My first leg of lamb/first lamb ever

[Fire it up]

Yesterday was my first time doing lamb, not just on the smoker but first time eating lamb.
As kids we didn't eat lamb so I never really had a desire to try it before.
Lamb is on sale at an incredible price here so I picked up a leg, did some reading and Googling and went for it.

$1.99lb
I love when you save more than you spend!


Watched a video on how to debone a leg of lamb and trimmed away.

Not too bad for what it was I suppose, though some meat cutters are probably shaking their heads right now

I went with a garlic/mustard/thyme rub I found on FoodNetwork that looked pretty tasty and applied it.
Can't even find butchers twine around here so I asked for some from the guy behind the meat counter.
I made a paste out of the ingredients, slathered the inside, rolled up, tied and more of the paste on the outside.

When rolling it I knew the rub/paste was too wet, I should have trimmed a lot more fat.
It didn't end up too bad, definitely need some practice though.

Snapped a pic as I was pulling some stuffed shrooms of.


Tried running the smoker at 350 but there was one hell of a storm coming and it was really, really windy so I was able to maintain about 300.
Brought the lamb to 140 then pulled and let rest under foil for about 15 minutes.



Sliced pic


As you can tell it didn't hold together after removing the twine, maybe I should have pounded it a little more flat as well?

Well no matter what it looked like it was still great.
I wasn't really sure what to expect but it had a great flavor, I will be doing lamb again but next time I'll do a few things differently.
I loved the flavor of the rub with the thyme in it but felt it could have been more intense, and had I been able to get the smoker a bit hotter I think the outside would have formed a bit of a better "crust"

Any suggestions or links to great lamb smokes are more than welcome, gonna pick up a few more before the sale ends and toss them in the freezer.

Thanks for looking!

[WALLE]

FIU,
THAT looks tasty! Giving you points right up front for this one!

I have yet to cook on myself, but my neighbor cooks two or three a year and they have always been great. He serves with a mint/jalepeno jelly...

for tackling something new.

[SmokinLee]

Looks great. Lamb is a bit different but I like it. And ya dun good searching for the paste recipe alot of garlic and rosemary I use but thyme works too.

[thepoolguy]

Love me some Lamb, great job!

[Whisky Fish]

One of the guys on my team is from New Zealand, and they thrive on lamb over there. He does these for our BBQs all the time. First off, great job deboning! He buys his spring lambs deboned and I'll tell ya they don't even look that good. Next he trims every scrap of fat off. There is a "gamey" taste people associate with lamb and it resides in the fat. Some people prefer that taste, if so, more power to ya, but I like it trimmed tight. You where also spot on, on the garlic, he even cuts slits in the meat and stuffs in whole cloves. Great job and . Try one on the grill some time(not tied up), they are awesome cut up, on skewers as well.
excellent work

[HawgHeaven]

Man that looks tasty!! Nice job!!

[GratefulDave]

Killer price!

man, that is a good price for lamb. I've never seen it on sale like that around here. for trying something new for sure! Looks great.

Dave

[Uncle-Honky]

Nice job on the deboning Lamb looks tasty too! Great cook!!
I raise lamb every year. My cost is right at $3 a pound cut/wrapped and in the freezer. Killer deal on the leg. There is a difference in taste from New Zealand or Australian lamb to an American spring lamb. Spring lamb being less than a year old when it goes to butcher, then you have yearling lamb and then sheep/mutton. Spring lamb is going to be your best lamb, IMHO. Alfalfa and grain fed. The grains will show through in the meat.
A simple yet tasty way for that butterflied leg. De-bone the leg as you did, rub lightly with evo and then Montreal steak season the sh** out of it. Forget the truss job and go flat on the grill at 300° as you did. A tad of mesquite is a yummy addition too I like to pull mine at 130° internal(just shave its wool wipe it's a** and throw 'em on the plate) kinda gig. However ya dig it its some dang good meat for sure.

[smokemania]

Great Job Man that looks good

[Fire it up]

Thanks everyone.
Deboning it was like the first tie I removed all the meat from a picnic shoulder, not much clue what I was doing but it worked out.
I'll definitely do some of the advice such as grilling, trimming more fat and also add some thyme and rosemary, maybe a little oregano as well.
Also forgot to mention it was smoked over pecan wood, wasn't sure what to go with.
Normally I use oak with whatever else but my bag of pecan said lamb was a good choice so I went with it.
Now I gotta try something with the leftovers, I'm thinking a small batch of lamb stew, the Irish in me would probably love that!

[ALX]

Great job man....I bought the exact same deal on lamb last week....Like uncle-honky said i prefer american lamb fattened on grain,but the deal on lamb was awesome..

[Zeeker]

Great job on that lamb Fire it up. I roasted many a whole Lamb and love it, never smoked one yet. I wouldn't Buy New Zealand Lamb, a little to gammie for me. Fresh North American, now that's the ticket. Kudos on the Lamb...

[UKMeatCutter]

Great Job on the Lamb! I started smoking boneless legs and shoulders three years ago and I absolutely love the flavor. Grant it, the lamb we serve is straight off of the UK Research Farm. Now for the science, as far as the "gamey" flavors from New Zealand Lamb and Mutton are mostly determined by the branched-chain fatty acids and 3-methylindole (skatole) that develop when fed a largely grass and white clover fed diet. Any lamb raised in on this grass and clover will develop this flavor profile not just lamb from New Zealand and Australia. Pasture based finishing is just more prevalent in those countries.

[Dionysus]

I LOVE lamb and that one had me drooling all over my key board. Nice job

[Capt Dan]

Nice thread FIU, it looks yummoooh!

I never tried lamb untill I did one for last years st patties contest here on S-M. I was pretty suprised how good it was.

Looks like your trim job was pretty damned good to me!