Looking for Info on smoking Leg Of Lamb

[BBQ Bart]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to do an approx. 8 lb  leg of lamb this weekend in my DBS and I've never done one before.

Some questions for the experienced members:

1) Any suggestions for a good lamb rub?
2) What temp should I cook at, 210 perhaps? and what would be approx cook time at that temp?
3) What should I shoot for as far as internal temp to reach doneness?
3) How long to FTC?
4) Any other things I should know?

Many thanks to those your reply
BBQ Bart

[Wildcat]

Cook to internal temp of 165 F.  This is between medium and well. (160 is medium and 170 is well)

I cook at around 200.

I like apple wood for lamb.

Time varies due to a number of factors.  No need to FTC except as a buffer for time.

I have not used a rub yet.  The legs I have obtained so far are pre-marinated.  I believe it had lemon pepper, rosemary, salt, onion, and possibly some other stuff.

[Smokin Hoosier]

If you're still looking for Lamb recipes, I've had great luck with this one, and not just because it's a fellow Indiana smoker!

Good Luck!

Smokin Hoosier

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Indy
Newbie

Posts: 24


     Leg of Lamb (boneless) Success!
« on: August 15, 2005, 05:55:01 am » Quote 

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I was looking for a recipe for a 5 1/2 pound boneless New Zealand Leg of Lamb that I had bought at Costco or Sam's Club, I don't remember which. I checked the forum, and came up with a tip or two, and I also checked Jamison's S&S for recipes. I also checked a third source and it was one of Wolfgang Puck's cookbooks (yep, the Hollywood guy). In a nutshell, I combined the tips, and a couple of different recipes and came up with something that was the best lamb either myself, my wife or some friends that we had over for dinner, had ever had. What I did is the following:

Marinade:
1 Cup Olive Oil
10 Cloves of Garlic Chopped(I use the preshelled kind from Sam's Club)
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
1 Cup Apple Cider (Old Wolfgang recommends Pomegranate juice, but said to use cider as a backup if you don't have a bunch of pomegranate juice drinking liberals running around loose in your city and thus you can't find it at the store!)
3 Tablespoons of Sea Salt
A few shakes of ground pepper

Mix the above ingredients together and rub it into the leg of lamb, including using a baster to get the marinade into the cavities, but don't cut the string holding the roast together. Place the lamb in a gallon size ziplock bag, or equivalent, pour in the rest of the marinade and throw it in the fridge at least overnight.

The next day, pre-heat the smoker to about 200 degrees, and put in 2 hours of pecan and 1 hour apple pucks. Take the lamb out of the bag and put it, with the marinade particles still stuck to it, into the smoker and smoke the lamb until the internal temp is 140 degrees (about 3 - 3 1/2 hours).

Note: I put a round metal cake pan (like the kind you'd use two of to make a birthday cake) under the lamb to catch drippings for gravy, and it worked like a charm. I put the lamb on the second rack space from the top, and put the pan 2 rack spaces down. The flow of the smoke did not seem to be affected in the least.

When the temp hit 140 degrees, I took the lamb out, took it off the rack, and dutifully wrapped it in foil, then a towel, and put it in a cooler. (I actually put the whole thing in the microwave, <b>not</b> while it's running of course, it works just like a cooler).

I took the drippings from the pan in the smoker and put them in a sauce pan, added chopped onions and cooked until they were soft, added a bit of milk with corn starch in it to make a gravy.

When I served the lamb it honestly was the best any of us had ever had, and I've cooked lamb more than a few times! I served the gravy too, and it was also a hit as it had a perfect (not too strong) smokey flavor.

Good luck with this if you try it, and let me know if anyone has any suggestions for variations.

Indy

[Carter]

Funny, I tried that very recipe and was a little dissapointed (not trying to offend anyone here).

1.  My lamb never gave me the drippings that the write up is referring to.

2.  I found internal temp of 140 was too rare for me.  I like my lamb chobs rare, but leg o' lamb's got to be a little more done because it is just laced with fat.

3.  I also found the smoke made the lamb taste odd.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but it just tasted weird.  I'm pretty sure I used Special Blend (because I had it in one of those variety packs).  Maybe it was the marinade that didn't do it for me.

I love lamb too.  I'm willing to give lamb one more whirl, probably using apple wood, and a plain old garlic/rosemary/salt & pepper rub, and I'll do it to medium/medium well.

If it doesn't work, it's back to the oven sans smoke.

Lamb might be one of those things that you smoke for an hour or two and then bring it right in to the oven.  Forget about trying to cook it properly in the Easy Bake Oven.

Carter

[Artmiester]

Hey Bart,
Don't know if your still following this thread but I've had great success with 6# Aussie legs . Back in September  I found this recipe in the Bradley collection and the paste is absolutely killer. I followed the recipe to the letter and I was well rewarded. The lemon zest really sets off the lamb flavor. Try the following link and you won't be disapointed. Good luck! ;D

http://www.bradleysmoker.co.uk/recipes/collector/lamb/sb005.htm