Lamb Rub Recipe - DWC Magazine: Strong Women, Strong Voices

Lamb Rub Recipe

Lamb rub recipe 

By Mike Devlin

Lamb.

Cute things.

Cute things that taste soooo good.

Popular in the UK, AUS, NZ, and many Muslim countries, but not, oddly, in the US - maybe too gamey? Let's dial that gamey down but enhance the lamb, shall we? 

Firstly, this works on all cuts of lamb, but works best when you use leg or shoulder. Why? Because you should always debone it (or get your butcher to do it), and therefore it is easier to remove some of the excess fat from not just the outside but also the inside (lamb fat is incredibly gamey).

Once that is done, or has been done for you, we now need to crack on with the lamb rub. And it is good. 

Now we could just go the easy route and use Ras el Hanut (a middle eastern flowery flavour that is brilliant, and is just a blend of spices), but we are going to make a simple different one.

What you need:
Quality salt (no, not table salt)
Cracked black pepper
Olive oil
Garlic
Shallots 
Fresh thyme

Anchovies 

With a leg or shoulder in particular,  you can score all sides with a knife allowing a larger surface area to get that rub into. 

Garlic, smush it up. Shallots,  finely dice. Fresh thyme, chop it up. A good dose of olive oil all over it. A sprinkle of salt and pepper. Now we come to the anchovies. 

You may not like them, and many  do not, but trust me you need them, and you won't even know they are there. The anchovies contain glutamic and inosinic acids (ooh, big words!) that bring out the flavour of the lamb. Smush them up, too. Now mix the whole lot up. 

To cook or not to cook. This depends upon the size of the cut and whether you want more onion flavour. I would recommend for larger cuts you do put it all in a pan and sweat them off.

How much of it is needed? A good dose, so the bigger the cut, the more you make. 

Cool it down, if sweated, and then with your hands, rub it into and all over the lamb, and then roll and tie the shoulder or leg back up (obviously not with chops and the like), and let it sit for between 30-60 minutes, before cooking as you normally would.

That's it. Easy peasy.

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1 comment

I always look forward to all of your helpful hints. I’ve had a love hate relationship with my slow cooker for awhile. I feel ready to tackle it again.

Charlotte Mckissick

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