Corcoran Street Kitchen: Honey-Herb Lamb

When I was at the store I saw this beauty on sale. A gorgeous boneless, butterflied leg of lamb. Now, this cut of meat is usually pretty pricey, so I normally avoid. Plus, it is WAY too much food for Mark and I, so I always figured it would be pretty impractical. But then again, that's never stopped me before so why start now. It was on mega-sale so I picked one up and went to town. I took a two-pronged approach. I marinated the lamb in a lemon, honey, and herb mixture all day and then I sprinkled it with an herb, lemon zest, and salt crust. We seared it on the grill pan and finished it in the oven. I was so proud. Cooked perfectly medium rare, super tender and flavorful, and not gamy. I really loved this lamb. Also, the leftovers were a sensation. We sliced it thin for sandwiches, and then I made a yogurt sauce and we had lamb wraps another day. I will be an eagle-eye in the grocery store for more sales like this because I absolutely loved this meal and I hope to make it again.

Honey-Herb Lamb
Ingredients:
2.5 - 3 lb. boneless, butterflied leg of lamb
1/4 cup honey
1 lemon
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. dried oregano (divided)
salt and pepper
olive oil

1. To make the spice rub that you will use on the lamb later, zest the lemon into a small bowl and combine with 1 tsp. dried oregano, 2 Tbs. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Set this aside.

2. I like to make the marinade in my little mini-blender because it makes things easy on me. I tossed in the honey, garlic, 2 tsp. dried oregano, mustard, juice from the lemon, 1 Tbs. olive oil, 1 Tbs. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and blended until smooth. You can also whisk the ingredients together in a bowl. Just mince the garlic before adding it.

You want a thick marinade to spread on the lamb.

3. Place the lamb in a large freezer bag and add the marinade. Toss around to coat the entire lamb and put the bag in the refrigerator all day or overnight, up to 24 hours.

4. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator one hour prior to cooking to take the chill off the meat. Then remove the lamb from the marinade bag and sprinkle each side generously with your lemon/oregano salt.

5. Heat a grill pan or frying pan over high heat until hot. My grill pan is non-stick, so I usually can just put things right in there with no oil. If you are using a frying pan, you might want to add some olive oil so it doesn't stick to the pan. Drop your lamb into the pan and sear for 5 minutes per side for nice caramelization.

6. Transfer your pan (if you pan is not oven safe, remove the lamb from the pan and place on a foil-lined baking sheet) into a preheated 425 degree oven and cook for 25 minutes until tender and medium rare.