BBQ Recipes: Owensboro Barbecued Mutton

Ladies and Gents, children of all ages, here is the amazing losing recipe that produced such spectacular results at The Lamb Takedown on Sunday April 18! This recipe lost, not due to any lacking on its part - this will produce spectacular lamb. It lost due to my incompetence as a presentation chef. I highly recommend this recipe and believe me, I will be cooking this again.

I've added some comments of my own which are in parenthesis to reflect my cooking methods and style.

Owensboro Barbecued Mutton from the book BBQ USA by Steven Raichlen. Published by Workman Publishing Company708 Broadway, New York, New York. This recipe serves 8 to 10.

Method: Indirect Grilling (aka barbeque)

For the Mutton (or Lamb):

• 1 piece of mutton (or lamb) shoulder or leg. (About 5lbs) I used 5 lamb shoulders that averaged about 2.7 lbs each.
• Coarse salt (Kosher or sea - I used Kosher) and freshly ground black pepper

For the Basting Sauce:

• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 2/3 cup Worcestershire sauce (I used Lea & Perrins, which in my mind is the only Worcestershire sauce to use. I've never tasted a better one.)
• 5 tablespoons course salt (Kosher or sea - in this case I used sea due to the fact that I was low on Kosher salt after salting all 5 shoulders)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

For the Dipping Sauce:

• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (see comment above)
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw instead, which is a natural cane turbinado sugar. For some reason my brown sugar had been mixed with cinnamon and that wasn't the flavor I wanted.)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (Kosher or sea)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon MSG (optional) (I didn't use this. I don't have any MSG in the house)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

10 t0 12 hamburger buns or 20 to 24 slices white bread. (I used tortillas)

You'll also need:

• 4 cups wood chips or chunks, preferably hickory, soaked for 1 hour in water to cover, then drained. (Soaking wood is such a fallacy. I'll address that in another post! - I used a mixture of apple and hickory woods with charcoal.)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Generously season the mutton (or lamb) with about 1 tablespoon of each salt and pepper. Set aside
2. Make the basting sauce: Combine the vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, lemon juice and pepper with 1 1/2 cups water in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. (Water? Where did that come from? Why isn't it in the list of ingredients?)
3. Make the dipping sauce: Combine the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, brown sugar, pepper, coarse and onion salts, garlic powder, MSG (if using), allspice and 2 cups water in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat and cook until richly flavored and slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a nonreactive serving bowl to cool.
4. Set up the grill or smoker. (Now I'm going to vary from Steven's instructions here. This should have been your FIRST step. Setup your smoker and bring it to a temperature of 225 - 250 for at least one hour before placing your meat on the cooker. If you want to know how Steven does it - buy the book. This blog focuses on charcoal and wood grilling and barbecuing. I'll do some posts on setting up the various grills later in the spring)
5. When your cooker has locked in on its temperature, place the mutton (or lamb) fat side up in the center of the cooking grate over a drip pan and away from the heat. Cover the grill. Cook the mutton (or lamb) until it is fall off the bone tender, 4 to 6 hours. (Mine cooked for 8 hours! Barbecue does not tell time.) To test for doneness, insert an instant read thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, being sure not to touch the bone. The internal temperature of the meat should be about 190 degrees. (When the meat is ready, the thermometer should enter the meat as if going into warm butter - there should be almost no resistance.)
6. Baste the mutton (or lamb) with the basting sauce every half hour (after the bark has set on the meat) If the meat starts to burn, cover it loosely with aluminum foil. Keep your temperature steady, refueling your cooker as needed. (Steven has some instructions on refueling a charcoal grill, but I find them to be off)
7. Transfer the cooked mutton (or lamb) to a cutting board and let rest for at least 5 minutes. (I'd recommend at least an hour) Slice the meat thinly across the grain or finely chop it with a cleaver.
8. Spoon half of the dipping sauce over the meat.
9. Serve the mutton (or lamb) on toasted or grilled hamburger buns or slices of white bread, or all by itself, passing the remaining dipping sauce on the side.

