Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Lemon, Herbs, and Garlic (Page 502)

RECIPE #954

• Date: Monday, February 16, 2009 -- 8pm
• Location: Bloomington, IN
• Kitchen: My Apartment
• Dining Companion: Matty
• Recipe Rating: B+
  

This recipe came off the list generated by the random number generator. I hadn't made this recipe yet because we don't own a grill. However, I realized recently that the recipe in The Book gives the option of roasting the meat rather than grilling it. So that's what I did! I started by rubbing a boned and butterflied leg of lamb with a mixture of garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, pepper, salt, and olive oil. I had cut some small slits in the meat and I forced the herb rub into those slits as well. I let the meat sit at room temperature for an hour to marinate in the rub. Then I roasted the lamb in a hot oven until the internal temperature was 130 degrees. I put the lamb on a cutting board, squeezed the juice of one lemon on it, and let it rest for 20 minutes. Then I sliced and served. This dish was tasty, but I think it would have been much better grilled. In fact, I wish The Book hadn't mentioned the option of roasting, which would have then forced me to exploit one of my friends who has a grill, but it would have been worth it. As it was, the meat came out very nicely cooked, and the herb rub had a good flavor to it. But roasting the meat didn't give the exterior the kind of sear that grilling would have. On the grill the herb rub would have charred and become even more delicious. The lamb wasn't in the oven long enough for that to happen when I roasted it. As it was, this dish was good. But if I make it again I will certainly do it on the grill.

Here is the recipe.

Some of the female graduate students in the math department where I work organized a very special day today for high school girls interested in math. They put a lot of work into organizing this math day for girls, including securing several grants for funding. They asked me to help out with a couple of the activities, and it was such fun! The theme of the day was "Geometry versus Topology," and they had a morning session about geometry and an afternoon session about topology. Both sessions had lots of great hands-on activities to introduce basic concepts from the two fields. The organizers also did a great job focusing on group work, with each group of 4 girls working together to solve problems and make discoveries. It was really fun to talk to the students and guide them in understanding some basic concepts in higher mathematics. Also as part of the day there was a keynote talk by a well-known female mathematician, and a group competition, where the students solved problems in small groups for prizes. The day closed with a panel discussion, where the students could ask me and four other female mathematicians questions about studying math in college, and life as a professional mathematician. It was a great day! The graduate students who organized it did a fantastic job, and I think the high school girls enjoyed it a lot. I would have loved to attend such an activity when I was in high school! I was very happy to be able to help out a little bit today!