Roasted Balsamic & Herb Leg Of Lamb Steak

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
DW isn’t a fan of most lamb, so this recipe is for ONE. Yep, a recipe for one portion. But you can easily double, triple, quadruple, etc, as needed.

Balsamic & Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb Steak

Ingredients

1 large Leg of Lamb Steak
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Tarragon
1/4 tsp Cilantro
1/4 tsp cracked Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt (or regular salt)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Procedure

Lay the lamb steak out and stab it all over with a fork to perforate it. This allows the marinade to sink in. Set aside.

Combine all remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. Place lamb in a small bag and then pour marinade over the meat. Let it marinate for at least 4 hours, up to overnight if possible. The longer it marinates, the better the flavor.

When ready to cook, start a charcoal fire. Now place the lamb steak on a piece of aluminum foil and wrap it tightly. Next, place the foil wrapped lamb directly on the coals. Yes, on the COALS and not the grate. Allow to sit for 3 minutes, then flip and cook another 3 minutes. Bring inside and allow to rest 3-5 minutes, and then serve.

Alternatively, roast the foil wrapped steak in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness.

If you like, take the juices from the resting pan, and in a skillet, add 1 Tbsp butter, a splash of red wine, and the pan juice. Reduce by 1/2 and drizzle over the meat.

For a different serving idea, simply plate the foil packets (each packet contains a Leg of Lamb steak) on the plate, and let your family or guests open them up and dig in at the table.

A great side for this is Greek Potatoes.

Notes

If you have any leftover, slice them VERY thin on a bias and across the grain to make sandwich meat. Store in Tupperware with reserved pan juices till ready. Thinly sliced lamb makes a great sandwich or even a nice topper for your fried eggs.

I got this recipe from a Greek friend of mine, and I have to say, I’m loving the authentic flavor. You can do this with Lamb Chops (as he suggested) as well. Just make sure to cut slits in the thick portions of the meat to get the marinade deep down into the meat. You can also add minced garlic to this as well for even more flavor.

If using chops, especially a whole rack, then bake this in the oven at 400 degrees until desired doneness. Typically about 15-20 minutes, but use a meat thermometer to get it to your desired level of doneness.

My Greek friend tells me that the typical way of doing this is to marinate the lamb (typically a rack of chops) in aluminum foil for 24 hours, and then transfer the whole foil pack to the oven for 30 minutes of cook time. I modified his recipe to use a lamb steak and charcoal, but you can easily see how this recipe can apply to chops and other cuts, and how to cook it in the oven.

The central component here is the unique combination of herbs and vinegar for the marinade which you can easily transfer to other cuts and cooking methods. My Greek friend does warn not to get too reckless with the herbs as it can overpower the meat. Also, he points out that the vinegar is crucial here (for tenderizing and flavor), so use a good quality vinegar and Olive Oil.

The Pics

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Add butter, red wine, and the pan juices to a skillet and reduce (optional).
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Fisher's Mom

Mother Superior
Super Site Supporter
That looks so fantastic, I can almost smell it! What internal temp do you recommend, Keltin?
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Here’s how it looks when you slice the left overs thinly and across the grain. It makes some very nice and tender meat that is good for sammies and breakfast toppings. Heck, you can even toss it on your salad!

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Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
That looks so fantastic, I can almost smell it! What internal temp do you recommend, Keltin?


I’m a Medium-Rare kind of guy, so I find Lamb to do very well at 125 to 130, then pull and let rest for 5-8 minutes and it will rise a bit for a perfect medium rare.

For this recipe, if you use the foil pack method and your meat is 1/2 inch thick like mine, then it is all about time. A strict 3 minutes per side in the foil pack, then pull it and you’re done.

Also, it was mentioned in a previous lamb thread of mine that some don’t care for the “Lamb Flavor”.

I have noticed that Australian Lamb (like I used tonight) is far darker and more gamey than USA Lamb. If you want to try Lamb, go to Target. They sell USA Lamb, and the flavor is VERY different (milder, less gamey, and not “dark”) than Australian lamb that is imported by everyone else (like the cut I used tonight). There is a world of difference between USA and Australian lamb.
 

Fisher's Mom

Mother Superior
Super Site Supporter
Thanks, Keltin. I didn't even know there was Australian vs US lamb. Milder would probably be better for introducing this to my family. Looking at your pics - I think medium rare would be perfect. Thanks for the timing.

I have only had lamb in a Chinese restaurant, but I loved it. And your sliced lamb looks a lot like how it was served there.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
You could actually take a cut like this, grill it to 110 or 120, then bring in and slice. Put those slices in a covered bowl and then serve a Shabu-Shabu style recipe at the table to finish the cooking. You get the best of both worlds that way - smoke from the grill, and warm tender meat at the sahbu-shabu serving!

