BBQ Meals: American Lamb

You're looking at part of Saturday's dinner. As I mentioned earlier the American Lamb Board sent me and a few other food bloggers a leg of lamb and some spices to try out over the weekend.

Included in the box was a recipe card using the spices which were also in the box, so I decided to cook the leg of lamb using their recipe for mustard and rosemary grilled butterflied leg of lamb. (The box included dried spices, but the recipes called for fresh and did not include the most expensive herb, cardaman.)

It's an interesting recipe using Dijon mustard, rosemary and apple juice concentrate. (I'd post the recipe, but I can't find the card right now and it's not on their website.) I've never used apple juice concentrate in a recipe before, so I was intrigued.

I marinated the lamb for about 6 hours and grilled it on the Charbroil Tec gas grill. This was the first time I've grilled a leg of lamb; usually I smoke them. I checked a couple of books on cooking times and techniques and they all said that a butterflied leg of lamb should take about 15 minutes per side on medium heat. I cooked my leg for about an hour. I assume the difference in time is because I was looking for a well-done finish.

So how was it? The lamb was fantastic! The seasonings were right on. The flavor was rich, full and buttery without any of the "gamey" taste you sometimes get with lamb. The meat was juicy and very tender. My family likes their lamb well done, which can be tricky, but this meat cooked up beautifully.

I was really skeptical at first but there is a very noticeable difference in the flavor and tenderness of the American lamb vs. the imported lamb we usually buy. The American lamb won hands down and I'll be looking for it in the markets from now on. I want to thank Rachelle Lacroix for thinking of me, turning me on to American lamb, and giving me another reason to buy American.