Smoked Leg of Lamb

This weekend kicks off summer for most of us, and I’ll bet you’re ready to fire up the smoker to celebrate. But instead of the usual Boston butts, briskets or ribs, why not try something different this year—smoked leg of lamb.

Tender, juicy and easy to carve, this simple recipe is sure to make you a fan of lamb. Allow about 1/3 pound per person.

Smoked Leg of Lamb

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 4-1/2 hours

Serves: 12

Ingredients

5-7 lb boneless leg of American lamb

1 cup white wine

1/4 cup Dijon mustard grainy

1 lemon juiced and zested

5 cloves garlic thinly sliced

4 whole rosemary sprigs

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Make the marinade. combine all marinade ingredients in a small bowl, whisk to combine.

Marinate the lamb. Place lamb leg in a container, pour marinade over, seal tightly and regirgerate for 2-3 hours

Smoke the lamb. Prepare your smoker and heat to 225 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. Place the leg of lamb directly on the grates, reserving any excess marinade, then insert probe. USDA recommends an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.

Baste the lamb. Baste the lamb with reserved marinade every 30-45 minutes. When at temperature, remove from heat and loosely cover with foil.

Rest, then serve. Allow meat to rest at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour, then thinly cut into 1/4 inch slices and serve.

Serving suggestions: Crispy roasted potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables.

Lamb Meatballs with Feta Sauce

This is one of my go-to ground lamb recipes—so easy and delicious!

INGREDIENTS

· 1 tablespoon olive oil

· 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

· 1 pound ground American Lamb

· 1 extra large egg

· 4 cloves garlic, finely minced

· 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

· 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

·  1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning

· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest

· 1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano

· 1 tablespoon dried parsley

· 1 ounce chopped kalamata olives

· 

Feta Sauce:

· 4 ounces feta

· 1/2 cup plain yogurt

· 1 clove garlic made into a paste

· 1 small lemon, zest and juice

· 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (dill, oregano, parsley, chives)

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onions and caramelize for 5-10 minutes until golden around the edges. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon and allow to cool slightly before proceeding with the recipe.

Place lamb, egg, garlic, spices, zest and olives in a bowl. Use a fork to gently combine until the mixture comes together. 

Weigh out 2-ounce portions - You will have 10 meatballs.

Place meatballs on the wire rack of an air fryer and cook at 350F for 8 minutes per batch. If using the oven, cook at the same temperature for the same amount of time. For a medium temperature, the internal temperature of the meatballs should be 160F. Using tongs, carefully remove meatballs from the air fryer and place on a serving platter. Scatter with fresh herbs and serve warm with feta sauce.

 To make the feta sauce:

 Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth. Keeps in the fridge covered for up to three days.

Lamb Burgers

Instead of the usual hamburgers for your Fourth of July cookout, how about trying Lamb Burgers instead this year? Here’s one of our favorite recipes:

INGREDIENTS

For the Lamb Burgers:

• 1 ½ lbs ground Leatherwood Creek lamb 

• kosher salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 4 burger buns

Herbed Yogurt Sauce (tzatziki):

• 1 cup Greek yogurt

• 3 Tbsp fresh dill finely chopped

• 2 Tbsp fresh mint finely chopped

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• ¼ cup cucumber minced

• 1 clove garlic minced

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Topping Suggestions:

• pickled red onions

• arugula or mixed greens

• kalamata olives

• feta cheese

• thinly sliced cucumbers

• nonstick spray or oil for cooking

DIRECTIONS

To make lamb burgers:

Divide ground lamb equally into 4 portions weighing roughly 5 ½ ounces each. Flatten into uniform rounds, then use your thumb or finger to make a small indentation right on top in the center of each patty (see note below).

30 minutes prior to cooking, sprinkle each patty generously with kosher salt (about ½ tsp per burger) and freshly ground black pepper (about ¼ tsp each) on both sides.

To make herbed yogurt sauce:

Combine all sauce ingredients in a large bowl, then whisk to combine. Refrigerate until needed.

To cook lamb burgers:

Preheat a grill, cast iron skillet, or griddle over medium-high heat. Coat with nonstick oil spray (if grilling) or a couple tablespoons olive oil (if cooking indoors). Cook each burger patty for 5 minutes per side, or until an internal temperature of 150 F is reached (for medium). Allow burgers to rest 2-3 minutes before serving on buns with herbed yogurt sauce and additional toppings.

