Mary Had a Little Lamb... and it Was Delicious
Another sunny Southern California weekend is upon us, which means all over this fair city and its outermost reaches people are planning on gathering around the great American grill to marry meat and flame. Sure enough, a caravan of your closest friends and cohorts appear on your doorstep with cases of beer and plastic wrapped bundles of weiners and buns in the spirit of the BBQ. Sometimes things get a little imaginative, and some chicken slathered in sauce gets tossed on the coals, or some skewers of veggies add a little color to the affair. If you're having one of those summers, and you're growing a bit weary of the old burgers-and-dogs scheme, LAist would like to suggest an awesome grilling alternative: Lamb.
Okay, okay, lower those eyebrows, and quit looking so skeptical. I know lamb can be intimidating, and comes with a reputation for being either too tough to chew (that's called lousy preparation) or having a gamey taste (well, yes, it does pack a bit more of a robust flavor than your average beefy fare) but to dismiss lamb with a baa-baa-bye is to do yourself a disservice. Done right, lamb can be a beautiful--not to mention delicious--thing. With the help of the American Lamb Board's "Lamb 101" primer (and the kitchen tested endorsement of your friendly LAist Food Editor--wink!) you can demistify lamb and impress the crowd at the next BBQ you host or attend.
First, know your lamb basics:
-Lamb is meat from a sheep that is less than one year old
-Hormones are not used in raising lamb
-When buying lamb, look for good marbling of fat in the muscle, and firm pink meat
-There are five major(primal) cuts you're likely to see: shoulder, rack, shank/breast, loin, leg (Need a visual? Try this!)
-Handle and store lamb as you would any meat--refrigerate or freeze promptly after purchase, use clean utensils, do not serve raw, use a meat thermometer to gauge doneness, and get leftovers in the fridge right away.
There are multiple ways to cook lamb, including roasting, stewing, and braising, and many ways are suitable to particular cuts. For a complete list of cooking techniques and timetables, check here. Lamb is really quite adaptable, and there are countless ways to prepare it. There's a staggering collection of recipes at the Lamb Board's database, but I'm going to get you started with a very classic and simple way to get some lamb on the grill.
Savory Grilled Lamb Marinade
4 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 large lemon
Several sprigs of fresh rosemary
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 tbsp oregano (fresh or dried)
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice to coat evenly. Add minced garlic, oregano, and rosemary (stripped from stems). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight. Turn meat over once during marinating. Remove and place immediately on grill.
This marinade will do for approximately 4-6 portions, and works well on lamb steaks, loin, or chops. It is also highly adjustable, so feel free to modify or wing it; it's pretty hard to go wrong here.
I tried this one out on a beautiful lamb loin, and grilled it the next day with rousing success. With basic, fresh ingredients in the marinade (almost all of which were gifts to me, like the freshly picked rosemary from a local garden, beautiful and sweet lemons right off a local lemon tree, and home-pressed olive oil--I was in foodie's heaven!) and the simplest of summertime cooking techniques, this was an easy meal that made a great impression. So, now that summer's in its second half, and the folks that sit at your table hungry for something you might not have wanted to try to prepare on your own, don't be so sheepish (groaaaan!)--give lamb a go.
Many thanks to the American Lamb Board for recipe ideas, info, and some great lamb. Also, apologies to Shari Lewis and PBS for using the "Lamb Chop" drawing above; my lamb cooking photo shoot did not go well.