Ahhhh, lamb roast. One of my favorite meals, and something that guests never expect and are always thrilled when you serve it. I use 100% grass fed and pastured lamb from KOL Foods. Let’s get going:

Avi’s Lamb Spice Rub:

What you need:

Amounts added to your taste.

• Kosher Salt
• Granulated Garlic
• Cinnamon
• Cardamom
• Dried Basil
• Brown Sugar (Optional)

What you do:

Mix all of the spices in a bowl. Blend well. Taste to make sure you have a nice balance and it’s not too salty.

Herb Rub

What you need:

• ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh Herbs – Thyme, Rosemary, Mint, or any combination.
• ½ to a full head of pealed garlic

What you do:

Combine all of the ingredients in a small food processor. Blend together until you have a nice herb paste. If it’s too dry, add a touch more oil. If it’s too wet, add more herbs. Feel free to mix and match from my suggested herbs. If there’s one you don’t like, don’t use it.

The Lamb

What you need:

• 1 KOL Foods Lamb Roast.
• 1 large onion (cut into thick rounds)
• 1- cup of Red wine
• Kosher salt
• Stone Ground Mustard
• Honey (I like the Blood Orange Homey from Honeyridge Farms)
• 2 oz. of American Rye from Coctachtin Creek
• Butcher‘s Twine (Do NOT use a nylon string)
• Probe thermometer

What You Do:

First get an oven preheated to 225˚f to 250˚f. Then get an oven-roasting pan ready, one with sides that are about 2 inches. This is so all of the drippings stay in the pan. On the bottom of the pan place the thickly cut onions.

Now, untie the roast and rub the inside with some of your spice rub. Then, retie it using your butchers twine. If you were a Boy Scout like me, two half hitches is my knot of choice. Then, cinch up the string to pull the breast close together. Cut the string from the supply. Repeat until tied.

Next, rub the outside of the roast with your spice rub. Brown in a pan with a little oil. While it’s browning, combine 3 parts mustard and 1 part honey together. Taste to make sure it’s balanced.

Once the lamb roast is brown, put it on your cutting board and coat with the honey mustard. Then, take your herb rub and cover ALL sides of the roast in the herbs. Make sure to get the ends.

Next, insert the tip of your probe thermometer into the thickest part of the roast. Set an alarm on the thermometer to go off when the breast reaches between 130˚f and 135˚f. If you like your roast cooked more medium, set your temperature on the thermometer to 145.

I put a small layer of red wine into the bottom of the pan. This will help to keep the breast moist and it combines with the dripping to help form a wonderfully flavorful au-jus. I also add the Catachtin Creek Rye to the pan. It will combine to add a little smokiness to the au jus.

Put the roast into your preheated oven, have a glass of rye, and relax.

Once the thermometer tells you that the breast is up to temperature, take it out of the oven and let it cool. While it cools, set the oven to 500 degrees. Once the breast has cooled for about 45 minutes, put it back into the oven to crisp up the herbs. Keep a careful eye on it because you don’t want it to burn. This crisping of the herbs should not take too long. Remember, you only want to “firm up” the herbs, not cook the roast any further.

Once done, take the lamb roast out. Leave it in the pan and loosely cover with foil. Let it rest about a half an hour. Once rested, you’re ready to slice. Put it on your cutting board, remove the strings and slice from one end.

Remember the KOL Foods lamb is completely pastured and never injected with antibiotics or growth hormones. In my humble opinion, this is likely the healthiest meat in America.

Happy eating and L’Chaim . . .

Avi.