So, there you have it. Owensboro Barbecued Mutton. Damn good if I do say so myself.

Since I was making 5 times the amount of meat that this recipe called for, I increased the size of all the ingredients, except the salt. Be careful when doubling or tripling seasonings. Some, like salt and pepper don't double precisely. Doubling the salt may cause it to overpower a recipe. I've got to find some good charts on that.

Please try this recipe at home. I'm sure you'll love it.

Ewe Don't Get It! Or At Least We Didn't.

We didn't win squat! After smoking for 8 hours over apple and hickory, mopping with a Moonlight mop, wrapping and resting in a heated cooler for an hour, shredding and pulling and removing all fat, we didn't win squat.

I really liked the lamb. It tasted like an outstanding smoked/barbeque lamb. It was tender, moist and flavorful. I'll post the losing recipe later in the week, but damn, I'm cooking this lamb again. To me - this was a winner.

Here's a list of the contestants for this year's Lamb Takedown. All worthy opponents. We didn't get to try most of the entries unfortunately. The crowd was too large and many of the teams ran out of food. I hope when Matt Timms does this again, he sets up a competitors choice award where all of the cooks get to taste the competition.

1. Robert and Johanna Fernandez - Blue Moon of Kentucky Lamb
2. Sara Morrisson - Lamb Sliders
3. Blondie and Brownie - Rock the Casbah Lamb
4. Emily Hanhan - Lambda Eata Thai meatballs
5. Jen De La Vega - Wham Bam Thank You Lamb
6. Trish Tchume - Indian Pizza
7. Ross Hutchison + Joanna Cybulski - Team Redneck caviar
8. Mike O’Neil and Christine Schmitd - Lambs in a blanket
9. Jordan Goldstein - Harissa Explained it All
10. Jules Acampora - Lamb Stew
11. Melissa Sands - Hoi Tomato Lamb Noodle Soup
12. Ben Conniff and Henry Chan - Baa Baa Bruschetta
13. Keavy Landreth - Lamb Cupcakes
14. Ben Sargent - Cocoa Loco Lamb Chowder
15. Cody Burke - Rogan Josh
16. Sarah Howland - Mini Greek Gyros
17. Tony Santoro - Grape Leaves of War
18. Greg Erskine - Gyro Pita OPA!
19. Carol Pitts - Vietnamese Lamb Stew
20. Barbara Warnock Morgan - Baa-BQ

The judge's winners (who received fancy cookware and knives) were: Wham Bam Thank You Lamb, a Filipino-style braised lamb stew, Harissa Explains It All, oroccan spiced lamb with carrot salad and minted lebne and Lamb on Goat, smoked lamb shoulder braised in bacon marmalade atop a round of goat cheese polenta all took home honors.

The people's choice winners were...

• 1st Greg Erskine - Gyro Pita OPA!!!!
• 2nd Ross Hutchison + Joanna Cybulski - Redneck Caviar
• 3rd Jordan Goldstein - Harissa Explained It ALL
• 4th Cody Burke - Rogan Josh
• 5th Sara Morrisson - Lamb Sliders
• 6th Ben Conniff and Henry Chan - Baa Baa Bruschetta

I learned a lot from this experience. The first thing I learned was that presentation matters. When I decided what to cook - I gave it no thought on how to serve it or present it. We decided to serve the lamb on tortilla bread with a slice of dill pickle. Sounds good right? Well, it looked like shit and was extremely messy to eat. And it was almost impossible to pick up.

Also, 13.5 lbs of uncooked lamb shoulder, which was provided by the American Lamb Board, is no where near enough for 250 people to sample! We ran out of meat long before this was over and when the picture above was taken we were no longer making lamb sandwiches but placing a few strands of lamb on 1/6 of a tortilla with the slice of pickle.

