Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb

Name: Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 105 min
Yield: 6 - 10 guests
Ingredients: 5 each garlic, cloves (roasted and peeled); 1 each shallot (peeled ); 1 each rosemary, sprig (washed, leaves removed from stem); 1 each anchovy, (packed in salt, (optional)); 2 teaspoon salt, kosher; 1 teaspoon thyme, dried; 1 teaspoon marjoram, dried; 1 teaspoon coriander seeds; 1 teaspoon fennel, seeds; 1 teaspoon peppercorns, black, whole; 1 tablespoon tomato paste (or 2 sun dried tomatoes); 12 ounce Oatmeal Stout, (such as Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, Firestone Velvet Merlin or other Oatmeal Stout); 1 each leg of lamb, (about 4 - 5 pounds); 2 each peppers, red bell, (roasted, peeled and seeded); 1 each fennel bulb, (sliced and roasted); 5 each garlic, cloves (roasted and peeled); 1 each escarole, (washed, leaves removed and dried); 1 teaspoon salt, kosher; 1 teaspoon peppercorns, black (freshly cracked); 1 bunch parsley, Italian flat leaf, (washed); 1 recipe Mediterranean Style Yogurt Sauce for Lamb, (recipe HERE</)

Posted on February 7, 2018

by Sean Z. Paxton

Whether you’re hosting an Easter feast, need a dish for a Sunday supper roast or just aspire to make the best lamb sandwich you’ve ever had, this Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb recipe enhances the flavors of the rich meat while overlaying each bite with a delectable taste of the Mediterranean.

To help tenderize and enhance the flavors of the leg of lamb, an Oatmeal Stout infused with Greek, Italian and French Riviera core cuisine ingredients combine to make a meat marinade. Fennel and coriander seeds are toasted, blended with thyme, marjoram, rosemary, with chopped garlic and shallots. These ingredients are then mixed with anchovy filet and tomato paste, to help boost the umami and add depth of flavor to the rich lamb meat.

Step by step directions teach you how to butterfly the leg of lamb, then how to stuff it with roasted bell peppers and garlic, Italian escarole and braised fennel bulbs. Serve this Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb with a Toasted Israeli Cous Cous Salad with Spring Vegetables and IPA Dressing and a Mediterranean Style Yogurt Sauce for a full feast of flavors, textures and beer pairing possibilities. Leftovers are amazing when stuffed into a Homemade Pita Beer Bread with Za’atar Roasted Eggplant and | or Baba Ghanoush, Beer Hummus and a drizzle of Tahini Orange Brown Ale Sauce.

Serves: 6–10 guests

Adapted from BeerAdvocate Magazine: Cuisine à la Bière | Mar 2016 | Issue #110

Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb

Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb in a Stout Marinade becomes a beautiful and delicious centerpiece of feast. Perfect for Easter, a weekend get together or just to carve and make into pita lamb sandwiches!

Servings	Prep Time
6 - 10 guests	30 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
105 minute	2 day

Servings	Prep Time
6 - 10 guests	30 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
105 minute	2 day

Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb

Servings	Prep Time
6 - 10 guests	30 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
105 minute	2 day

Servings	Prep Time
6 - 10 guests	30 minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
105 minute	2 day

Ingredients

Mediterranean Style Stout Marinade Ingredients:

5 each garlic, cloves roasted and peeled
1 each shallot peeled
1 each rosemary, sprig washed, leaves removed from stem
1 each anchovy, packed in salt, (optional)
2 teaspoon salt, kosher
1 teaspoon thyme, dried
1 teaspoon marjoram, dried
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel, seeds
1 teaspoon peppercorns, black, whole
1 tablespoon tomato paste or 2 sun dried tomatoes
12 ounce Oatmeal Stout, such as Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, Firestone Velvet Merlin or other Oatmeal Stout

Leg of Lamb Ingredients:

1 each leg of lamb, about 4 - 5 pounds
2 each peppers, red bell, roasted, peeled and seeded
1 each fennel bulb, sliced and roasted
5 each garlic, cloves roasted and peeled
1 each escarole, washed, leaves removed and dried
1 teaspoon salt, kosher
1 teaspoon peppercorns, black freshly cracked

Garnish Ingredients:

1 bunch parsley, Italian flat leaf, washed
1 recipe Mediterranean Style Yogurt Sauce for Lamb, recipe HERE</

Servings: guests

Units:

Instructions

Mediterranean Style Marinade Directions:

First, toast the seeds by adding them to a hot pan and shaking or rolling until they become fragrant, about 2–3 minutes.
Then, in the pitcher of a blender, add the roasted garlic, shallot, rosemary, anchovy, salt, thyme, marjoram, toasted coriander and fennel seeds, black peppercorns and tomato paste. Blend at medium speed to grind the ingredients into a pesto. Slowly add one third of the Stout. Once the mixture starts to become more of a paste than a pesto, add the remaining beer. Turn off the blender and set the Mediterranean Style Marinade aside.

