Röktlamm (Juniper Smoked Lamb)

Juniper Smoked Lamb

Lamb has a strong taste that works well with piney, menthol-ey herbs like Rosemary, Mint and Juniper. This is an exotic dish with rustic backgrounds that's served in Italy and Scandinavia (strange bedfellows, yes?). It's tremendously easy to prepare if you have a backyard barbeque or smoker, which I have to do since none of the local smokehouses seen to be willing to custom smoke anything but salmon or beef jerky, despite the fact that the meat I brought them was fresh, I had all the ingredients, my money was as green as anyone else's... but I'm not bitter.

This recipe was vaguely inspired by a Swedish dish called Tjälknöl, which I've had in Scandinavia but only recently rediscovered at Anne's Food. Loosely translated, it means something like "frozen chunk" and refers to the cooking method of slow-roasting a completely frozen roast (usually moose) until it's cooked through, and then brining it afterward. I've given this lamb recipe a more traditional pit-bbq treatment but tried to stay true to the flavors and ingredients of wintertime Scandinavia.

This is an Epic Nom. Seriously, it's really really really good.

We usually just raid the neighbor's hedge for juniper, but if you don't have any growing nearby it can be hard to find. Juniper berries can be found at specialty spice shops or brewing stores (juniper is used extensively in herbal liquors like gin). Smoking over pine or evergreen is a fair substitute but keep in mind that sweet woods like hickory, mesquite or fruitwood won't have the same taste.

Why yes, it WAS frosty that day.

Be careful not to overcook the roast. An old wives' tale claims that lamb must be cooked to the point of dental floss but in reality, lamb is red meat like beef and is wonderfully tender and delicious cooked to medium rare.

2-3 Lb Lamb Roast, Boneless
Green juniper boughs, enough to smoke for 1/2 hour

Brine:

2 quarts water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbl whole allspice berries
4 crumbled bay leaves
2 Tbl juniper berries, fresh or dried
2 Tbl peppercorns


Smash the brine spices in a mortar. Mix with the salt and sugar in a bowl large enough to fit the lamb.

Add enough water to cover the lamb and stir the brine until the sugar/salt is dissolved. Brine the lamb for 12-24 hours, depending on how salty you like it.

Remove from the brine and wrap tightly in aluminum foil.

Roast it in a 250 degree oven for 20 min per pound.

Remove the foil and Smoke over juniper boughs at 250 degrees for approximately 15 minutes per pound, until internal temperature reaches 135-140 degrees.



Remove from the smoker and let set for at least an hour to rest.

Slice and serve.

Best Leg of Lamb You'll Ever Eat

After the Party

Best. Lamb. Ever.

This is no idle boast - Seriously.

My family is Greek. Lamb is what we do and we know it like nobody you'll ever meet. This is the best lamb you'll ever eat. Know someone who doesn't like lamb? Feed 'em this, and you'll have a convert. A few years back a guy advised me that if I fed this lamb to any potential husband material, I'd snag him for life.

NOTE: If you don't have FRESH garlic, lemon and rosemary, go make frank n' beans. This ain't WalMart food.

Ingredients
1 Leg of Lamb (whole leg, ankle to hip)
4 lemons
1 head garlic (whole head, not just one clove)
1 large handful of rosemary sprigs
1/4 cup extra extra extra extra virgin olive oil (The darker and greener, the better).
2 Tbl Salt
2 Tbl Pepper

*Note: If using a small lamb roast instead of an entire leg, cut the ingredients to 1/3 the recommended amounts.

Note the weight of the leg of lamb. You'll need it later.

Grate as much of the lemon rind as possible from the lemons (only the yellow part - too much pith makes it bitter), then juice the lemons. Marinate the lamb in the juice/rind mixture for 3 hours.

Prepare a paste by chopping the rosemary leaves (not stems) and garlic as finely as possible. If you can get it into a smooth paste, you rock. Otherwise just do your best (it's not easy). Mix with the olive oil.

Cross-score the lamb fat on the leg. Rub the salt and pepper into the scores in the fat. Coat the leg with the paste to make a crust, rubbing well into the scores.

Roast in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes per pound (remember the weight of the roast?).

Let the meat rest for 20 minutes under tented foil before cutting. It should still be pink in the middle.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T SERVE MINT SAUCE!!! Mint sauce was invented by idjits who didn't like the taste of lamb. It's like covering a beautiful steak with ketchup. The meat should be moist and flavorful enough without sauces or gravies. Good side dishes with this are roasted greek potatoes, orzo with avgolemono or lemon spinach.

ADDITIONAL TO ORIGINAL POST:

I think there's something really visceral and old fashioned about inviting a whole bunch of people to a meal and then just roasting a huge chunk of an animal. Our ancestors did it, their ancestors did it and lots of cultures still have a tradition of sharing a big ol' joint. ... um, of meat. The photo at the top was taken after an Easter party, where guests were welcome to serve themselves from food in the kitchen over the course of an afternoon. I walked into the room and literally saw nothing but bones and scraps of rosemary on the serving platter. Our guests had picked the bones clean - there wasn't even enough left to make a decent lamb stock. The photo was purely spontaneous but I love what it represents: friends and family, taking nourishment from a single source. Corny? Probably. But true. And... delicious.