Weekly Meal Plan: Lamb

I bought a leg of lamb at the grocery store this weekend. I had been hoping to re-do the pork shoulder of a couple weeks ago to perfect my barbecue technique, but alas, the grocery store was fresh out of pork shoulder.

Yesterday, I close-roasted the lamb. Close-roasting is a technique that's great for all kinds of meats. It's simply cooking the meat in a covered dish at a very low temperature for a very long time. I usually add in some cooking liquid and whatever herbs strike my fancy. For the lamb, I brined it overnight in a solution of two quarts water, half a cup of sugar, and a cup of salt. In the morning, I patted it dry, seared it in a little bit of olive oil, poured in some vinegar and Jack Daniels, then added some thyme, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and about ten peeled cloves of garlic. I roasted it in a covered Dutch oven for about 7 hours at 200 degrees Farenheit.  The results were amazing, and will be the foundation of our meals this week.

Monday

• Lamb with wine reduction, green beans, and toast

Tuesday

• Enchiladas with mushrooms and leftover lamb

Wednesday

• 24 hour "omelette" (more like a casserole)

Thursday

• Chorizo, chickpea, and spinach soup (using the broth leftover from cooking the lamb)

Friday

• Pizza

Saturday

• Gnocchi with mushrooms, lamb, and cream sauce