Easy and Delicous Lamb Roast Recipe

Lamb Roast

Full Disclosure: I received a free lamb shoulder from the American Lamb Board. All opinions are my own.

In the fall I attended Byte of Texas and met with members of the American Lamb Board. The organization offered bloggers a free lamb shoulder. I have never made lamb and quickly accepted the culinary challenge. Initially I was intimidated but quickly found how super easy lamb is to cook. I spoke with several chefs over the past couple months and nearly all of them recommended roasting the lamb shoulder until it falls off the bone. I wanted to make the lamb shoulder simple yet delicious.

I marinated the lamb shoulder the day before with the following ingredients:
Ground black pepper
4 garlic chopped garlic cloves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of sea salt
3-4 tablespoons of rosemary chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice

After scoring the fat side of the lamb I rubbed it down with the olive oil. I then added the rest of the ingredients to all sides of the lamb. I then wrapped it up tightly with foil and let the simple marinade take its course.

I roasted the lamb in the middle rack fat side up in a roasting pan at 325 for 4 1/2 hours. I basted the roast every 30 minutes. It came out incredibly tender and flavorful!

Three Sauces to Compliment Lamb: Chimichurri, Curried Yogurt and Tzatziki

I made a tzatziki sauce with a cucumber tomato relish, curried yogurt sauce and chimichurri to create a dinner with a variety of worldly flavors that compliment lamb nicely. I served the dish with naan and pita bread.

Here are the links to the recipes I used for the sauces:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jeff-mauro/greek-taco-recipe.html
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried–Yogurt-Sauce-15376
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/roasted-rack-of-lamb-steak-with-chimichurri-sauce.html

I recommend making the curried yogurt and tzatziki sauces the night before to allow time for the flavors to marry.

I also sought out expert wine advice from Sommelier Chris Howell of Fork and Vine. Based on the lamb and the sauces I was serving, Chris recommended the full-bodied 2009 Chateau Laur Cahors Malbec with the chimichurri and the light and aromatic 2012 Pinot Meunie to compliment the yogurt based sauces.

After researching the nutritional benefits of lamb I found that it is high in Niacin, Zinc, Vitamin B12 and Iron. A lean 3 ounce portion of lamb has approximately 175 calories and a whopping 23 grams of protein! U.S. lamb is all natural and they do not use growth hormones.

American Lamb Board is having a not to be missed culinary event in Austin! The event will take place on Sunday February 22nd, 2015 at the beautiful grounds of Barr Mansion. The chef lineup is the \”best of the best\” in Austin. See the full lineup and purchase tickets here: http://www.americanlamb.com/american-lamb-jam-tour/

Thanks to the American Lamb Board for this exciting opportunity!

http://www.americanlamb.com/
Facebook page: AmericanLamb
Twitter: @fanoflamb
Instagram: @fanoflamb