Grilled Lamb with a POST marinade - Tons of Pr0n

GrillinFool · 10-09-2012, 05:20 PM

We all know my love for lamb goes beyond even my love for pumpkin beers and thus I am sad to say I haven’t had it much recently because it is just so expensive. But the other night, at a friend’s birthday party, I met a chef named Larry Siffrin. He told me how he cooks lamb and that it involves hitting it after it cooks with a marinade. I had to do a double take when he said it and check his drink. He wasn’t slurring. He wasn’t listing. He was enjoying an adult beverage, but he was by no means drunk. “Marinating after the grilling,” I thought to myself. “That’s a new one for me.” I looked at him and said, “Larry, tell me more about this process.” And he did and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would be grilling some lamb. Exactly one week later, I made this recipe which is his with only a few minor tweaks.
Grilled Lamb PRE Marinade:
1/2 cup Village Press Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp minced rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp fresh chives
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (not pictured)
2 racks of lamb
1 pinch salt and pinch of black pepper

The Ingredients, at least most of them

Wait. Pre Marinade? I thought this dish was all about the post marinade? It is. But just because we’re doing a post marinade doesn’t mean we can’t do a pre marinade too. I want to infuse the lamb with some flavor before I ever get to the post marinade part.
First I want to talk about the olive oil:

Village Press Olive Oil

I was contacted by the folks at Village Press asking me if I wanted to sample it and if I liked it if I would use it on the site. So full disclosure, they gave me the stuff, and fuller disclosurer, I liked it. I’m no olive oil snob but I know when it goes bad and why. Three things really hurt olive oil – light, heat and air. This is a plastic bladder of olive oil inside a box. Sort of like box wine, but in this instance it’s a really good idea to box the liquid. The cardboard will insulate the olive oil from heat like setting it near a burner. The box keeps light out, and the bag keeps air from getting inside the container since it collapses in on itself as the bag empties. To me this is brilliant.
Back to the grilled lamb recipe.
Obviously you could use whatever olive oil you choose if you don’t have any Village Press on hand. Combine the salt, pepper, oil, garlic, red wine vinegar and onion in a bowl and then go to work on the fresh herbs:

Rosemary

Thyme

Chives

Chives Chopped

And put all the pre marinade ingredients in a bowl:

Pre Mixed Pre Marinade

The quickest way to mix the pre marinade is not with a whisk, but with a lid. Slap the lid on and give it a good shake:

Mixed Pre Marinade

Toss the lamb into a plastic bag and pour in the marinade and refrigerate:

Marinating little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Marinating little lamb, who’s meat is great asyou know…

Obviously I only did this for a five bone rack, but there’s enough to coat two whole racks. Marinate for as little as two hours to over night.
The following day, prepare the grill (in this case a Char-Griller Akorn) for a low fire and smoke the lamb indirect with charcoal (or burners lit) on one side and no heat on the other with the lamb on that side:

On the Grill

If you are wondering what the hole is. My grill has a center piece that comes out of the grill grate so I can add more fuel or smoke wood. In this case I used a blend of soaked chips from my local grocery store (hickory, apple, cherry, and sassafras).
And when I say low heat, I mean low. 200 is the max you want to go here:

200 degrees

All you want to do is impart some smoke flavor but not cook them all that much. We will be searing at the end where a lot of cooking will take place, so go low and slow.
Now go prepare the post marinade for the grilled lamb as it will smoke for close to an hour.

Grilled Lamb Post Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup parsley
1 tbsp thyme
2 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of salt and pinch black pepper
I was a bit pressed for time, so instead of chopping all the ingredients, I used the food processor. I simply apportioned out the ingredients on a cutting board:

Post Marinade Dry Ingredients

And I dumped them all in a food processor:

Blended by Chunky

I smoked the lamb for a total of 55 minutes. When the meat began to firm up, I went for the sear. I did this totally by feel. If you don’t feel that confident to do that, use a probe or instant read thermometer and sear them when they hit 120 degrees internal temperature for rare to medium rare. For medium rare to medium, wait till they hit about 135-140.
I had two choices for searing. Putting them over the side of the grill that is hot, but I didn’t get the grill all that hot so it would take a little while for it to heat up. Instead, right next to my charcoal grill is my Char-Broil TRU Infrared:

I Love my Infrared!

