What food is more romantic than lamb? Even if you prepare your favorite lamb dish in your sweat pants wearing your slippers, it still gives you the feeling as if you are in a fun, swanky restaurant. Consumers often only make lamb their meat of choice for special occasions or when they dine out. Lamb sometimes catches flack for a few reasons.
1. Someone they know may have had mutton (old sheep) some place sometime and now it has a stigma.
2. They do not know how to cook with it.
3. It may be a little over your budget.
For whatever reason you do not eat lamb, often or at all, I encourage you to take my challenge and eat lamb once this month. Incorporate this healthful delicious protein into your family’s diet. If you are a savvy shopper look for a shoulder roast or buy ground lamb so it will be a little easier on your pocket book. If you want a more traditional leg of lamb, it is easy and you will be happy with your choice. You can find lamb at almost any grocery store or you can contact me directly to buy lamb from our farm.
Leg of Lamb
Servings: 12
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 whole bay leaf, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
6 to 9 pounds American Lamb leg, bone-in
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 2 to 3 hours
In small bowl, mix together soy sauce, oil, garlic, pepper, ginger, bay leaf, thyme, sage and marjoram.
Place lamb on rack in roasting pan. With sharp knife, make frequent slits in surface of lamb. Move knife from side to side to enlarge pockets. Rub herb mixture into each slit. Rub any remaining mixture over roast.
Roast in 325ºF oven for 20 to 25 minutes per pound or until meat thermometer registers 145ºF for medium-rare, 160ºF for medium or 170ºF for well. Remove roast from oven, cover and let stand 10 minutes. Internal temperature will rise approximately 10 degrees. Pan drippings can be used in gravy or skimmed and served au jus.
Fun Fact: The gestation (length of time before animal will be born) of a ewe is 145 days.
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| This is a little ewe lamb at one day old. |
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This is Campbell when she was 3 years old. She was leading
one of our Horned Dorset Ewes named "Mac"
in the Guys and Gals Sheep lead contest!
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We raise Horned Dorset sheep. The Horned Dorset is known as the "mother breed" because they are wonderful mothers and have good milk supply. Dorset ewes are today considered the greatest milkers of all sheep, and their lambs grow very rapidly on the rich, abundant milk. Dorsets, unlike most other breeds of sheep, which generally lamb once a year, have the genetic ability to breed year round. Three lamb crops in two years is not uncommon. Dorsets are extremely hardy and productive animals, producing a desirable carcass, medium white wool, abundant milk, and fast-growing, numerous offspring. This makes them a good choice for a commercial operation or a small family farm. In addition, their gentle temperament makes them quite suitable for children.