We almost made it to the end. When I do this again, I will seriously look for ways to supplement the meat, as all the winners did either with toppings, fillers or serving containers like bread or crackers. Something to take down the flavor of the meat. We, my wife and I, tasted most of the winners and we both thought that the flavor of the lamb was masked by the other ingredients. Sometimes so much, that the lamb flavor was completely lost. Our lamb was front and center. There was no mistaking it for anything but lamb. Maybe that wasn't a good thing.

And finally, I've learned that the rules of the barbeque competition circuit don't apply in the Takedown world. In the barbecue world, it's a meat contest. End of story. Here in the Takedown world - its all about presentation, combinations, creativity, degree of difficulty and familiarity.

A gyro wins? Seriously? Now I didn't taste the gyro - but look at what it was up against. The sliders were served on home made potato buns. Lamb shoulder braised in bacon marmalade atop a round of goat cheese polenta. Moroccan spiced lamb with carrot salad and minted lebne - hell I don't even know what lebne is.

I can't wait for the next one! I will whip you yet, Takedown! Just you wait!

Photo courtesy of Metromix

March Madness Becomes April Foolishness

So folks, March is over and I failed miserably to keep up with my March madness pledge of eating and photographing a different dinner every night. I apologize but the madness has not left my soul.

Today I am announcing the first ever April Foolishness held here at WhiteTrash BBQ. The rules are pretty simple. I challenge myself to eat a different dinner each night for the entire month of April. I will photograph it whenever it seems interesting enough to document.

Here's the run down so far...

• April 1 - Grilled beef spiedinis with rice pilaf and sugar snap peas. Hey, I lit a fire!
• April 2 - Potato gnocchi with basil pesto sauce and grilled Cajun shrimp. Lenten Friday.
  
• April 3 - Perdue Fun Shape Chicken Nuggets, Tater Tots and corn. Not exactly the plan for dinner as I lit a fire that morning. I barbecued a beef brisket, more on that later.
  
• April 4 - Easter dinner! Oven roasted leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary, mashed potatoes, string beans, corn and a new dish for my vegetarian son; barley-spiked winter vegetable casserole from the cookbook The Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson.

I was glad to get the opportunity to review the Vegetarian Slow Cooker for a couple of reasons. We've had a crock pot for years and it has sat unused in the cellar until this book arrived. The pot was one of those things that survives every attempt at clearing out the cellar with the comment, "Oh, we'll use it someday." Finally "someday" arrived. The other reason to be honest was that I've been having a difficult time coming up with new, exciting and interesting meals for my son. Vegetables have always played second fiddle on my table.

The Vegetarian Slow Cooker has really expanded my horizons. I highly recommend it. We, my son and I, have made a few recipes from this book and so far, they've all been winners.

I'm Cooking! Yup - Finally!

Brooklyn Lamb Takedown - LAMB Overdrive

Yes it's back - And I'm cooking it! From Matt Tims - the organizer.....

The Lamb Takedown is BACK in NYC, 4PM April 18th at The Bell House!!!! Entrants wanted! (There’s three spots left!) Each contestant gets 15lbs of lamb- shoulder/shank/leg or ground to play with… Spots fill up FAST!

Truly the LAMB-orghini Countach Quartravore of all Takedowns… Yes! I just said that! Count on Emily Fleischaker from Bon Appetit to judge you sternly. So much lamb- the funnest meat there ever was!

I Need To Cook

They say your'e innocent when you dream, and last night I was dreaming about barbecue. Yes, I dream about barbecue. It was a strange dream, but this is what a remember.

Apparently I was a contestant for Top Chef, which was taking place at a campground. I was alone in the campsite and was making burnt ends, the succulent twice smoked cubes of brisket, out of pork shoulder cubes when I realized that I didn't have anything for the elimination challenge that night.

I left my burnt ends smoking and headed to the local supermarket, which is someplace I've been to in real life but I don't remember the name, but I'm pretty sure it's a market somewhere in New Hampshire, to buy ingredients for the elimination challenge. I needed lamb, and the supermarket only had one small boneless leg. I bought that and asked for more. The store was closing and the cashier kept calling me by name to the register while the butcher searched for more lamb, eventually delivering me a frozen solid prime rib of beef all the while claiming that it was lamb.