It’s PERFECT. The TRU Infrared puts out some serious heat, allowing me to get the grill to 700 degrees in a couple minutes and it doesn’t dry meat out like a charcoal or conventional gas grill. So I tossed the grilled lamb on the Char-Broil to sear:

Searing

Flipped and Repeated

Don’t forget to sear the ends

Once the grilled lamb is nicely charred, bring it inside and place on a sheet of aluminum foil:

Ready for the Post Marinade

Then cover with the post marinade paste:

Slathered

Don’t forget the other side and the ends

Then seal it in the foil and let rest:

Resting

Resting is vitally important. When meat comes off the grill, the juices are in the excited state because of the heat. Cutting into the lamb right away will result in the juices rushing out onto the cutting board. But allowing them to rest means they can settle down and redistribute throughout the meat and ensure a juicy bite from start to finish. And for this recipe, it cooks the post marinade just enough to awaken the flavors without overcooking them.
After 8 minutes, open the foil:

Ready to serve

Notice how the bright green post marinade has darkened as it cooked and soaked up some of the sumptuous grease on the outside of the lamb?
The question becomes, did I over or under cook the lamb since I went by feel alone? Well, since I always include a teaser shot at the top, and if you’ve already been to the site you know, that these are darn near perfect for me:

Ready to Eat

Herbs can have their flavor cooked right out of them, same as garlic, which is why many chefs toss the herbs in right before plating a dish. Essentially, that’s what I did here. This way the herbs and garlic cook for only a little bit, fully opening up the flavors and putting them on the plate (and subsequently in your mouth) at just the right time. I can’t quite explain how fresh the herbs and garlic were when I tore through these meat lollies in about 30 seconds. It’s like a misty spring morning in your mouth. All the flavors are at their fullest like a I harvested the herbs myself and ate them within minutes of removing them from the stem. It was absolutely refreshing.
And if you’re wondering whether or not I had a well rounded meal. I’d say so. This Joel Gott Cab rounded out the meal nicely:

Gott Cab?

Click here if you liked the grilled lamb and want to see other grilling recipes done by the Grillin’ Fools with lamb.
Also, you can follow the Grillin’ Fools on Facebook and post your grilling pictures, share grilling recipes, or join the general grilling conversation. You can follow us on Twitter@GrillinFool (no S).

Skidder · 10-09-2012, 05:28 PM

Perfection!!

Big George's BBQ · 10-09-2012, 05:34 PM

Perfection Definately worth trying

DerHusker · 10-09-2012, 05:36 PM

Yum!

V-wiz · 10-09-2012, 06:24 PM

Awesome stuff there. good job.

NUFC · 10-09-2012, 06:52 PM

I love this forum.

Gonna be trying this out! Thanks for sharing.

martyleach · 10-09-2012, 07:53 PM

Simply beautiful! Lamb is right at the top on my list of all time fav's. Very nicely done. It's just too bad it costs so darn much. They put the darn sheep out in the pastures to keep the weeds down.....so why's it so expensive. New Zealand's got more sheep than people....

Chrispy · 10-09-2012, 11:05 PM

Very Very nice, great job, I'll try this out next time, You gotta love lamb!

GrillinFool · 10-09-2012, 11:11 PM

Phrasty · 10-09-2012, 11:37 PM

Magnifique!

Murray in N.Z. · 10-10-2012, 08:17 AM

Dang that looks good. But of course it would coz its Made in New Zealand, not that I am biased. The only problem is that we cant afford to eat it much either, it all goes overseas to rich countries.

SmokeFan · 10-10-2012, 08:32 AM

That looks incredible! Your marinade looks alot like chimichurri, which rocks on about anything. I've got to try lamb.

TIMMAY · 10-10-2012, 10:03 AM

Looks great!! I like lamb. Wish it wasn't so expensive.

GrillinFool · 10-11-2012, 01:45 PM

I wonder if I would love Lamb so much is lamb wasn't as expensive? If I ate it much more, I wounder if I would be as nuts about it...

Bob in St. Louis · 10-11-2012, 04:05 PM

Oh wow. I need to do this. I've had it before and love it very much, but have never seen it in the stores.
How much does it cost?