Lamb Chops in Red Wine

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and you might be tempted to celebrate with dinner at a nice restaurant like so many other people. But why go out and fight the lines and crowds when you can have a goumet meal at home without much effort? Here’s an easy lamb chop recipe you can cook together and have on the table in 20 minutes. Your welcome :)

Lamb Chops in Red Wine

8 Leatherwood Creek lamb chops, 1 inch thick, about 7 ounces each

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 tsp dried thyme

2 Tbs chopped parsley

Heat 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Sear chops about 5-6 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Medium rare is best for lamb. Remove to plate and keep warm. Add wine and thyme to pan. Boil over high heat, scraping up browned bits, until reduced to about 2 Tbs. Add parsley. Pour sauce over chops.

Serving suggestions: Risotto, crusty bread, roasted broccoli, and my favorite wine with lamb is a Shiraz.

Lamb Stew

Here in Tennessee we’re starting to see signs of spring already, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to put away my favorite soup and stew recipes til next winter. We generally eat soups or stews once a week all year round. It’s a great way to use those tougher cuts of meat and to stretch your meat. This is my favorite lamb stew recipe and pretty much the only one I use now. What really makes this special is using lamb stock instead of beef stock, the flavor is just incredible! And although I haven’t tried it yet, I think mushrooms would be an excellent addition. This recipe is made in an Instant Pot, but you could easily adapt it to a slow cooker or oven method.

Lamb Stew

1 lb Leatherwood Creek lamb stew meat, 1 inch cubes

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 Tbs flour

2 Tbs olive oil

1 cup carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1/2 cup celery, diced

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbs tomato paste

1 cup red wine

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 cups potatoes, 1 inch cubes

1 bay leaf

1 cup lamb stock or beef stock, plus 1/4 cup

1/2 tsp rosemary

Pat dry the lamb, toss with salt, pepper and 1 Tbs flour. Turn on Instant Pot to saute function, add olive oil, and when hot sear lamb til golden. Set aside. Add garlic, celery, carrot, onion and pepper flakes. Saute til softened. Add tomato paste. Add wine. Add potatoes, lamb, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and lamb stock. Fasten lid. Hit cancel, then hit meat/stew function and adjust time to 40 minutes. When complete hit cancel and release pressure. Remove lid and turn on to saute function. Combine 1 Tbs flour with 1/4 cup lamb stock, add and stir til thickened.

Making Lamb Stock

When you buy a whole lamb from us, you have the option of getting soup bones with your meat. I always encourage our customers to take that option, not only because we want to see all of the animal used, but also because it makes delicious and nutritious stock that is so easy to make.

There is a lot of research out there on the health benefits of homemade stock. It’s full of minerals, particularly calcium, magnesium and potassium. If you use enough bones the stock will form a jello-like consistency when chilled. The gelatin in this acts as an aid to digestion. There’s research that suggests stock can benefit people with anemia, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, and some types of cancer.

Even if you’re not concerned with the health benefits, make it for the taste! Adding it to your soups, stews and sauces will earn you the reputation of an excellent cook.

Here’s how I make it. Note: I usually cut this recipe in half to better fit in my stockpot.

Lamb Stock

About 7 lb of a variety of bones—meaty bones, marrow bones, neck bones, etc. I will freeze the bone from a roasted leg of lamb until I’m ready to make stock and add that too.

Water to cover by a couple inches or more

1/2 cup vinegar (this helps draw out minerals from the bones)

3 onions coarsely chopped

3 carrots coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks coarsely chopped

Several sprigs of thyme tied together

1 teaspoon green or black peppercorns, crushed

1 bunch parsley

Place marrow bones in stock pot, cover with water and add 1/2 cup vinegar. Let stand 1 hour. Meanwhile, place meaty bones in roasting pan and brown at 350 degrees in oven. When well browned add to pot with vegetables and enough water to cover. Bring to boil, remove scum as it comes to the top. Reduce heat and add thyme and peppercorns. Keep at a bare simmer for 12-72 hours and add parsley at the end. Remove bones and strain. Let cool in frig and remove fat that rises to the top (you can feed this to the birds outside). Portion into freezer containers and freeze.

I use this in lamb stews and also any recipe that calls for beef stock.

Grilled Lamb Chops

Our beastly hot and humid summer here in Tennessee doesn’t want to give up. With temperatures still in the mid 90s (but at least lower humidity) my passion for fall soups and stews has been put on hold. It’s just too hot to eat those fall favorites. Instead of heating up the kitchen, we’re still grilling and enjoying dinner on the deck as it cools down in the evening. Lamb chops are quick and easy, requiring very little other than a quick sear on the grill. Here’s my go-to lamb chop recipe.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Oregano and Lemon

(For 4 people)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large handful chopped fresh oregano

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

8 Leatherwood Creek lamb chops

1 lemon, sliced

Combine the oil, oregano, salt and pepper flakes. Pour over the lamb chops and turn to coat, then add lemon. Marninate at room temperature for 1 hour or cover and refrigerate for several hours. Bring to room temperature before grilling. Preheat grill to hot and grill 4 inches or so from heat, allowing 3-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness.