To be honest it wasn't the best lamb I've done, as I found it just a little drier than I would have liked. I think the trouble is I like lamb well done, but if you spit roast or do any kind of roasting that doesn't involve some moisture with the meat then cooking it well done will dry it out a little. You can make the best gravy this way though - the trick is to put a tray underneath the meat as it roasts and this tends to get some very caramelised juices in it at the end of cooking that you can deglaze with whatever other flavours you want into a wonderful rich and tasty sauce.
Served this with a wild garlic cream as well, so it certainly didn't taste dry with that! I know a patch of wild garlic nearby and we went there just to see if any was up yet and found loads of the stuff. So of course we picked loads, and not only made this wild garlic cream sauce but also some wild garlic pesto which is fab stuff - just use wild garlic instead of basil and it works fine. We've been having it on pasta and gnocchi, but I think the best is on bruschetta with just a few chopped up tomatoes (if you can find some this time of year that is, that haven't been flown half way around the world).
Also served it with roasted crushed potatoes - another leftover dish that has become a favourite. I had a few boiled potatoes left this time, and what I tend to do is break them up a bit with the back of my hand then fry them with an roughly chopped onion (red in this case) till they're starting to get crusty. Then they get pushed into rings on a backing sheet and in the hot oven for 15 mins or so just to make sure they're piping hot and that they cook together into a bit of a cake. It's important when you put them in the ring to push them down so that when you come to serve they stay in shape. They tend to have a lovely combination of soft and crunchy this way once they're ready.
Loads of lamb leftovers from this, which went on into loads of other meals as ever, including what I think was one of the best lamb sugos I've made in a long time. Funny how sometimes they just seem to turn out better than others, although I did make a conscious decision this time to limit the amount of tomato and added more herbs than usual, although only rosemary and bay. There was of course the left over gravy from the lamb as well, which gave it a great dark colour and rich and silky depth - and you only really get that with the spit roast I reckon. But then again this is part of what I love about cooking - it's always different. In a world full of deadlines, assessments and labels it's nice to play around with things that can't really be tucked into such neat little boxes!
7 comments:
Hey, the potato dish you made is what we call in England, 'Bubble and Squeak' - Its a classic, usually done with greens, but leeks and onions are suitable, but it isnt put in the oven, just fried until nice and crisp on the outside... Just thought I'd say!
You're roast sounds nice, but I would recommend trying to have lamb at least slightly rare, you'd discover a whole new texture and flavour, which is much more sweet and succulent, without the disaster of drying out.
(In case I seem like a random freak - I will be doing a proper spit roast leg of lamb this week, on a campfire, and I am just looking round websites to see what kind of method is most suitable. )
Bye!
Oops - you are English!
Hahahaha - oh well.... Sorry!
Thanks for your comments David. I do like a bit of pink lamb now and again (think I've got one on this site somewhere) but must admit it's the whole falling off the bone, eat with a spoon thing that really gets me! Should stick to shoulder really.
Hope the camp fire roast went well. Must try that myself one day.
What kind of oven do you have? We are in the market for an oven with a spit attachment but are having trouble finding one. We live in the States (side note, I didn't vote for "him")so maybe the spit attachment is not as commonplace.
We've got a SMEG Opera 60, at least I think that's what it was called. Not cheap, but if you're serious about food then it's a fab piece of kit. I don't regret investing in it!
As I said in the post, the spit just holds the meat, it doesn't turn automatically, but being a fan oven it doesn't need to as the heat is pretty evenly distributed.
You've reminded me how good it can be - think I might try a stuffed and rolled shoulder on the spit this weekend, see how that works out. Got some soft herby cheese that would go nicely in the middle I reckon, maybe with some form of tomato - a bit Greek style perhaps.
IMHO, one off the main benefits of spit roasting is when it turns it is basting itself with the fats that are being released. There also isn't a huge amount of fat in lamb (NZ Lamb anyway) so it doesn't really stand up to long slow cooking. Generally lamb is better cooked fast and served medium rare and hogget or even mutton will do great slowly cooked. If you havn't tried a mutton roast you really should, its sooo tasty compared to lamb and will give you that really delicous falling apart texture.
I know what you mean about the turning basting the meat, but that's the big downside of a fixed spit like mine - it doesn't move. It's not a bad approximation for most things - chicken in particular comes out very well, provided you cook it for the longest duration with the breasts facing down - but can dry things out if you're not careful, like I managed to!
Mutton is something I've been meaning to give a go for a while, but not that easy to just pick it up where I live. Hogget I can get relatively easily, but most suppliers won't sell me a joint of Mutton, only a side - and that's a bit much in one go even for a food nut like me.
Will have another go at the leg I think, only aim for a rarer cook this time. You can't move for spring lamb down here in Devon at the moment which would work well, though it can be a bit pricey.
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