10-09-2012, 05:20 PM	#1
GrillinFool Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 05-08-09 Location: St. Louis	Grilled Lamb with a POST marinade - Tons of Pr0n We all know my love for lamb goes beyond even my love for pumpkin beers and thus I am sad to say I haven’t had it much recently because it is just so expensive. But the other night, at a friend’s birthday party, I met a chef named Larry Siffrin. He told me how he cooks lamb and that it involves hitting it after it cooks with a marinade. I had to do a double take when he said it and check his drink. He wasn’t slurring. He wasn’t listing. He was enjoying an adult beverage, but he was by no means drunk. “Marinating after the grilling,” I thought to myself. “That’s a new one for me.” I looked at him and said, “Larry, tell me more about this process.” And he did and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would be grilling some lamb. Exactly one week later, I made this recipe which is his with only a few minor tweaks. Grilled Lamb PRE Marinade: 1/2 cup Village Press Olive Oil 2 cloves garlic minced 1 tbsp finely chopped red onion 1 tbsp minced rosemary 1 tsp thyme 1 tbsp fresh chives 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (not pictured) 2 racks of lamb 1 pinch salt and pinch of black pepper The Ingredients, at least most of them Wait. Pre Marinade? I thought this dish was all about the post marinade? It is. But just because we’re doing a post marinade doesn’t mean we can’t do a pre marinade too. I want to infuse the lamb with some flavor before I ever get to the post marinade part. First I want to talk about the olive oil: Village Press Olive Oil I was contacted by the folks at Village Press asking me if I wanted to sample it and if I liked it if I would use it on the site. So full disclosure, they gave me the stuff, and fuller disclosurer, I liked it. I’m no olive oil snob but I know when it goes bad and why. Three things really hurt olive oil – light, heat and air. This is a plastic bladder of olive oil inside a box. Sort of like box wine, but in this instance it’s a really good idea to box the liquid. The cardboard will insulate the olive oil from heat like setting it near a burner. The box keeps light out, and the bag keeps air from getting inside the container since it collapses in on itself as the bag empties. To me this is brilliant. Back to the grilled lamb recipe. Obviously you could use whatever olive oil you choose if you don’t have any Village Press on hand. Combine the salt, pepper, oil, garlic, red wine vinegar and onion in a bowl and then go to work on the fresh herbs: Rosemary Thyme Chives Chives Chopped And put all the pre marinade ingredients in a bowl: Pre Mixed Pre Marinade The quickest way to mix the pre marinade is not with a whisk, but with a lid. Slap the lid on and give it a good shake: Mixed Pre Marinade Toss the lamb into a plastic bag and pour in the marinade and refrigerate: Marinating little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Marinating little lamb, who’s meat is great asyou know… Obviously I only did this for a five bone rack, but there’s enough to coat two whole racks. Marinate for as little as two hours to over night. The following day, prepare the grill (in this case a Char-Griller Akorn) for a low fire and smoke the lamb indirect with charcoal (or burners lit) on one side and no heat on the other with the lamb on that side: On the Grill If you are wondering what the hole is. My grill has a center piece that comes out of the grill grate so I can add more fuel or smoke wood. In this case I used a blend of soaked chips from my local grocery store (hickory, apple, cherry, and sassafras). And when I say low heat, I mean low. 200 is the max you want to go here: 200 degrees All you want to do is impart some smoke flavor but not cook them all that much. We will be searing at the end where a lot of cooking will take place, so go low and slow. Now go prepare the post marinade for the grilled lamb as it will smoke for close to an hour. Grilled Lamb Post Marinade: 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup parsley 1 tbsp thyme 2 cloves garlic 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes pinch of salt and pinch black pepper I was a bit pressed for time, so instead of chopping all the ingredients, I used the food processor. I simply apportioned out the ingredients on a cutting board: Post Marinade Dry Ingredients And I dumped them all in a food processor: Blended by Chunky I smoked the lamb for a total of 55 minutes. When the meat began to firm up, I went for the sear. I did this totally by feel. If you don’t feel that confident to do that, use a probe or instant read thermometer and sear them when they hit 120 degrees internal temperature for rare to medium rare. For medium rare to medium, wait till they hit about 135-140. I had two choices for searing. Putting them over the side of the grill that is hot, but I didn’t get the grill all that hot so it would take a little while for it to heat up. Instead, right next to my charcoal grill is my Char-Broil TRU Infrared: I Love my Infrared! It’s PERFECT. The TRU Infrared puts out some serious heat, allowing me to get the grill to 700 degrees in a couple minutes and it doesn’t dry meat out like a charcoal or conventional gas grill. So I tossed the grilled lamb on the Char-Broil to sear: Searing Flipped and Repeated Don’t forget to sear the ends Once the grilled lamb is nicely charred, bring it inside and place on a sheet of aluminum foil: Ready for the Post Marinade Then cover with the post marinade paste: Slathered Don’t forget the other side and the ends Then seal it in the foil and let rest: Resting Resting is vitally important. When meat comes off the grill, the juices are in the excited state because of the heat. Cutting into the lamb right away will result in the juices rushing out onto the cutting board. But allowing them to rest means they can settle down and redistribute throughout the meat and ensure a juicy bite from start to finish. And for this recipe, it cooks the post marinade just enough to awaken the flavors without overcooking them. After 8 minutes, open the foil: Ready to serve Notice how the bright green post marinade has darkened as it cooked and soaked up some of the sumptuous grease on the outside of the lamb? The question becomes, did I over or under cook the lamb since I went by feel alone? Well, since I always include a teaser shot at the top, and if you’ve already been to the site you know, that these are darn near perfect for me: Ready to Eat Herbs can have their flavor cooked right out of them, same as garlic, which is why many chefs toss the herbs in right before plating a dish. Essentially, that’s what I did here. This way the herbs and garlic cook for only a little bit, fully opening up the flavors and putting them on the plate (and subsequently in your mouth) at just the right time. I can’t quite explain how fresh the herbs and garlic were when I tore through these meat lollies in about 30 seconds. It’s like a misty spring morning in your mouth. All the flavors are at their fullest like a I harvested the herbs myself and ate them within minutes of removing them from the stem. It was absolutely refreshing. And if you’re wondering whether or not I had a well rounded meal. I’d say so. This Joel Gott Cab rounded out the meal nicely: Gott Cab? Click here if you liked the grilled lamb and want to see other grilling recipes done by the Grillin’ Fools with lamb. Also, you can follow the Grillin’ Fools on Facebook and post your grilling pictures, share grilling recipes, or join the general grilling conversation. You can follow us on Twitter@GrillinFool (no S).