Butterflying Directions

When you pick up your leg of lamb, you can ask your butcher to de-bone and butterfly it for you. This is not a difficult operation to do at home though, if you have a sharp boning knife and a little patience. The idea behind butterflying a piece of meat is to create a uniform thickness, allowing it to cook more evenly, as the muscle groups vary in size. Lamb fat also has a more pronounced flavor, especially if the sheep is grass-fed. By removing this fat, the resulting roast will be less gamey. Butterflying allows you to remove excess fat and any other sinewy tissue. Another benefit to butterflying meat is the increased surface area it produces. This enables a marinade to access more muscle tissue, which makes the meat more tender, and infuses it with more flavor.
Take the deboned leg of lamb and unwrap it, skin side down. Find the thinnest section of the meat. That will be the thickness of the whole leg.
Next, find the thickest muscle and plan your cut. The idea is to keep the sharp boning knife parallel to the cutting board. The cut should only go 7/8 through the muscle, keeping the end of the muscle attached. The resulting flap of meat will add surface area and increase the size of the roast.
The cutting direction should also be considered, as the goal of butterflying the meat is to create surface area that can be re-rolled together (making room for stuffing). While it’s not completely possible, aim to create a large rectangle.
Direct the cut to an open area, planning the flap of meat to fill the open space. Repeat with each individual muscle group. If you accidently cut too deep and detach the meat, it can be replaced and rolled back into place later.
Keeping the skin side intact is also key, as this provides structure to help keep the filling inside the rolled meat.
Repeat with each muscle group until the lamb forms a rough rectangle at an even thickness and can be rolled together to form a pinwheel or log-style roast.
Place the butterflied leg of lamb into a large container and pour the Mediterranean Style Marinade over it, reserving 2 tablespoons for Mediterranean Style Yogurt Sauce for Lamb.
Massage the marinade into all the folds of the meat. Seal the container and marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. The stuffing can either be prepared now (and refrigerated) or right before rolling the meat and tying it together.
Alternatively, if you have a vacuum chamber, add the butterflied lamb to a bag and add the marinade, reserving 2 tablespoons for Mediterranean Style Yogurt Sauce for Lamb and seal on high. Place into the refrigerator for 2 hours, preferably 24 hours, to allow the marinade to fully infuse into the meat.

Stuffing Directions:

Roast the bell peppers over an open flame (stove burner or grill), turning once the heat-exposed surface has just tuned black. This will take about 2 – 3 minutes a side. Then place the hot roasted peppers into a plastic bag and seal it, letting the peppers steam, which will help the charred skin come off easier.
To roast the fennel, place the sliced bulb in a small pan with 1/4 cup of olive oil, season with a teaspoon of salt, cover and braise in a 300°F | 149°C oven for 40 minutes or until tender.
Roast the garlic in the oven at the same time.
Remove the lamb from the marinade and place onto a clean cutting board, creating a large rectangle. Rub the roasted garlic into the muscle fibers evenly. Next, arrange the bell peppers over the meat, creating a pattern to cover most of its surface.
Layer the fennel pieces (saving the liquid) over the peppers, and top with the escarole leaves.
Tightly roll the meat back together, creating a pinwheel-shaped log. Tie the meat with kitchen twine, along the roll side, so that it can’t unwrap. This will require 3–5 ties altogether. Place the meat skin side up into a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Season the roast with salt and pepper and let it rest for an hour before cooking.

Roasting Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F | 177°C, convection roast, if you have this setting. If you have a probe-style meat thermometer, insert it into the center of the roast. Place the lamb roast into the oven and cook until the center reaches your desired doneness.
- Rare: 115 – 120°F | 46 - 49°C
- Medium-Rare: 120–125°F | 49 - 52°C
- Medium: 130–135°F | 54 - 57°C
- Medium-Well: 140–145°F | 60- 63°C
- Well-Done: 150–155°F | 66 - 68°C
Use a Thermapen Cooking Thermometer for the most accurate results.
A 4 – 5 pound leg of lamb will take 1 hour 45 minutes with an internal temperature of 135°F | 57°C. After it comes out of the oven, the meat will continue to cook, increasing its internal temperature by ~5 degrees while it rests.
Let the roast rest, tented with aluminum foil, for at least 10 – 20 minutes before carving. To carve, cut off the twine and slice the meat into 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick rings. Arrange the slices on a serving platter.
Garnish with Italian leaf parsley and the Mediterranean Style Yogurt Sauce for Lamb.