Butterlied Leg of Lamb, help!

[yanny]

Hi! I'm new to the forum but very glad to have found it! I need some professional advice. I work at an Italian restaurant and we do Neopolitan pizza in our oven imported from Italy. We want to do a special New Year's dinner and wanted to cook a stuffed Leg of Lamb in our oven. How do we keep it warm without overcooking it? We were going to slice to order....

We tried searing in on the grill first and then cooking to order in the oven but it got dried out. Any ideas?

Thanks and Happy Hollidays!

Jen

[Cliffjr75]

Hi Jen,

I'm going to take a shot at your question even though I'm not a professional chef though I have tried to self educate myself on a lot of cooking techniques. If I'm wrong, I hope that someone will set me straight.

I think your idea of precooking the lamb is correct. It is absolutely necessary for service. However I think the meat dried out because the internal temperature reached what is called the point of coagulation. The proteins tightened too much squeezing out moisture. Now I'm not sure exactly what that temperature for lamb is. I would guess somewhere around 140 but perhaps one of the professional chefs on the board could guide you. So my amateur suggestion would be to cook the meat to say around 120 and finish it off quickly under the broiler as per the customer request. I think you could also put a layer of fat around the meat such as prociutto, pancetta, or bacon to help keep some more of the moisture in while it is cooking.

I hope my ideas weren't too far off.
Best, Cliff

[greenawalt87]

Originally Posted by yanny

Hi! I'm new to the forum but very glad to have found it! I need some professional advice. I work at an Italian restaurant and we do Neopolitan pizza in our oven imported from Italy. We want to do a special New Year's dinner and wanted to cook a stuffed Leg of Lamb in our oven. How do we keep it warm without overcooking it? We were going to slice to order....

We tried searing in on the grill first and then cooking to order in the oven but it got dried out. Any ideas?

Thanks and Happy Hollidays!

Jen

Yes stuff it then wrap it with with some pancetta , I hope you are going to tie it with butcher string?
sear it to get in all brown then cook it very slowly in a 225 degree oven until it reaches a temp. of 130 then tent it with foil and keep it in a warm oven will keep for hours slice to order

[yanny]

Thanks Cliff and Greenawalt87, I think that is what we'll do. We tried just stuffing it, tied it up and just seared it, keeping it pretty much raw in the middle, then slicing and baking to order and it was dry., Wrapping it pancetta or proscuitto sounds like it would help a lot.

Greenawalt87- Approx how long will it take to cook per pound at 225?

Thanks again,

Jen

[Cliffjr75]

I don't quite understand if they kept it practically raw in the middle why it would dry out as they cooked it for service.

[yanny]

my boss did it at home and he is not a professional cook. I'm not really sure either but I think keeping it whole and wrapping it should work.

[greenawalt87]

Originally Posted by yanny

Thanks Cliff and Greenawalt87, I think that is what we'll do. We tried just stuffing it, tied it up and just seared it, keeping it pretty much raw in the middle, then slicing and baking to order and it was dry., Wrapping it pancetta or proscuitto sounds like it would help a lot.

Greenawalt87- Approx how long will it take to cook per pound at 225?

Thanks again,

Jen

Yanny, it depends on the size if 8lbs all together stuffed and wraped maybe 2 hrs. get a thermometer and make sure it reaches 120 degrees then hold it in a 200 degree oven slice and serve

[yanny]

Thanks Greenawalt for the tip. Did exactly what you said and it worked like a charm. They were delicious! Thanks again. Jen