An interesting read and same I would think for many other types of meats.
Note: Tests conducted by the USDA prove conclusively that roasts cooked at low temperatures are more tender, flavourful and juicy and they give more servings because the meat shrinks less during cooking.
l Stick a carrot into the leg of lamb whilst roasting. Was told so by Shirley’s mom who is well into her 80’s now, that it makes the lamb very tender. She swears by it. I have not tested her theory yet.
This is very lovely if roasted in a Weber using a foil roasting pan having it open so the smoke can circulate basting regularly it comes out a lovely reddish pink in colour. Makes it so much extra special!
Ingredients:
1 leg of lamb - South Africa Karoo Lamb is absolutely the best for this
· 250ml Sedgewicks Old brown sherry (A South African sweet sherry)
· Crushed garlic, to taste
· Lemon zest / crushed lemon / lemon verbena leaves
· Olive oil
· Salt
· Rosemary & Thyme
Method:
Stab lamb all over. Chop up garlic into thin slivers or slices.
Crush rosemary and thyme with fingers & mix together with garlic and a little salt just enough to season. Push mixture into the holes which have been stabbed in the lamb. NB:Do not over salt lamb, as the gravy will add more salt.
Place lamb rubbed with salt to taste, covered in container in fridge overnight so mixture can pull through. If in a hurry you may skip this step or you may just refrigerate overnight to defrost.
Remove the following morning. Rub lamb with salt all over and stab sufficient holes, (just big enough to hold herb mixture) all around lamb in accordance with own taste and stuff holes with garlic herb mixture. Rub lamb with salt and set aside for 40 minutes
Insert a meat thermometer into the lamb being careful not to allow it to touch the bone. Add a little oil to the roasting pan if you have not already done so. Place in lamb into roasting pan with a few quartered onions which will form part of your gravy at the end. Pour over half the sherry and cover with lid of roasting pan baste every now and then. When the lamb is half way done, turn over the lamb and pour the other half of the sherry over. Just before meat thermometer reaches 180 F (Internal meat temperature).
You may remove the lid and brown the top of the meat under the grill if you like the top browned and crisp.
Remove meat when done and cover with a tent of foil. Allow the juices to settle for 10 minutes before carving.
Scoop off the fats from the surface of your meat juices left in pan and keep some to fry your onions. The rest you can add to the oil for your roast potatoes. On stove top in roasting pan fry the onions you roasted with your meat in a little of this fat, adding it back to your roasting pan, scraping up all the meat juices and sediments on the bottom as you go along, followed by add a bit of water and then sprinkling in a packet of Royco Beef & Onion Soup (follow instructions on package) or if you prefer you may use Bistro gravy powder being careful not to add too much water.
Serve with an assortment of veggies and roasted potatoes, accompanied by mint jelly or sauce. Dhunia chutney I find too goes well with roast lamb.
Lower temperature to 162 deg C (325 deg F) and cook until done to
1. Place leg of lamb on a big plate.
2. Stab holes all over and insert mixture crushed garlic Rosemary, thyme & lemon verbena or lemon leaves into holes.
3. Sprinkle with salt.
4. Pour over ½ cup Sedgewicks Old Brown Sherry.
5. Place into oven in greased or lightly oiled roasting pan, together with halved onions, potatoes & carrots, adding 125ml water to roasting pan, covered with lid. Add a potato and half an onion (onions are for your gravy) per person or more if desired.
6. Bake at 160°C, for approximately 30 minutes per 500 gram weight, plus extra 30 minutes. (A 2 kg leg will therefore need 2½ hours or more.)
7. Use a meat thermometer and when lamb is halfway done turn over (Turn once only!) and baste lamb well, followed by pouring the other half cup sherry over. Close lid and bake further. Towards the end, remove the lid and brown the outside of the lamb to form a lovely fatty crispy crust.
8. When the lamb is ready, pour the sauce out, add the Bistro gravy powder gently sprinkling it over the surface to prevent lumps or follow instructions on package. Gravy may be prepared in roasting pan on stove top or microwave for a minute or two to make a delicious gravy.
To roast potatoes: You may parboil them for 10 minutes or just scrape them with tins of fork and add enough to roasting pan to serve per person, when part of the way done (soft on the outer side and still fairly hard on the inside, remove them & roll in flour. Deep fry 160 – 180 deg C with oil thermometer pricking them whilst frying to crisp them up. Do not overcrowd pan or temperature will drop causing potatoes to suck in oil becoming soggy instead of crisp.
Grans Pumpkin:
Slices of pumpkin may be fried on top of your roast potatoes as gran would do. She added them to the top of her potatoes about 6 – 10 minutes before potatoes were cooked as the pumpkin will take that quick to cook.
This recipe I really Love! An old South African Boerekos Afrikaans family way of doing it. Delicious! Say no more! Recipe directly below.
Baked Bread Pumpkin Pudding: Lovely Served with Roast. Both kids and grown ups will all love this! A great way to use up your stale bread! – Picture above – from Leeftyd South African magazine – Enjoy!
Ingredients:
600g pumpkin
6 slices white bread
60g butter
60g sugar
25ml fine cinnamon powder
50g extra butter
Method:
Peel and cut the pumpkin into thin slices. Set aside. Butter the bread with the 60g butter on both sides. Mix the cinnamon with the sugar. Place a layer bread in a greased / buttered heavy bottomed pot or metal oven pan with a layer pumpkin spread over. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Repeat the layer until all the bread and pumpkin are used up. Spread blobs of the extra butter over surface and bake at 160 deg C for about 30 minutes or until done. May be done in a heavy bottomed pan placed over a simmer ring on stove top and baked on low heat with a simmer ring placed beneath the pot to prevent the risk of burning as it will burn without it. Enjoy!
Grans Spicy Rice:
Look for the bottle in the spice section called “Spice For Rice”
100g rice or 1 cup uncooked rice serves 1 person.
Cook rice until tender or close to done with just enough water to cover. Sprinkle spice for rice into container mixing well until you have enough. When water is absorbed and rice is cooked set aside.
Gravy:
All are to taste: Remove meat from roasting pan, cover and set aside in warmer together with carrots, excluding onions which will make up your gravy. Place on stove top and cook stirring up the lovely brown sediment and crusty bits. Remove excess fat with spoon only if you find there is too much fat. Add a little water (Do NOT over water! You don’t want a watery gravy with a watered down flavour!
Mix up the gravy following packet instructions or whilst gravy is hot sprinkle over surface gently stirring to prevent lumps, allowing gravy powder to dissolve of its own fee will. Add 1 – 2 Beef stock cubes to taste
Cauliflower/Broccoli & Cheese Sauce:
Cheese Sauce: Work on plus or minus 100 – 125 ml cheese sauce per serving.
One cup milk, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup grated cheese, salt and pepper. Blend together flour and butter, then gradually add milk. Stir until thick and smooth and just before serving add the cheese, stirring until it is melted. On the other hand the amount of cheese may be increased to 8 oz (2 cups), and used as a substitute for Welsh Rarebit.
Steam Cauliflower / Broccoli: in a light sprinkling water in microwave until firm but done. Never overcook or it will become wilted and lose it’s lovely bright green colour.
Peas: I eyeball it per serving.
Tip: Bash bag of frozen peas on floor to break them up and loosen them. Snip off corner of bag and empty into container.
Same cooking method as for Broccoli and Cauliflower
Carrots: Peel as much carrots as needed and steam whole in in 2.5cm water, covered in microwave until just tender. Cool and slice – Slices like butter without jumping all over kitchen. To sweeten you may add a little butter together with some sugar and a pinch salt.
- Peel carrots. Steam whole in sealed container. Cool and slices like butter without jumping all over kitchen.
Gems: (Gem Squashes): Use 1/2 a gem per person for serving. Slice gems open and steam in 2.5cm water covered in microwave until softened when tested with a fork. Remove seeds, discard. And add a blob butter and set aside covered.
GREEN Bean & or Cabbage & Potato Stew or Bredie
Is as we call it in South Africa is a vegetable side dish to accompany a Sunday Roast Dinner.
This dish is a typical example of the hearty, homely fare Afrikaners refer to as Boerekos.
Ingredients:
500 g Green Beans for Green Bean Bredie or 500g Cabbage for Cabbage Bredie
1 Potato, chopped up into cubes
1 onion, chopped
5 ml salt or if making less, just a bit to boil with black pepper to taste (2ml) or milled white pepper
100 ml water
2 ml freshly grated nutmeg (Optional)
Butter
Slice beans into a saucepan. If making the cabbage stew, chop up cabbage & place into saucepan. Add the potatoes, onion & salt, add the water. NB; If making the cabbage stew, put on the lid, when the water comes to the boil take off the lid & add a big pinch of bicarbonate of soda, this will keep the cabbage green, from here on the lid must be left off pot. If doing green bean stew, add them to the pot together with a bit of salt (only for boiling), potato, onion & water, put the lid on & simmer until done (quite mushy but not too mushy). For the cabbage; once the bicarbonate of soda has been added you may turn down the heat & simmer. Simmer about 30 – 40 minutes. Drain well if necessary and mash lightly with a bit of black pepper & butter. Do not add too much salt. Serve with Roast Beef, Lamb, Pork or Chicken.
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes: Goes lovely with Roasted Leg of Lamb!
Remove stems and cut a star into the top of each tomato. Place them on metal sheet or in Pyrex dish with dabs of butter, oil, sprinkling black pepper and salt. Roast until softened but still holding their shapes.
Enjoy!