PDA

View Full Version : Leg-O-Lamb and a Thistle...Artichoke that is.


deguerre
01-06-2012, 10:35 AM
Well we had this boneless leg of lamb we had generously rubbed with a slurry I made Wednesday morning. Basically fresh thyme, minced garlic, celery salt and cracked black pepper smooshed in the M&P to which was added some lemon juice and EVOO until I had the consistancy I wanted.

The leg went into the fridge until yesterday evening when it was taken out while the kettle was being prepared and brought up to ~325. I used a chunk of citrus wood for a little smoke with the Kingsford Comp. Some baby Yukon Gold taters, coated with EVOO and a little S&P were roasted along side the lamb.

Redhot prepared the thistles by cutting off about 1 and a half inches from the top and the stem. She then spread the flower out just a bit and drizzled them with lemon juice and some Kosher Salt and cracked black pepper. Three cloves of garlic were stuffed into the center of each flower and then some EVOO was drizzled over. They were then double wrapped in heavy duty foil and baked at 400 for about an hour and twenty minutes when the oven was shut down and they coasted until the lamb was ready, which was not long afterwards.

Here are some pics:

In the rub and a close-up:

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb-3.jpg

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb1-3.jpg

The Thistles:

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb2-2.jpg

On the grill:

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb3-2.jpg

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb4-1.jpg

Ready to carve:

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb5-1.jpg

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb6-1.jpg

And a few plate pics:

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb7-1.jpg

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/lamb8.jpg

http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums/b414/redhot696/plate-13.jpg

The lamb of course was wonderful. Nice, tender and juicy. The artichokes were a very sensual side involving all senses as each leaf was pealed one by one and were quite delecious. All in all, not a bad meal at all.
Thanks for looking!

bluetang
01-06-2012, 10:39 AM
Beautiful!

Wrench_H
01-06-2012, 10:41 AM
Great looking meal ther Guerry. I need to do another leg of lamb soon, that is good stuff.

gtr
01-06-2012, 10:57 AM
Looks delicious - great job on the cook and the pix! :clap2:

So as the smells of the grill were wafting through the air, did y'all think to yourselves "Thistle be a delicious meal"? :bolt:

Gore
01-06-2012, 11:00 AM
We were just talking about leg of lamb last night .... :hungry:

PatAttack
01-06-2012, 11:08 AM
Gonna have to try me some of those "sensual", artichokes!:shock:

Awesome looking meal, Guerry. Kudos to you and Redhot!

DaveMW
01-06-2012, 11:10 AM
So I am reading this post without yet looking at photos and I thought "wow you can eat thistle?!!" I have to see this and then it was all so very clear. I thought you were stuffing and cooking these::crazy:

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/cc397/davemw1/Thistle.jpg

Al Czervik
01-06-2012, 11:41 AM
Very nice Guerry! :thumb:

Redhot
01-06-2012, 12:07 PM
And to think, I had to beg him to even try lamb!:rolleyes: Now it's one of our faves. The roasted artichokes were really good too.

Big George's BBQ
01-06-2012, 01:24 PM
That lamb looks really good I would love to try that artichoke

bigabyte
01-06-2012, 01:32 PM
Looks downright divine!:thumb::hungry:

deguerre
01-06-2012, 03:10 PM
That lamb looks really good I would love to try that artichoke

You really need to! It's the first time I've roasted them that way, and the first time Redhot had even had a fresh artichoke. They were fan farkin tastic.

BBQ PD
01-06-2012, 06:46 PM
Now that's what I call "Good Eats" :thumb:.

Boshizzle
01-06-2012, 07:17 PM
That looks sooooo good!

You are forcing me to try some lamb. For my first attempt would you recommend chops, a crown roast, or should I jump in with a boneless leg of lamb?

buccaneer
01-06-2012, 07:50 PM
You really need to! It's the first time I've roasted them that way, and the first time Redhot had even had a fresh artichoke. They were fan farkin tastic.
I really admire you guys for your adventurous spirits!
That mean looks so good, I am a huge fan of artichokes too!
Guerre mate, next time you do them, and I bet it is soon, just chop the very end off the stem and keep as much as possible on, it is the same as the tender heart.
Also, you can use scissors to chop off the tips of the outer leaves as they are awfully fibrous and this allows more heat to develop flavours in the inner part.Along with that method, gently using your thmbs while holding the artichoke, spread the inner heart flower out so it is more open, and drizzle OO with flavourings into the open flower prior to cooking.
A rub of lemon juice over the cut parts is a nice flavour and preserves it from darkening!
Onya Bro and Bro-ette, way to go!!:thumb:

buccaneer
01-06-2012, 07:52 PM
That looks sooooo good!

You are forcing me to try some lamb. For my first attempt would you recommend chops, a crown roast, or should I jump in with a boneless leg of lamb?
I'd do loin chops first, with just a simple marinade. OO+lemon juice and garlic and either rosemary or thyme.
Classic flavour combo!

morgaj1
01-06-2012, 08:49 PM
Guerry, that looks wonderful. It's been a while since I've had lamb. You've inspired me to pick some up next week.