I purchased those meats, along with some strange Korean labeled honey and a lot of baby bok choy and left the store confident that I would win the challenge even though I had slept through the quick fire challenge and had no idea what the elimination challenge was.

Then came the realization that I was asleep and this was all a dream. I need to cook.

Recipes: Lamb Shish Kabobs with Tomato Tzatski

Frequent or I guess long time readers of this blog will know that I like lamb and feel that we Americans don't eat it often enough. Today in my in-box the fine folks at Weber sent me this recipe for Lamb Shish Kabobs with Tomato Tzatski. As soon as I saw it, I knew what we're having for dinner.

Lamb Shish Kabobs with Tomato Tzatzki

Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Grilling time: 5 to 7 minutes
Special equipment: 16 wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Lamb

• 1-1/2 pounds freshly ground lamb
• 1/4 cup minced scallions, white and light green parts
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

Sauce

• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt, preferably the thick, Greek style
• 1/2 cup finely chopped ripe tomato
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1. In a medium bowl gently mix the lamb ingredients until evenly distributed. Gently shape the lamb mixture into little rolls, each about 3 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before grilling.

2. In a small bowl mix the sauce ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. After chilling the lamb rolls for at least 1 hour, place 2 side by side. Push a skewer through the rolls about 1 inch from their ends. Repeat with another skewer parallel to the first one. Double skewer the remaining lamb rolls. Lightly brush them on all sides with oil.

4. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the lamb rolls over direct high heat (450° to 550°F), with the lid closed as much as possible, until nicely browned all over but still slightly pink and juicy in the center, 5 to 7 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times and swapping their positions as needed for even cooking. If flare-ups occur, finish cooking the lamb rolls over indirect heat. Serve warm with the sauce.

Fire!

Finally lit a fire this weekend. Smoked leg of lamb. Damn good.

I jelly rolled a boneless leg of lamb and stuffed it with sun dried tomatoes, garlic, fresh thyme and oregano. I smoked over hickory and apple at 275 for about 6 hours. Damn it was good. Didn't I say that already? But yes it was damn good and a different take on my usual methods.

Sorry I don't have any pictures, I can't find the camera.

BBQ Contest Foods: Lamb

Astute readers or even the occasional reader, of this blog know that the American Lamb Board sponsored our team Smokey Mikes for our lamb category in the NEBS sanctioned grilling contest at the Hudson Valley Ribfest. OK, I think I've got everyone covered.

We were really excited to get the American Lamb for the contest. The flavor and tenderness of the American Lamb is far superior to what I've experienced with the New Zealand or Australian lamb in the past. We knew that we'd have a bit of an advantage cooking this meat.

To get the meat, I picked it up at the Hunts Point Food CoOp in the Bronx from B. Rosen and Sons. We took it as a good omen that we were getting the lamb from a Rosen, as that is the last name of one of the Mikes.

I tell you, going up to Hunts Point is a story in itself, but it was amazing to see how much food is distributed from this market. I also used this trip as an excuse to visit the new Fulton Fish Market. They're both amazing places, but in these days of terrorism I question the wisdom of centralizing all the food distribution for the Northeast in one poorly guarded location.

So what about the contest you say? Well, we cooked two boneless legs of lamb and 4 sides of baby back lamb ribs for the event. I skinned the ribs and seasoned them with a doctored version of Wild Rooster Barbeque Sauce - Mustard Mania. For the leg Mike seasoned one with garlic and herbs, tied it and smoked it whole. For the other leg I butterflied it and made a marinade of the seasonings that we had with us. I don't remember the exact recipe but it included apple juice, mustard, garlic and olive oil.

