Cooks of GD i need help

skippy2421

skippy2421

skippy2421

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Peterborough
Hello GD cooks (I'm looking at you acidhell, Robbie G and Johnny69)

I shall be cooking roast lamb at the weekend for my girlfriend and I. However I have minimal experience cooking roasts. Generally I only cook for myself so that's small chicken dishes normally. So onto my questions.

What is the best joint of lamb to go for? I'm looking towards a leg but is there anything else i should perhaps look at?

What are your preferred methods for cooking lamb? Any herbs and spices you would use etc.

Any other tips for roasts in general? I'm not a complete novice in the kitchen and can rustle up a few nice dishes but as said previously I've never attempted a roast. Bare in mind I'm a student however so be realistic with any suggestions and their costs please, I do however have the majority of kitchen utensils you would find in most kitchens so no need to worry about that.

Of course I have checked various websites for recipes however based on previous threads there are some very capable cooks here so would seem silly not to ask.

Thank you GD
 
I would go with leg,

equally qauntities of brown sugar, English mustard powder, crushed garlic. Mixed up and spread all of over leg, don't worry if doesn't come out all mustardy. Put leg on trivet of onion, carrots, celery and garlic cloves with skin on, check websites or package for cooking time. When done remove leg and allow to rest, mash the vegetables up as best you can with a potato masher. Heat on hob and heat till sizling, mix in a good tablespoon of plain flour and mix in for 1 minute. Then pour in a pint of lamb stock stirring till it comes to the boil, reduce temp and simmer for a few minutes then strain.

As for potatoes peel, cut and put in salted water, for as long as you dare, softer the better, drain and allow to cool uncovered for at least 10mins or do it in the mourning. Place in hot oil turn gently to coat and roast for an hour or untill the darker side of golden.
 
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With the roast potatoes don't forget to fluff them and use goose fat to cook them in!
 
leg of lamb or shoulder is very nice. im my honest opinion the longer you cook it the better (low heat of course). I usually cook mine for about 6-8 hours. Ive had 24 hour cooked lamb before and it just holds its moisture so so well.


Enjoy your experimentation.


rotters
 
Lamb legs a bit overrated for me. Shoulder is a lot cheaper and lots more fatty, which equals flavour:) Score the top and press in sprigs of rosemary. Salt, pepper and a good glug of olive oil, then cook as per instructions. For something different, add a tin of drained flageolet beans to the meat tin half an hour before taking the meat out. They go all crispy and take up all the flavour of the meat... Very tasty. Just keep an eye on them as they may burn and stick to the bottom ruin your gravy.

Potatoes are pretty simple, boil for 10 mins, put lid on pan and shake so they're fluffy. You can shake them up in flour but I generally don't bother... Cook in olive oil or goose fat if your not on a budget. Add a few sprigs of rosemary.

Get some nice greens, I really like Curly Kale with lamb, soaks up the gravy. Or try and find some tenderstem brocolli/purple sprouting. Steam them.

Mashed swede is a nice accompanyment. Boil cubes of it up, add a potato half way through swede cooking (it doesn't take as long) and then mash up with a good lump of butter, lots of salt and pepper, and some milk (or cream).

Roast whole onions, one or two per person, they'll take about 40 mins. Put them in the meat dish (if there's room) to help the gravy.

I don't like to roast all the veg as if you go for carrots, squash etc it all get a bit greasy... Sliced carrots and boil is good enough for me:)

For gravy, take the meat out and leave to rest, put the roasting tin on hob and add vegetable stock (hopefully you saved some of the water from potatoes/greens/carrots, add stock cubes to this) leave to simmer for a bit, add some wine of you like, any colour, and cornflour to thicken.

Don't panic about timings, your meat can rest, and your potatoes will cook a lot better when the meats out the oven. Aim to have your potatoes ready 20-30 mins after the meat came out. This gives you plenty time to boil veg and make gravy.


Whoa, think I've written a bit of an essay..!

If you don't fancy cooking lamb, Morrisons are doing pork shoulder with a good bit of crackling for £2.18 a kilo. Had it today, 2kg fed four of us, with homemade apple sauce, cabbage, carrots, mashed swede, goose fat potatoes and roast onions. Whole meal cost about £8 for all of us, and there is still enough meat for sandwiches for the rest of the week! You really, don't have to spend a lot...

I'd recommend going to morrisons anyway, they're far superior to all the main supermarkets for meat.
 
The problem with shoulder is unless you get a real quality cut from a butcher it can be real skimpy on the meat - which is why I prefer Leg because there's a real good amount of meat to be had on there :)
 
Thanks for the great advice guys. The misses says she would rather leg (less fatty) so that's decided that. Think i might keep it simple this time around and go with the rosemary and thyme. However I really want to try AcidHell2's suggestion as it sounds delicious but I think I'll try that on the next one.

Great little essay there Stupot I was thinking along similar lines on how to cook a roast (same as my mum does it)so it's re-assuring you do the same, mashed carrot and swede is just great. Unfortunately I'm unaware of any Morrisons local to me so I'm out of luck there, tesco metro or sainsburys for me.

I'll resurrect this thread Saturday with some photos of my success/failure. As me and the gf have decided to cook up a decent meal each Saturday from now on hopefully I'll be able to add some decent cooking threads soon too.
 
I'm not sure if it's only me but I prefer lamb without all the roast dinner stuff.

Last week me and my youngest had grilled lamb chops with couscous and roasted vegetables. Loads of flavour, and it really complemented the lamb.
 
Skippy, there must be a butcher near you? Have a look on Google, or in the yellow pages. Don't bother buying meat from Tesco Metro, it's a total rip off and not that great quality I've found. If it's a big Sainsburys, you'll be all right though. Whilst I don't think that butchers are what they are - a lot of the time you'll get equally as good meat/cuts in supermarkets, but they can be invaluable for more specialised cuts and if you don't have access to a big supermarket then a butcher is far better than a small city centre supermarket.
 
Just use plenty of Rosemary and garlic and olive oli. Sometimes I will make incisions into the leg and stuff big chunks of garlic or a sprig of Rosemary deep into the meet. If you have a pestle and mortar you could try mashing up garlic with Rosemary, salt and olive oil and smearing it over the leg.
 
Ahleckz said:
Skippy, there must be a butcher near you? Have a look on Google, or in the yellow pages. Don't bother buying meat from Tesco Metro, it's a total rip off and not that great quality I've found. If it's a big Sainsburys, you'll be all right though. Whilst I don't think that butchers are what they are - a lot of the time you'll get equally as good meat/cuts in supermarkets, but they can be invaluable for more specialised cuts and if you don't have access to a big supermarket then a butcher is far better than a small city centre supermarket.
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Ohhh no i didn't mean to imply i would be buying the meat from tesco, was just stating they are my only local supermarkets so I can't cash in on the deal Stupot had.

I'd have a look at what i could get at the butchers first. There is a local butcher near us where I get my chicken breasts from. The chicken he does is a great deal (3 packs for £10 and the chicken breasts aren't pumped full of water and are much larger than their supermarket equivalents). There seems to be a distinct lack of lamb there, loads of beef mind but that seems rather costly. Out of curiosity how much would you guys reckon a decent leg of lamb is worth? Just to gauge whether my local butcher is expensive or whether it is me being a poor student tainting my view of things.
 
Depending on the size ~£20.

Not bought one recently though so could be wrong. My nearest but butcher is tied to an organic farm and is hence bloody expensive. I asked about a leg recruit and iirc was quoted £30+.
 
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