LAMB - Stuffed Shoulder
Lamb has a mild and slightly gamy flavor. The flavorful and tender cuts are smaller than those of beef or pork. It can be cooked a number of ways, one of which is stuffed and roasted. Lamb is usually served medium rare and popular stuffings are made up of onions, mushrooms, garlic, herbs, spices, fruits and oils. Guest Pit Boss DobieDad shared this recipe with me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. ~thirdeye~
In 1991 during a visit to South Australia's Clare Valley Wine Country, DobieDad a regular contributor to The Big Green Egg Forum met an outstanding chef by the name of David Hay, owner of the Thorn Park Country House. Chef Hay gave this recipe for the meat stuffing to DobieDad, who has adapted it for cooking on a Big Green Egg. Here is a wonderful recipe that truly enhances the flavor of lamb.
For starters select a lamb shoulder, remove the bone and trim any large veins of fat. This prepared shoulder weighs around 5 pounds.
The stuffing is very simple. Place the following ingredients into your food processor and pulse until you have a chunky paste.
1 cup Parsley
4-5 cloves garlic
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil – drained
2 tablespoons of capers - salt rinsed off
1 small can of anchovies - remove most of the oil.
Slather the stuffing on the inside of the lamb roast and tie it up.
Two Big Green Eggs are used for this cook, but with a little planning, using one will work. First the roast is seared on a Small Green Egg over a fire that is near nuke temperature. Meanwhile a Large Green Egg has been set up for an indirect cook with roasting temperatures around 350° at the grate.
Following the sear, coat the outside of the seared lamb shoulder roast with the following mixture then move to the Large Green Egg for roasting.
1 cup Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon each of dried rosemary, thyme and oregano, crushed using a mortar and pestle
Monitor the internal temperature until it is a few degrees below your threshold of doneness. Remove and rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
Cooks notes:
To those of you who recoil at the thought of an anchovy in any form, do not omit them from this recipe. They serve as a background seasoning and greatly enhance the flavors. If you weren't told anchovies were part of the recipe, you would never know they were in there!
The cooking twine may be burned during the sear and may need replacing before adding the slather.
I might add that the stuffing goes very well in other meats, such as rolled flank steak, etc.
DobieDad
February 2006