When turn in time came, the ribs and Mike's leg were ready, but the butterflied leg needed to cook some more. We tasted the lamb and decided to submit the ribs. We liked them a lot and thought the mustard would be an interesting seasoning departure from the traditional BBQ flavors. Unfortunately, the judges didn't agree. We came in solidly in the middle of the pack.

We seasoned up the remaining legs of lamb and put them in the cooker to feed the crowds during the day. (Well, we seasoned up what we thought was the remaining lamb, but one survived to make the trip back to Brooklyn to become De-constructed Shepard's Pie) This lamb we gave out to the people along with recipe cards and other promo material.

The crowds ate it up. We fed them for about 2 hours. I was really surprised to hear from many many people that they've never had lamb before or don't cook it themselves. But they all seemed to love it. Another very interesting conversation that seemed to happen a lot with the older folks was that our lamb was the flavor that they remembered. We all attributed that to the fact that this was American lamb. I wish we had a list of retail markets to give them, because I was asked repeatedly where they could purchase it.

After the lamb entry was submitted and while Mike was making the next entry, steak; we took off the butterflied leg that I mentioned earlier. We cut that up and started to munch on it. Damn - this was the lamb that we should have submitted. It was outstanding. Even one much trusted opposing competitor thought so. Too bad it wasn't ready in time. On to the steak.

Leftovers

Here's a new one. A recipe for a non-barbecue meal, brought to you by the fine folks at WhiteTrash BBQ and The American Lamb Board.

In case you didn't know, The American Lamb Board graciously sponsored our team and provided us with a boat load of lamb to cook at The Hudson Valley Ribfest. We cooked almost all of it but for some reason after the event we still had a leg of lamb uncooked. I can't imagine how we missed it. I thought we had cooked it all. Hell, we fed the public lamb for a good 2 hours on Saturday!

I was taught never to waste food so I brought the leg home and roasted the lamb after seasoning it with a paste of butter, rosemary and garlic. Just like Grandma used to make. It makes a delicious dinner, but there's always leftovers. And like I said, you can't waste food, so what's a poor boy to do besides play in a rock and roll band? Make Shepard's Pie - that's what.

I call this deconstructed Shepard's Pie. I was going to make the real thing, but frankly it was just too hot in Brooklyn today, so deconstructed Shepard's Pie was born. I wasn't turning on the oven for anything! Have fun.

Ingredients:

• Left over lamb meat cubed and trimmed of all fat. Try to keep all the spices on the meat.
• 2 onions sliced
• Red wine
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons of flour
  
• 2 cans beef broth
• 2 beef bullion cubes
• Shot or two of Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 package frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking instructions:

• In large dutch oven, melt butter with the olive oil.
  
• In the butter and oil, sweat the onions until tender.
  
• Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and caramelize over low heat.
  
• When the onions are brown, add the tomato paste, browning it lightly.
  
• Sprinkle flour over entire mixture, stirring constantly to make a roux. Cook roux for about 2 minutes until all flour is cooked and incorporated in the mixture.
  
• Deglaze pan with some red wine. (I used Merlot because we had it open)
  
• Stir in beef broth. Add bullion cubes and bring to a boil. Add water if necessary to completely cover the meat. Don't let it boil too long, or your meat will get tough.
  
• Once mixture comes to a boil, add bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce
  
• Reduce heat to simmer.
• Simmer for about 1/2 hour or longer. This can stay on the stove all day over a low heat.
• About 5 minutes before you plan on serving, add package of mixed vegetables. Raise heat to bring mixture back to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.
  
• Check for salt and pepper and adjust seasonings as necessary.
• Serve on bed of mashed potatoes.
  

If you make this, please feel free to add or subtract as you see fit. And be judicious on the measurements. I don't measure anything when I cook. Everything is by eye, feel and taste.

BBQ Life: Smokin' the Night Away

11 days to go to the Hudson Valley Ribfest.

Since my WSM was so damn filthy and missing parts, I decided to cook yesterday's pork shoulder, lamb ribs and hamburgers on the Charbroil Double Door Smoker. I think I'm beginning to master this beast.

