Broiled And Slow Roasted Butterflied Leg Of Lamb With Cumin And Garlic Food

BROILED AND SLOW-ROASTED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH CUMIN AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Mix oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano; spread paste on both sides of the lamb and let stand for an hour until meat comes to room temperature.
• Adjust oven rack to upper or upper-middle position (depending on lamb's thickness) and preheat broiler on high for at least 10 minutes.
• Place lamb, cut side up, on a large wire rack set over a foil-lined roasting pan. Broil, moving pan so entire surface browns evenly, about 8 minutes. Turn lamb over; continue to broil until well browned on the other side, about 8 minutes longer. Turn off broiler, remove lamb from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Stick a meat thermometer into the thickest portion of the lamb; return it to the oven. Roast for a total of 50 minutes to 1 hour, until thermometer registers a rosy-pink 140 degrees. Check lamb several times after 30 minutes. If lamb gets done sooner, simply turn down oven to 170 degrees until ready to serve.
• As soon as lamb comes out of the oven, squeeze on lemon juice and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Carve, slicing across the grain when possible. Arrange on a platter, drizzle with accumulated juices, and serve.

BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB ROASTED WITH GINGER AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Put the oil in a small pan over medium heat. When hot add the rosemary, ginger, garlic, 3 teaspoons of the salt, and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool, then rub the paste into the lamb. Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 4 and up to 24 hours.
• Take the lamb out of the fridge 2 hours before cooking. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
• Set a large nonstick saucepan over high heat and heat the pan for 2 minutes. Keeping the heat high, sear the lamb on both sides in batches. Scrape any scraps of rosemary and ginger in the saucepan onto the seared meat after each batch.
• Arrange the lamb on a sheet pan and put in the oven to roast. Start checking the smaller pieces for doneness after 10 minutes. The largest piece will take about 20 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, use it now. My thermometer broke about 6 years ago (memo from the school of antique cooking habits) so I use a metal trussing skewer. I stick the skewer into the center of the meat, wait 5 seconds, then touch the skewer to my cheek. If the metal is warm, the meat is done. This trick caused an uproar of consternation in the catering office, prompting a chorus of "How warm?" -- so maybe a meat thermometer is the way to go. Aim for 350°F.
• Allow the lamb to rest for 20 minutes. Thinly slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

CHEF JOHN'S ROASTED LEG OF LAMB

Steps:

• Stir 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses, garlic, rosemary, kosher salt, black pepper, Aleppo pepper, mint, and cumin together in a bowl.
• Arrange the butterflied leg of lamb onto a work surface with the fatty side facing down. Cut 2 deep slashes in each of the the fleshy ends of the meat. Flip the lamb and cut 10 to 20 shallow slashes across the surface of the fat.
• Spread 3/4 the pomegranate molasses mixture onto the meat-side of the lamb to coat completely. Fold meat together and turn into a large bowl. Spread remaining pomegranate mixture over the fatty side of the meat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a roasting rack in the bottom of a roasting pan.
• Remove lamb from marinade and discard excess marinade. Gather roast and place onto a work surface with fatty side facing upwards. Tie the center section of the roast with kitchen twine to cinch the roast together. Repeat ties four times along the length of the roast.
• Season roast with salt and transfer to prepared roasting pan. Pour water below the rack to cover the bottom of the pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven until hot and slightly pink in the center, about 1 3/4 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 135 degrees F (57 degrees C). Rest for 15 minutes, transfer to a plate, and brush with remaining pomegranate molasses.

GRILLED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB WITH LEMON, HERBS AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Make herb rub: Finely chop garlic and in a small bowl stir together with remaining herb-rub ingredients.
• Put lamb in a large dish and with tip of a sharp knife held at a 45=degree angle cut 1/2-inch-deep slits all over lamb, rubbing herb mixture into slits and all over lamb.
• Marinate lamb at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Prepare grill.
• Lightly pat lamb dry.
• On a lightly oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals grill lamb about 10 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125 for medium-rare.
• (Alternately, roast lamb in a roasting pan in middle of a 425 oven about 25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer horizontally inserted into meat registers 125 for medium-rare.) Transfer lamb to a cutting board.
• Halve and seed lemon.
• Squeeze juice over lamb and let stand, loosely covered with foil 15 minutes.
• Cut lamb into slices and serve with any juices that have accumulated on cutting board.