Gluttons Club

My cooking techniques are hardly scientific so when I need to tell people how to do stuff, unless they think and perceive amounts of things exactly the way I do, they'll get an orange when I'm telling them how to make an apple.
Bentley and Rose are having guests over for dinner that they want to impress or something. They wanted to grill lamb the way my family does for easter. I tried verbally telling them last night but I think its best to put it in words. This is a basic mediterranean marinade for a butterflied (de-boned and layed out) leg of lamb. I can't stand mint in most forms so there's none of that here, just good pungent med flavors.

This will be for a normal size hunk of lamb. Add more of everything for bigger pieces.

you'll need: one garlic bulb, 6-10 sprigs of rosemary, fresh thyme, two lemons, dijon mustard, decent olive oil, salt and pepper,

To prep the meat, remove excessive amounts of fat and separate pieces to insure even cooking. Score larger sections with a knife. Butterflied legs tend to have a lot of sinew and odd sections. The main muscle piece that will provide the most meat will be thicker than the others so it makes sense to cook it separately. When you go to the butcher, ask for a couple of extra thick plastic bags they use for roasts and whole chickens--they are perfect for marinating in. Use two if you fear a greasy mess leaking out.

the marinade:
-peel and roughly cut at least 6 good size cloves of garlic. Cut them just enough to get a good pile of small pieces but you don't need to go crazy mincing them or pressing them.
-wash and dry 5 or more sprigs of fresh rosemary; keep some sprigs whole for garnish on the lamb plate--it'll look classy. Cut the needles off at the stem, saving the bare stem for later use. Keep the needles somewhat intact or else they tend to get in the way later. With the dull edge of the knufe, bruise the leaves to get to the oils and stuff inside them.
-Wash and dry the thyme. Strip the leaves off the stems and set the stems aside. bruise the leaves as above.
-zest the lemons and add zest to the nice pile of garlic and herbs you've got there.
-Add plenty of coarse salt and roughly ground pepper to pile.
-In the bag you'll marinate in, add the pile of stuff, the juice of the lemons, 4 spoonfuls of mustard and a third of a cup of oil. squish it together to mix and add the meat (it feels kinda wierd, but in a good way). Make sure the meat is well covered (if not add more of whatever you can, a dash of wine or vinegar will help spread it out) and refrigerate over night. If you go for a beer later, give the bag a good squish or two and turn it over to make sure things are well covered.

Cooking:
-Welcome guests, open wine, pour glass, drink, repeat. Bring glass of wine and guests out to grill with you.
-To cook over gas grill: heat up the grill as high as you can. Sear the meat on both sides with lid down before turning to medium to finish the insides.
-To cook over coals: build a two level fire and sear both sides over the coals before moving to the medium hot part of the fire to cook the insides.
-If you saved the rosemary stems, you can toss them over the coals under the meat to provide some fragrant smoke. You may cover briefly to trap the smoke.
-NOTE: The amount of oil used in the marinade sometimes causes flare ups. You'll lose some arm hair but the meat will be fine.

Be mindful that the thinner pieces will cook alot faster. A knife to 'test' pieces is handy. Remove from fire when it is slightly undercooked to your taste, it will finish cooking while it rests under foil for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

As for wine, bourdeaux is classic lamb wine but most full bodied reds will do nicely. A southern rhone, pays d'oc or provencal red are also very good as would be a decent piedmont red or sagrantino. From california, look for tame versions of cabernet or merlot and avoid big, jammy zins and high octane cabs and merlots.

Here's a fun experiment to see if anyone is actually reading: post potential side dishes or variations in the comments section.