My first cook on the Double Door was very interesting. The cooker challenged all my learned wisdom about cooking over live fire. I'll go over all of that in another post, when I have some pictures to add, but lets say that this cook was much more successful.

On my first cook I used over 60 lbs of charcoal, lump and wood to cook one small brisket and some chicken wings. For this last cook, I used about 10 - 15 lbs of fuel and cooked for almost 15 hours. I controlled the temperature much better without falling below 210 or rising above 240 during the entire cook.

I'm really beginning to like this cooker. It has it's own quirks and could probably benefit from some modifications, but I'm enjoying using it as it is. I haven't cooked on it in inclement weather yet, but I think I could handle it. We're beginning to understand one another. I'm much more comfortable now about bringing this cooker to New Paltz.

The pork had it's own quirks as well. I took the pork off the cooker when they registered 165 degrees to wrap them in foil for the trip to 195. I discovered that I was out of foil, so I took a quick jaunt to the supermarket. When I returned, after about 15 minutes, the internal temperatures of the pork had dropped to132 and 147 degrees. WTF?

So how did the food turn out? Pretty damn good. The new pork injection is a keeper. The lamb ribs were interesting and different. I used traditional barbeque flavorings, which I think was a mistake. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but I think the lamb would have benefited from a more delicate seasoning profile. When I do lamb ribs again, I'm going to go more Mediterranean in seasoning. Or more Irish. I'll make that call in due time.

BBQ Events: Hudson Valley Ribfest

12 days to go to the Hudson Valley Ribfest.

Now that I've gotten all my nerves and apprehensions out of the way, I can concentrate on the event. Today I'm cooking up a couple of pork butts and lamb ribs. I've never done lamb ribs on the grill before so this is going to very interesting.

I came up with a new pork injection yesterday. It's a mixture of apple juice, oil, vinegar, pork stock, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, garlic, salt, pepper and a couple of other ingredients I'm keeping secret for now. If I like it, I may use it in the competition. If it wins, I'll publish the whole recipe.

I'm also trying out a new rub. I found it in Fairway the other day and I've never tried it or seen it before. We like the manufacturer's other products and it passed the pinky test, so here's hoping.

I'm busy today putting together the equipment we'll need. I pulled my Weber Smokey Mountain out of the garage for a good cleaning. I haven't used it since my last competition, which was the ill fated Grill Kings. (I guess I'm getting spoiled. I have a lot of grills to choose from now.) Opening up the WSM, I noticed that I have two charcoal grill racks and only one cooking rack. Time for a visit to Home Depot for a replacement.

Sorry, no pictures today. The batteries are dead and I'm too busy to buy new.

Pimping My Life Away.....

Every once in a blue moon, which seems to have been shining brightly this July, a vendor, manufacturer, or publisher will offer me an item to review. My standard response is to thank them for the offer and tell them that I'll accept it and write about it, but my opinion will be my opinion. If I like it, I'll say it. If I don't, well that goes up too. Most vendors are OK with that, but there's been a few who shied away.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from the American Lamb Board offering me a package of lamb to try out. I accepted and the results were posted here. Well, it seems that Tana Butler over at I Heart Farms has some issues with the American Lamb Board and all the bloggers who accepted their offer.

Ms Butler's blog is dedicated to the small farmer and "people who are smart support sustainable agriculture, and do not support the pinheads and reptiles who make policies that hasten the destruction of our fragile environment."

So what's the problem with The American Lamb Board?

1. Ms Butler is appalled that the American Lamb Board is in it for the money. From her blog, "Remember that ".org" in the web address? How disingenuous is that? From Wikipedia:

   In the US and the UK, the .org TLD is mostly associated with non-profit organizations (in the latter '.uk' is usually but not always added after the '.org'). In addition to its wide use in the charitable field, it is often used by the open-source movement, as opposed to the .com domains used mostly by companies.

