart:-[ She knows how to manipulate me I think::)

[finga]

Do you have fights over who gets the shank? :D

Greg
I have to fight the dog for it in our camp.
The bloody cook spoils the dog too much >:(

Anyways when we cook the lamb in the oven we use soy sauce and water and a dash of good olive oil instead of using the anchovies for the salt thingamebob.
A couple of bit of garlic in the flesh as well.

As a side note...the French think it's weird to have mint sauce with lamb. gees they're a dumb mob. They don't believe in chip sambo's either. :P

[flybloke]

I have to fight the dog for it in our camp.
The bloody cook spoils the dog too much >:(

Anyways when we cook the lamb in the oven we use soy sauce and water and a dash of good olive oil instead of using the anchovies for the salt thingamebob.
A couple of bit of garlic in the flesh as well.

As a side note...the French think it's weird to have mint sauce with lamb. gees they're a dumb mob. They don't believe in chip sambo's either. :P

I thought Anchovie with lamb was weird too until a chef friend showed me just how well they do go. But then again , I eat peanut butter and tomato sandwiches too.
(Try that and you will like).
Even in a 2 1/2 hour traditional lamb bake, Anchovies are great.
The Greeks do it and they know lamb better then most.
My recipe is a fusion of Greek lamb spit and American Pit BBQ.
Re the French,, They Do eat frogs and snails::) and blow up atolls in our south pacific,, enough said ?? ;D

[finga]

The Greeks do it and they know lamb better then most.

Except for our eastern neighbours that is ::)

[Tangles]

Ill vouch for Finga's lamb roast, also anchovies and garlic slivers with sprigs of rosemary is pretty darn good as well.

mike

[GBC]

I can see your cookbook now - 'Webber tips from the Aussie Escoffier'.

[sid_fishes]

our east coast neightbours, scott?
who might they be?
ian

[GBC]

You wouldn't happen to be of the cuzzy bro persuasion would you Sid?

[alphas]

Nice work Flybloke.
I too use the anchovies/garlic combo..Picked it up from one of Hueys cook books.
Tastes great.

[finga]

I eat peanut butter and tomato sandwiches too.
(Try that and you will like).
;D
When I was at school a bloke used to bring vegemite and tomato sauce sambo's.
He used to sell that many to people wanting to know what they tasted like he could go and buy a maggot bag, bag of chips, raspberry split ice block and can of something everyday for his lunch instead.
he had it made. He found a niche market and capitalised from it ;D
Paul was his name. He was from En Zed too if I remember ::)

[flybloke]

Ha ha, Paul was very clever.
I have fresh tomato slices with my peanut butter ;)

[sid_fishes]

GBC, no bloke i,m pure aussie,
ian

[Runamuck]

Can this be done in a gas oven?

[flybloke]

Gas Oven , Im thinking you mean an inside gas oven?
If so even easier!

Salt your leg well (Important) and stuff it as previously suggested
Place your leg into a hot le cruset type pot and just sear the leg all over till you get some brown colour. (Do this on the stove)
Your oven will be preheated to 110 deg and no higher.
Then to the pot add a cup of white wine , a cup of Chicken or veal stock, and a tied up wrap of fresh and or dried herbs (What ever you can scrounge) Time, Bay leaf, Rosemary ect.
Now place the pot lid on and place into the oven. Then go out for the day and dont bother checking for seven hours.
You will not be sorry:) It just falls apart. You dont "slice it" , You just take a chunk out.
There is a little more to this but that is the basic.
The salt is removed during cooking so brining the lamb over night may help.
But do it as above first so you will know next time how to tweak it to your liking.
Hope that was what you were after.

[Nicko_Cairns]

amazingribs is a great site for all things bbq. cheers for the post.