SEASONING, ROLLING, AND
TYING
Q: What are some good things to season my lamb with?
Salt is a must, and just as with steak or a beef roast, the best
time to salt your lamb is either the day before roasting or
immediately before cooking. If you’ve got the time,
seasoning the lamb and letting it rest uncovered on a rack in
a rimmed baking sheet in the fridge will season it more
deeply, as well as dry out its exterior—allowing for superior
browning it.
With its robust flavor, lamb takes well to all kinds of spice
mixes and aromatics. With a butterflied leg, you want to
apply your seasoning the both the inner and outer surfaces
before rolling it up. Here are a few of my favorite
combinations:
Lots of garlic, rosemary, and anchovies (see here)
- Olives and parsley (see here)
- Ground cumin and fennel (see here)
- Harrissa and garlic (see here)
Q: Why do I need to tie up my butterflied lamb leg?
If you don’t tie up a butterflied leg, it won’t keep a regular
shape during cooking. An irregular shape leads to uneven
cooking. Uneven cooking leads to unhappy bellies.
Unhappy bellies lead to lack of familial harmony. And lack
of familial harmony leads to ruined holidays. Would you
risk ruining a holiday for five minutes of work and the cost
of a roll of butcher’s twine?