Or, slice the meat after the first grill and smoke, then thread on skewers, and present your guests with a table top cast iron grill to finish cooking. I simply love that! There is NOTHING like having meat on a stick that you grill at the table. Awesome!

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/hibachi-set-cast-iron-and-wooden-base-with-grill-and-fuel-holder/885HG35CI.html
 

homecook

New member
I'm not that crazy about lamb but this would be perfect for DH. I just may surprise him some night soon, if I can find it. Thanks Keltin!

Those Greek potatoes look a heck of a lot better than the ones DH had the other night at Steak on a Stone. lol I'll have to give those a try too.

For some reason I'm not seeing the sliced lamb pics???
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I'm not that crazy about lamb but this would be perfect for DH. I just may surprise him some night soon, if I can find it. Thanks Keltin!

Those Greek potatoes look a heck of a lot better than the ones DH had the other night at Steak on a Stone. lol I'll have to give those a try too.

For some reason I'm not seeing the sliced lamb pics???

That's odd, all the pics are on the same photobucket account. Here is a manual upload to NCT. Can you see these?
 

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Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I'm not that crazy about lamb but this would be perfect for DH. I just may surprise him some night soon, if I can find it. Thanks Keltin!

Those Greek potatoes look a heck of a lot better than the ones DH had the other night at Steak on a Stone. lol I'll have to give those a try too.

For some reason I'm not seeing the sliced lamb pics???

Hey, if you want to really blow his mind, do the foil pack directly on the coals trick. Physics shows us the surface temp of the meat can’t get any hotter than the material it is wrapped in, AND you have to account for moisture or steam which keeps internal temp to 212 degrees.

I LOOKS like you’re gonna fry you’re meat when you throw it on the coals, but it comes out perfectly with hardly any browning.

Blow his mind and let him see you wrap the meat in foil and toss it directly on the coals!! I’ve shocked a few people that way! :clap:
 

homecook

New member
I think I may just do that! It's going to be decent here this weekend and I can finally see the patio to move the grill back out. lol :thumb:
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Wow, I never heard of "lamb steak"! If I could find those babies, it would get us eating lamb again!

The price has increased so much that we haven't bought a leg of lamb in ages.

Looks wonderful, Keltin!

Lee
 

Deelady

New member
Looks GREAT!! But I don't see any potatoes....?

My issue with buying lamb steaks is one time a long time ago I bought one and when I went to eat it it had MANY fragmented tiny bones broken thoughout....it was almost like finding tiny fishbones thoughout each bite! The flavor was wonderful, so I was very frustrated but I was too paranoid to finish eating it. From then on I only bought large cuts, ground lamb or at the very least stew pieces. I'm sure it was just a fluke situation but......
 

buckytom

Grill Master
that's a thing of beauty, k. nice job! :applause:
i'm going to have to try your charcoal fast braise method soon.

lee and dee, :flowers:
you guys need a good butcher.
a lamb steak, such as keltin's, is just a cross section of the leg. there are halal meat markets near me that i go to once in a while for lamb. if i want a steak, i can pick out a leg and tell them from which section to make my cuts. then they toss it on a band saw table and slice them up. the saw looked super sharp as it went through the bone like buttah.
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I'm thinking that sliced meat would make a wonderful gyro type sandwich--stuff it in a pita pocket and top with tzatziki sauce. Looks great!
 
K

Kimchee

Guest
Costco sells a nice Australian leg of lamb roast, with the bone removed, which
makes it almost like a jelly roll cut! I bet this would be a fantastic way to do one.

Costco, here I come this weekend. And gonna do those taters too!
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Looks GREAT!! But I don't see any potatoes....?

My issue with buying lamb steaks is one time a long time ago I bought one and when I went to eat it it had MANY fragmented tiny bones broken thoughout....it was almost like finding tiny fishbones thoughout each bite! The flavor was wonderful, so I was very frustrated but I was too paranoid to finish eating it. From then on I only bought large cuts, ground lamb or at the very least stew pieces. I'm sure it was just a fluke situation but......

Oh, the potatoes I didn't take a picture of as I made them before. Here is the recipe from back then.

http://www.netcookingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=37787#post37787

I know what you're talking about those little bones. I had that happen once with a badly cut section of meat from the rib chop area. Apparently the butcher cut the meaty "chops" portion off, then sold the hunk of meat with all the rib bones in them. Worse, he cross cut through the bones so that the rib pieces were scattered throughout. :w00t:

Do as Bucky says and find a butcher to cut you a steak off the leg like I have pictured here. It's really neat actually. It's 98% meat with one little round bone in the center.

You can also find shoulder steaks fairly easily, but they are a little tougher with large shoulder blade bones running through them. Great flavor though.
 

Deelady

New member
I actually saw the exact same cut you have in the maket the other day....but I was sceeered ;) Im sure I'll give it another go some day since I love lamb so much!
 
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