Herb Crusted Grilled Lamb With Apricot Relish Food

CHEF JOHN'S GRILLED LAMB WITH MINT ORANGE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place lamb chops in a large bowl. Season with olive oil, garlic, cumin, mixed herbs, pepper, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt. Toss until well coated with oil and seasonings. Cover and refrigerate. Allow to marinate at least 4 hours.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate. Place lamb chops on grill. Sprinkle the chops with a bit of salt. Grill until seared on the first side, 4 to 7 minutes depending on the size of the chops. Rotate chops a half turn on the grill about a minute before turning them. Turn and grill the other side to desired doneness, another 4 to 7 minutes. For medium rare, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should bead 125 to 130 degrees F (54 degrees C). Transfer to a serving dish and tent loosely with foil.
• Place marmalade in bowl. Add chili flakes, mint, and rice vinegar. Stir together thoroughly.
• Brush the sauce over the chops and serve.

HERB-CRUSTED RACK OF LAMB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, parsley, thyme and garlic. Add oil and toss; set aside. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown meat on both sides. Brush mustard over top of meat, then roll in crumb mixture., Place racks in a shallow baking pan side by side with bones interlaced resting against each other. Bake 30-40 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a thermometer should read 135°; medium, 140°; medium-well, 145°). Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

MOROCCAN SPICE RUBBED LEG OF LAMB WITH APRICOT CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Spice Rub: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl;
• Lamb: Preheat grill to high and attach rotisserie. Brush the lamb with oil, season with salt and rub completely with spice rub. Sear the lamb on both sides until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Attach the lamb to the rotisserie and cook with the cover closed for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours for medium rare doneness.
• Apricot Chutney: Preheat grill or side burner. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft and lightly golden, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and jalapeno and cook for 2 minutes. Add apricots, sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.

MOROCCAN CRUSTED LAMB RACKS WITH GRILLED APRICOTS

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine all ingredients for rub and pulse until blended. Rub over both racks generously. Season with salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil on high. Sear racks on all sides until well browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer lamb to roasting pan and continue to cook in oven at 375 degrees for about 17 to 20 more minutes or until medium (internal temperature of 140 to 145 degrees).
• Combine molasses with chopped mint in a medium bowl. When racks are cooked, remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes covered with foil before slicing. Slice and dip exposed sides with mint mixture.
• For the yogurt sauce: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir, cover and chill until ready to serve.
• Serve the lamb with grilled apricots and drizzled with yogurt sauce, if desired.

HERB-CRUSTED GRILLED LAMB WITH APRICOT RELISH

Steps:

• Prepare lamb:
• Stir together herbs, salt, pepper, garlic, and oil, then rub all over lamb.
• Make relish:
• Stir together all relish ingredients and season with pepper.
• To cook lamb using a charcoal grill:
• Open vents on bottom of grill. Light charcoal (80 to 100 briquettes) in chimney starter. Leaving about one quarter of grill free of charcoal, bank lit charcoal across rest of grill so that coals are about three times higher on opposite side.
• Charcoal fire is medium-hot when you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack over area where coals are piled highest for 3 to 4 seconds. Sear lamb on lightly oiled grill rack directly over hottest part of coals, uncovered, turning over once and, if necessary, moving around grill to avoid flare-ups, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes total. Move lamb to coolest part of grill, then cover with inverted roasting pan and grill, turning over once, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center registers 135°F for medium-rare, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes.
• To cook lamb using a gas grill:
• Preheat all burners on high, covered, 10 minutes. Sear lamb on lightly oiled grill rack, covered with lid, turning over once, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes total. Turn off 1 burner (middle burner if there are 3) and put lamb above shut-off burner. Reduce heat on remaining burner(s) to moderate and grill lamb, covered with lid, until thermometer inserted diagonally into center registers 135°F for medium-rare, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 minutes.
• Serve lamb:
• Thinly slice lamb across the grain and serve with relish.

LAMB WITH A DUKKAH CRUST AND HERB AND CUCUMBER RELISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven 180°C/160°C (fan forced).
• To make the dukkah, place sesame seeds, almonds, corriander and cumin seeds, salt and black peppercorns into a hot, dry pan cook until fragrant. Remove from pan and cool completely. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and coarsely grind; set aside.
• Brush lamb with some of the oil and place 1 cup of dukkah onto a flat plate. Press the top and bottom of the fillet into the dukkah evenly.
• Heat remaining oil in an oven-proof frying pan and cook lamb for 1 minute on each side. Add lemon halves and transfer to oven; cook for 7 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Remove and rest, loosely covered with foil.
• To make the relish; combine Cucumber, mint sprigs and green onions in a medium bowl and mix well.
• Serve sliced lamb with relish and roasted lemon to squeeze over; drizzle over olive oil and serve.

GRILLED HERB-ENCRUSTED LEG OF LAMB WITH FRESH MINT SAUCE

Steps:

• At least 1 day ahead, marinate the lamb: Set the lamb flat on a large cutting board. Trim any excess fat and open like a book to make an even thickness all around. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the lamb; pound to flatten slightly to make a more even thickness. Cut the meat into 2 or 3 more manageable pieces. Sprinkle all over with 1 T. of the salt and 1 t. of the pepper.
• In a small bowl, mix the mustard, garlic, thyme, rosemary and the remaining 1 T. of the salt and 1 t. pepper. Spread all over the lamb, transfer to a large nonreactive dish, cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 2 days.
• Just before grilling, make the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk 1/4 cup water with the sugar, salt and pepper - they don't have to dissolve completely. Stir in the mint, vinegar and oil. Let sit while the lamb grills. Taste and season with more sugar, salt and pepper if needed (the sauce should have a sharp, acidic tang to complement the rich lamb).
• Grill the lamb: Heat a gas grill to medium high or prepare a charcoal fire with hot and medium-hot areas. Put the lamb on the grill (on the hotter part if using a charcoal fire) and cook (covered if on a gas grill) without disturbing it until it's nicely browned, about 6-8 minutes. Flip, reduce the heat on the gas grill to medium (or move to the cooler part of the charcoal fire), and cook until and instant-read thermometer inserted into a thicker part of the lamb registers 130 degrees F for med-rare, 5-8 more minutes.
• Tranfer the lamb to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain and serve with the mint sauce.