   This isn't NPR we're talking about, folks. The American Lamb Board folks are all about the profit: they have an advertising budget that is nearly $1.5 million! Non-profit, my ass." - Gee it's a trade organization. What a surprise. Just because they have a large advertising budget doesn't make them non-profit. I wonder what that advertising budget of PBS or The Red Cross is.
   
2. That the lamb was not produced "cleanly, humanely, and sustainably." I don't remember seeing anything in the package claiming it was. One blogger (Stephencooks) stated that his lamb came from Superior Farms who's website states, "Superior Farms lamb is raised naturally, which means it is minimally processed with no artificial ingredients. They now raise Pure lamb, which is grown with no antibiotics or hormones. The company also supports many small farmers who are excellent stewards for the environment." Sounds good to me. Mine wasn't labeled, but I'm not sure who produced the meat. The only claim I saw was that the lamb was American.
   
3. And finally the true crux of the matter - Ms Butler doesn't like lamb. Again, from her blog, "I'm not saying what these people cooked and wrote about on their various blogs wasn't very tasty indeed. (As for me, with rare exceptions, lamb tastes very dead to me. I've only had it a few times that it was good, and that was because it was very fresh, very clean, pastured lamb. But eat lamb, if that's what you like!)".

I support Ms Butler in her effort to promote the small farmer and meat that is produced "cleanly, humanely, and sustainably," but it's wrong to condemn the bloggers and the American Lamb Board for shilling their product.

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.

BBQ Meat: American Lamb

Sorry to all the newsreaders out there who just got a blank post. Here comes the real one.

I got an email the other day from Rachelle Lacroix from the American Lamb Board inquiring if I would be interested in trying out some American lamb. "Hell yeah," I said. "We love lamb at my house. Send it on over."

In her note she included an interesting fact, "The American Lamb Board found in its January 2007 study of 500 consumers that 1 out of 3 Americans have never cooked lamb at home." Wow, that's ashame, because lamb is a great, tasty and easy to prepare meat. We cook it all the time in the winter and spring, but rarely on the grill.

But, American lamb? I rarely see American lamb in stores. My local supermarkets don't carry it and my warehouse club only carries lamb from New Zealand. On the first season of Top Chef they made a big deal about serving Colorado lamb. I don't know if I've ever had American lamb.

What makes American lamb so special?

According to their website:

• Freshness – No Frequent Flyer Miles. American Lamb travels up to 10,000 fewer miles than its foreign competition. That’s an advantage that speaks for itself.
• Flavor – Mild, Buttery. How does American Lamb get this great mild, buttery flavor? It’s how we raise them. American Lamb are fed a combination of mixed grains and mixed grasses; this feed contributes to a milder flavor and less gamey texture than imported lamb that are fed a diet of mixed grasses only.
• Value – Bigger, Meatier. American Lamb yield more meat on the bone than imported lamb. A 2002 study reported that the eye of an American Lamb rib chop provides 38% more meat than Australia and New Zealand rib chops. Also, the cost of American Lamb is comparable to that of other premium meats. (Source: Genho, M.R. 2002 Enhancing the retail market for American Lamb. M.S. Thesis, CSU)
• Availability. Several value cuts of American Lamb are available year round. These include leg, shoulder, ground lamb, shanks and ribs.
• Ease of Preparation – Easy and Delicious. American Lamb, because of its mild flavor, lends itself to a variety of flavorings and cooking methods. Also, it does not require complicated recipes to prepare a delicious dish.
• Overall Meat Quality – Bred for Meat, Not Wool. American Lamb are bred primarily for quality meat. Imported lamb are bred primarily for quality wool. American lamb reflects this difference in its overall superior quality to that of imported lamb.

So on Thursday I was delivered a neat little cooler containing a 6 to 8 lb boneless leg of lamb, a set of skewers, a package of dried rosemary, a package of dried oregano, an instant read thermometer and some recipes.

And today? I'm out to the backyard to grill up a butterflied leg of lamb with mustard and rosemary using the recipe in the kit. I'll post the results soon.