Boshizzle
01-06-2012, 09:01 PM
I'd do loin chops first, with just a simple marinade. OO+lemon juice and garlic and either rosemary or thyme.
Classic flavour combo!

I'm on it! Thanks!

martyleach
01-06-2012, 10:40 PM
Looks great. Haven't had lamb in awhile and really miss it. So stinkin' expensive...

However, I travel to Carmel, CA once a month to see my 90 year old mother and on the way I pass through Castroville, which is the Artichoke capitol of the world. We love our artichokes here and they are a staple on the table, just like beets are to our friends in Australia and New Zealand. Nice to see other folks get them as well!

tish
01-06-2012, 11:44 PM
We have the chokes often with lamb. They are a sensuous side! The whole meal looked really great, guys. You obviously work extremely well together in and out of the kitchen! :thumb:

Phubar
01-07-2012, 06:15 AM
I really admire you guys for your adventurous spirits!
That mean looks so good, I am a huge fan of artichokes too!
Guerre mate, next time you do them, and I bet it is soon, just chop the very end off the stem and keep as much as possible on, it is the same as the tender heart.
Also, you can use scissors to chop off the tips of the outer leaves as they are awfully fibrous and this allows more heat to develop flavours in the inner part.Along with that method, gently using your thmbs while holding the artichoke, spread the inner heart flower out so it is more open, and drizzle OO with flavourings into the open flower prior to cooking.
A rub of lemon juice over the cut parts is a nice flavour and preserves it from darkening!
Onya Bro and Bro-ette, way to go!!:thumb:


Nice "distels" Guerry!:thumb:

I'm with Bucc somewhat.
Padawan and I did some artichokes not too long ago and we didn't care much about the leaves...looks good for presentation but I just want the good stuPh...the heart.
Yesterday we bought some canned artichoke hearts and they were quite good.
Normally I would go for "Phresh" instead of canned but when I'm doing artichokes again I would do it as Bucc discribed or I just buy the canned version.

CelticRaven
01-07-2012, 07:05 AM
WOW I love cooking lamb and that just looks great!!!!

Norm
01-07-2012, 09:23 AM
Very nice cook!

Phrasty
01-07-2012, 09:28 AM
I'm just waiting for your ALF :wink: That looks awesome Guerry! So glad to see you guys liking the lamb! I've never had artichokes. I see them all the time in the store but I always thing they look tough. Hehe. Maybe I'll give it a go next time I see them. Thanks for the inspiration Brother G. :thumb:

Cheers

deguerre
01-07-2012, 02:26 PM
I really admire you guys for your adventurous spirits!
That mean looks so good, I am a huge fan of artichokes too!
Guerre mate, next time you do them, and I bet it is soon, just chop the very end off the stem and keep as much as possible on, it is the same as the tender heart.
Also, you can use scissors to chop off the tips of the outer leaves as they are awfully fibrous and this allows more heat to develop flavours in the inner part.Along with that method, gently using your thmbs while holding the artichoke, spread the inner heart flower out so it is more open, and drizzle OO with flavourings into the open flower prior to cooking.
A rub of lemon juice over the cut parts is a nice flavour and preserves it from darkening!
Onya Bro and Bro-ette, way to go!!:thumb:

Thanks Bucc! THe scissors idea is great. We did spread the flower out and drizzled with the EVOO and inserted three cloves of garlic. THey closed back up when we wrapped them. The stems we will save next time. My camera gets a gold/yelow-ish tinge when I shoot under the halogen lights on the counter. The chokes were greener than they appeared in the pics.

Looks great. Haven't had lamb in awhile and really miss it. So stinkin' expensive...

However, I travel to Carmel, CA once a month to see my 90 year old mother and on the way I pass through Castroville, which is the Artichoke capitol of the world. We love our artichokes here and they are a staple on the table, just like beets are to our friends in Australia and New Zealand. Nice to see other folks get them as well!

My dad grew up in Oakland/Redwood City so I've been eating artichokes all my life.:-D It was one of his "Must Have" veggies like asparagus and kholrabi.

We have the chokes often with lamb. They are a sensuous side! The whole meal looked really great, guys. You obviously work extremely well together in and out of the kitchen! :thumb:

Thanks Tish! Yes, yes we do!:thumb:

Nice "distels" Guerry!:thumb:

I'm with Bucc somewhat.
Padawan and I did some artichokes not too long ago and we didn't care much about the leaves...looks good for presentation but I just want the good stuPh...the heart.
Yesterday we bought some canned artichoke hearts and they were quite good.
Normally I would go for "Phresh" instead of canned but when I'm doing artichokes again I would do it as Bucc discribed or I just buy the canned version.

Now Phubar, eating the whole flower is part of the experience to me. Each successive layer of leaves has more flesh to scrape off with your incisors until you get to the heart. That's just part of the fun!:thumb: