BUTTERFLYING MEAT

Many large pieces of meat (whole turkeys or chickens, for example, or a leg of lamb) will cook unevenly because some sections of the meat are thicker than others.

“Butterflying” the piece of meat, before it is either roasted or grilled, gives it a flatter profile and allows for more even cooking. It also guarantees a crisper exterior or skin, and makes for easier carving and serving when cooked. (With fowl, this process of preparing the bird is called “spatchcocking.”)

For this recipe, take a boneless leg of lamb and, like opening a book at its middle and laying it out, spread it until it is as flat as possible. Then, with a chef’s or carving knife, slice the thicker sections on the horizontal just to the point where they are still connected to the whole but can be flipped over—like turning only a chapter of the book. Do this until the entire boned leg of lamb is as even a thickness as possible.


RECIPE: Butterflied, skewered leg of lamb
From weber.com, this serves 12-16. Use the indirect heat method.

Ingredients
1 8-oz jar Dijon-style mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons dry red wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 leg of lamb (about 4 pounds), boned and butterflied

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine mustard, oil, wine, garlic, rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, and pepper. Remove fell (paper-thin, pinkish-red, silvery layer) from outer surface of meat. Trim fat.

Place lamb in a shallow dish. Spread lamb with mustard mixture. Cover and marinate 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Remove lamb from marinade, reserving marinade. Thread two 12-inch skewers through meat, crisscrossing diagonally. Place lamb in center of cooking grate. Grill 45 to 55 minutes for rare (or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of meat registers 140 degrees), 55 to 65 minutes for medium (160 degrees), or 1-11/4 hours for medium-well (170 degrees).

Brush with reserved marinade during the last 10 minutes of grilling time.

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BRINING