Lamb Kebabs, with Grilled Veggies and Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

The theme of the week is Easter, and while roasted lamb is always a solid choice, I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to head out to the grill for some kebabs. I tried to get boneless leg of lamb, but the butcher only had full size, big ass bone in whole legs, so I went shoulder instead. There was a lot of fat on there, and I was afraid it would be tough since I wasn’t braising it, but it actually worked out pretty darn well. Served with tzatziki, because why not. Serves 4-5, but you’ll want to throw more potatoes in the oven than I did if you expect to feed 4 to 5 at once.

Lamb:

3-4 lbs. cubed lamb leg or shoulder

1 cup olive oil

¼ cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

3 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

Chop the lamb into 1” cubes. I actually used shoulder here – there was about 4 pounds or so of boneless shoulder, but there’s a lot of fat on there, so I’d imagine using boneless leg of lamb would have a lot less waste. I trimmed off the fat cap and a lot of the excess fat.

Real tough process here, stay with me guys: stick everything into a Ziploc bag and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

If using wooden skewers, soak them in cold water for at least an hour before putting the meat on. Remove meat from marinade – I used my hands to remove excess herbs, but wanted to leave the oil on so I could chuck these right on the grill. Slide the meat onto your skewers, leaving a small gap between each piece.

Preheat a gas grill up to about 500°F (side note – this is what the built in thermometer on my Weber says, no idea if that wholly accurate. But yeah, get it hot). Add the meat and turn the heat down a bit – aim for 400 to 450°F for your grill temperature. Cook until medium rare, approximately 10 minutes, flipping a few times along the way.

Potatoes:

2 russet potatoes

1 tablespoon duck fat

Salt and pepper

Clean off the potatoes and chop into large chunks. Toss with duck fat (really get in there with your hands and coat them) and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 50 minutes at 425°F, flipping halfway through.

Veggies:

12-15 crimini mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 red onion

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Wash everything off, and remove the stems from the mushrooms. Chop the peppers and the onion into rectangles large enough to put on skewers. I did 3 mushrooms on a skewer, with a piece of onion, red bell pepper and green bell pepper in between. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Throw these on the grill for 15 minutes at around 400-450°F.

Tzatziki:

1 clove garlic

¼ very large cucumber, peeled and seeded

1.5 cups greek yogurt

½ tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

½ tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1.5 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and black pepper to taste

Place the garlic clove, still in its sleeve, onto a cast iron skillet and cook over medium for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally until blackened in spots. Remove and let cool.

Dice the cucumber and place in a strainer set on top of a bowl. Salt the cucumber and let sit for ½ an hour.

Remove the husk from the cooled garlic, dice it and add to a bowl, along with yogurt, dill, parsley and lemon juice. Once the cucumber has had its water drawn out, add it as well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and refrigerate until ready to use.

Moroccan Lamb Shanks

This recipe is care of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution cookbook. He calls for using 'lamb leg steaks' which I don't think are a thing in the states. So I grabbed some lamb shanks, which I intended to roast until I realized every recipe online for lamb shanks calls for them to be braised. So I improvised a braising liquid (ideally after browning the meat I would've tossed a mirepoix into the pot for some more flavor), and everything turned out ok. I'm not sure if I'd make this specific dish again; apricots in a savory dish is a little strange to me.

 

Meat:

2 lamb shanks

3 cups beef stock

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon celery salt

½ teaspoon coriander

A few sprigs of parsley

Salt and pepper

In a dutch oven over medium high heat, add a little canola oil and brown the lamb shanks on all sides. Add the beef stock, then the spices and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, and place in  a 375°F oven for 1.5 hours. Remove the lamb shanks, and save the braising liquid for something else. What exactly, I haven’t figured out yet.

Sauce:

1 medium red onion, diced

1 large tomato, deseeded and diced

1 jalapeno, deseeded, deveined and diced

8 dried apricots, chopped

Handful of parsley, chopped

1 (15) ounce can of garbanzo beans

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons cumin

Salt and pepper

Preheat a large sauté pan over medium heat, and add the onion, apricots, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the tomato and parsley, along with the cumin and some salt and pepper. Pour the garbanzo beans on top, including the liquid, and add an additional ½ cup of water. Simmer for 5 minutes, until sauce-like. Add the balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

To Finish:

1 cup uncooked couscous

1/5 cups chicken stock

Salt

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Greek Yogurt

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a small saucepan and season with salt. Simmer couscous, covered for 6 minutes, then remove from heat and let sit for another 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and olive oil.

Serve the lamb shank over the couscous, top with the sauce and some yogurt.

Roasted Lamb Gyros

I guess typically you’re supposed to enjoy a nice roast lamb with some potatoes and vegetables, and use the leftovers for gyros. However, I just went from point A to point C because gyros are amazing. Lamb recipe from: http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/04/greek-style-roast-leg-of-lamb-with.html

Lamb:

1 boneless leg of lamb (~3.5 lbs)

4 cloves garlic, sliced into slivers

Salt

Pepper

Rub:

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat your oven to 450°F

Pierce the lamb with a paring knife all over and stuff in the garlic slivers. Season all around with salt and pepper.

Combine all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl, zesting the whole lemon and adding it to the bowl along with all the juice. Stir to combine. Place lamb on roasting rack and apply rub.

Cover the roasting dish with foil, and bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the meat reaches 115°F. Remove the foil, drop the oven to 350°F, and let the meat brown, pulling it at 135°F. Let the meat rest before carving.

Tzatziki:

1 clove garlic

¼ very large cucumber, peeled and seeded

1.5 cups greek yogurt

½ tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

½ tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1.5 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and black pepper to taste

Place the garlic clove, still in its sleeve, onto a cast iron skillet and cook over medium for about 15 minutes, turning occasionally until blackened in spots. Remove and let cool.

Dice the cucumber and place in a strainer set on top of a bowl. Salt the cucumber and let sit for ½ an hour.

Remove the husk from the cooled garlic, dice it and add to a bowl, along with yogurt, dill, parsley and lemon juice. Once the cucumber has had its water drawn out, add it as well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and refrigerate until ready to use.

Gyro:

Pita

Butter lettuce

Tomato

Tzatziki

Roasted Lamb

Take your pita and put everything else on/inside it.

Lamb Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

This week I went Greek, kinda sorta. Well, the cheese you see on there is mozzarella and that’s arugula peeking out on top, but that’s what was in my fridge so there.

Burgers:

1 lb. ground lamb

1 Tbsp capers, minced

Fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp. garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and make 4 patties. I like to make some divots in the middle of the patties so they cook a little more evenly. Preheat a skillet to medium-high, then cook for 2-3 minutes/side. Top with mozzarella during the final minute or two.

Tzatziki:

12 oz. (by weight) Greek Yogurt

½ cucumber (~4 inches long), diced

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dill, chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients, taste and adjust, and allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Makes way more than you’ll need for the burgers, but that’s alright.

Assembly:

Toast the buns, stack the burger, red onion slices, tomato, tzatziki, and arugula