Serves: 5
Selecting Lamb
A lean, tender and usually delicate-flavored meat, lamb comes from animals six to eight months old. Once lamb reaches one year of age, it is referred to as "mutton," which has a much stronger flavor. When buying lamb, let color be your guide: Look for lamb that’s pinkish red with a velvety texture and a thin, firm layer of white fat surrounding it. The darker the meat, the older the animal and stronger the flavor. The thin, paperlike covering on larger cuts of lamb is called fell. Don’t remove the fell because it helps these cuts keep their shape and retain juices during cooking. (The fell usually has been trimmed from smaller cuts at the store.) Trim excess fat before cooking to avoid a stronger flavor. For best flavor and juiciness, cook lamb to medium-rare (145°) or medium (160°).
Roasting Lamb
Lamb is roasted in the oven with no water. Because lamb is tender, it’s a natural for roasting. Follow these steps for roasted lamb that’s well browned on the outside and moist and tender inside:
1. Choose one of the cuts from the Timetable for Roasting Lamb.
2. Place lamb--right from the refrigerator--fat side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. (For easy cleanup, line the pan with aluminum foil first.) Don’t remove the fell it helps the roast keep its shape and holds in juices. As the fat melts during roasting, it bastes the lamb, making basting during cooking unnecessary.
3. If you like, season the lamb with herbs, spices or other seasonings before, during or after cooking. Sprinkling the roast with salt before cooking adds flavor.
4. Insert a meat thermometer so the tip is centered in the thickest part of the roast and not resting in fat or touching bone. Don’t cover the roast or add water.
5. Roast at 325°. Use the chart as a guide and roast for the recommended time until the meat thermometer reads the "Meat Thermometer Reading (after roasting)" temperature. The roast will continue to cook after you take it out of the oven.
6. Take the roast out of the oven and cover it loosely with a foil tent. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes or until it reaches the "Final Meat Thermometer Reading (after standing)" temp. After standing, the roast also will be easier to carve. Avoid covering the roast tightly because doing so will create steam, which will soften the surface of the lamb.
Broiling or Grilling Lamb
Broiling and grilling are great ways for cooking bone-in and boneless cuts of lamb, such as chops and patties. Less-tender cuts grill best if they’re marinated first. Other lamb cuts can be grilled over indirect heat. The tips below use direct heat. For more information on using your grill, check out the instruction booklet that came with your grill. Check the Timetable for Broiling or Grilling Lamb, below, to determine the cook time and doneness temperature for each cut.
1. Choose a cut of lamb from the Timetable for Broiling or Grilling Lamb. If you like, marinate the lamb first.
2. To Broil: Set oven to broil. Check your oven manual for whether the oven door should be open or closed during broiling.
To Grill: Heat coals or gas grill to medium spread the coals to a single layer.
3. Remove any excess fat before broiling or grilling.
4. To Broil: Place lamb on the rack in the broiler pan. (For easy cleanup, line the pan with aluminum foil first.) Position the pan so the top of the lamb is the distance from the heat recommended in the chart.
To Grill: Place lamb on the grill the distance from the heat recommended in the chart.
5. Broil or grill the lamb for about half the recommended time or until it’s brown on one side.
6. Turn the lamb, and continue broiling or grilling until the doneness shown in the chart below for the cut you’re using. To see if it’s done, cut a small slit in the center of boneless cuts or in the center near the bone of bone-in cuts. Medium-rare lamb is pink in the center, medium is light pink. If you like, season the lamb after it’s done.
From "Betty Crocker's Complete Cookbook, Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, 9th Edition." Text Copyright 2000 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This LAMB BASICS recipe is from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 9th Edition Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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