Buttermilk Leg of Lamb with the Meadow Sel Gris
The sheep is one of the first animals domesticated by mankind. For about ten thousand years, we’ve been living together and feeding each other. The true testament to the strength of our relationship is that it hasn’t changed much. The passion is still alive. One secret to this longlived tryst is that sheep are uniquely unwilling to give up their sheepy flavor, so that every time we eat them it’s like a first date, or the first time, or an earlier time, or a mythic time. We’ve domesticated the gaminess out of most everything we eat, but every time we toss a leg of lamb on the fire we grow bushy and wild, our countenance waxing fierce amid the ghostly tendrils of burning fat and smoky mountain herbs. And after we toil over the flaming coals, the table is laid, the tapers lit, the dark wine poured. Aromatic and rackling—golden on the outside; savagely, voluptuously rosy on the inside—a leg of lamb is a meal of the ages. Salting a leg of lamb should be approached with anticipation and reverence; this is one of the truly sacred uses of a coarse and lusciously moist salt—in other words, sel gris—in both the cooking and the inishing of the food. Any good, moist sel gris will work here, but I cannot resist calling for my own true love, the rather obscure but sublimely supple salt we have adopted as our house sel gris at The Meadow. The zesty flavors of Parameswaran’s pepper—a whirl of eucalyptus, celery seed, lemon peel, and cedar—is likewise a point of precision that can lend yet more depth to the flavors of the dish.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
Marinade
Lamb
Preparation
Step 1
Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a large (gallonsize or larger) zipper-lock or other food-grade plastic bag. If the butterflied meat was trussed or wrapped in a butcher’s net, pull off the string, rinse it, and set it aside. Put the lamb in the bag and unfold the butterflied meat so that it all comes in contact with marinade; massage the marinade into the meat briefly. Close the zipper almost all the way, squeeze out as much of the air as you can without letting any marinade seep from the opening, and zip the bag the rest of the way. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, massaging the bag once or twice in the meantime to circulate the marinade, or you can let it chill for the rest of the day. Because marinades do not permeate meat fibers deeply, marinating for more time does little to add more flavor. Settle on a timing that fits your schedule.
Step 2
Light the grill for medium-high indirect heat (about 425°F), building your fire or turning on the burners only on one side of the grill.
Step 3
Remove the lamb from the marinade. Using kitchen string (or the string you set aside earlier), truss the meat together to resemble the leg before it was butterflied: compact and thick. Pat off any excess marinade from the surface, as moisture on the surface of the meat will inhibit its ability to brown on the grill. Coat the meat with the olive oil and season it with the salt and pepper.
Step 4
Brush the grill grate thoroughly with a wire brush to clean it, and coat it lightly with oil.
Step 5
Put the lamb on the grill right over the heat and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. If the fire should flare up, cover the grill to make the flames subside. Move the browned lamb away from direct heat, cover the grill, and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers about 135°F for medium-rare, about 30 minutes.
Step 6
Remove the lamb to a large serving platter; set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Step 7
Cut off the string and slice the lamb about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange the slices on a serving platter and sprinkle them with just enough sel gris to show off thedish. Serve with more salt mounded on a small dish for the table. Leaving the meat mostly unsalted gives your guests the pleasure of sprinkling it with moist chunks of sel gris with every juicy bite.
Roasting Option
Step 8
If winter weather has you cooking indoors, this lamb recipe also makes a great roast. Preheat the oven to 450°F before removing the lamb from the marinade. Truss the meat as for the grill, and place on an oven rack in a baking pan. Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325°F and cook until the meat’s internal temperature reaches 135°F for medium-rare, about 45 minutes. Remove the roast from the oven and transfer it to a platter or cutting board to rest for 10 minutes. While the meat is resting, place the roasting pan over medium-high heat and pour in 1/2 cup of dry white wine or dry vermouth, craping the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Slice the meat and arrange it on a serving platter, drizzle the pan sauce over the top, sprinkle with a little salt, and serve with more salt at the table.