10-09-2012, 06:24 PM	#5
V-wiz is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 03-20-12 Location: Los Angeles CA	Awesome stuff there. good job. __________________ Wood Fired Brick Pizza Oven.Brick BBQ Pit.Kenmore SS Grill Weber OTG. Brinkmann Smoker.

10-09-2012, 07:53 PM	#7
martyleach Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 12-17-10 Location: Pleasanton, Ca	Simply beautiful! Lamb is right at the top on my list of all time fav's. Very nicely done. It's just too bad it costs so darn much. They put the darn sheep out in the pastures to keep the weeds down.....so why's it so expensive. New Zealand's got more sheep than people.... __________________ XL BGE, Kamado Joe Jr, Santa Maria pit, 26" Weber custom performer, MAK One Star pellet cooker, 14.5" WSM, Jumbo Joe, WGA, Arte Flame griddle insert for the 26" Weber. Custom wooden handles for BBQ's made by Marty Leach (oh, that's me) [url]http://www.amlwoodart.com[/url]

10-09-2012, 11:37 PM	#10
Phrasty Babbling Farker Join Date: 01-19-08 Location: Jamaica	Magnifique! __________________ 1 - 100 lb. self-made cylinder grill/smoker 1 - 100 lb. self-made cylinder smoker 1 - 20 gal. self-made grill/smoker 1 - 25 gal. self-made vertical smoker 1 - 120 gal. self-made trailer stick-burner http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=88599

10-11-2012, 04:05 PM	#15
Bob in St. Louis Babbling Farker Join Date: 07-31-12 Location: St. Louis Missouri	Oh wow. I need to do this. I've had it before and love it very much, but have never seen it in the stores. How much does it cost? __________________ Truth, by definition is narrow and exclusive. -------------- "Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire." - Exodus 12:9

10-09-2012, 05:28 PM	#2
Skidder Babbling Farker Join Date: 02-02-08 Location: Westfield,Ma.	Perfection!!

10-09-2012, 05:34 PM	#3
Big George's BBQ somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 02-07-08 Location: Framingham, MA Name/Nickname : George	Perfection Definately worth trying

10-09-2012, 05:36 PM	#4
DerHusker Babbling Farker Join Date: 04-05-12 Location: Escondido, CA	Yum!

10-09-2012, 06:52 PM	#6
NUFC Got rid of the matchlight. Join Date: 10-08-12 Location: United Kingdom	I love this forum. Gonna be trying this out! Thanks for sharing.

10-09-2012, 11:05 PM	#8
Chrispy Is lookin for wood to cook with. Join Date: 04-01-12 Location: Northern Michigan	Very Very nice, great job, I'll try this out next time, You gotta love lamb!

10-09-2012, 11:11 PM	#9
GrillinFool Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 05-08-09 Location: St. Louis

10-10-2012, 08:17 AM	#11
Murray in N.Z. On the road to being a farker Join Date: 04-13-11 Location: Auckland New Zealand	Dang that looks good. But of course it would coz its Made in New Zealand, not that I am biased. The only problem is that we cant afford to eat it much either, it all goes overseas to rich countries.

10-10-2012, 08:32 AM	#12
SmokeFan Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 02-13-12 Location: Fort Worth, TX	That looks incredible! Your marinade looks alot like chimichurri, which rocks on about anything. I've got to try lamb.

10-10-2012, 10:03 AM	#13
TIMMAY is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 01-10-11 Location: Sugar Hill, GA	Looks great!! I like lamb. Wish it wasn't so expensive.

10-11-2012, 01:45 PM	#14
GrillinFool Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 05-08-09 Location: St. Louis	I wonder if I would love Lamb so much is lamb wasn't as expensive? If I ate it much more, I wounder if I would be as nuts about it...