Turkey has always been tricky for me here in the United States. With an autoimmune disease, I avoid all grains. So what to do about chicken, duck, goose, turkey and pork all fed grains in the United States?
My way around this has been for special occasions and holidays to substitute turkey with a special leg of lamb roast recipe.
It is special because there are only so many leg of lamb roasts each year at our home. Our beloved beef farmer only has a few lamb for each of his customers, so our lamb cuts do not last the whole year.
This recipe is also special because it does take a little extra preparation but it is so worth it!
Recipe adapted from "Roast Leg of Lamb with Herbs in the Style of Castile" from Tender Grassfed Meat by Stanley Fishman:
List of ingredients:
100% grassfed leg of lamb roast smaller sizes work really well if you have it
100% grassfed natural fats: beef, bison, lamb, water buffalo (I combine at least 1/4-1/2 cup of two of these)
Raw, unfiltered, organic olive oil (1/4-1/2 cup)
organic fresh herbs: thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage, parsley (several sprigs)
organic garlic (2 cloves quartered lengthwise)
1. Two to three days prior to the special occasion: thaw one 100% grassfed leg of lamb roast.
2. Melt 1/2 a cup or more of at least two of the following natural 100% grassfed fats: beef fat, lamb fat, bison fat, or water buffalo fat. (US Wellness sells rendered 100% grassfed beef fat and lamb fat and we sell their fats as well at ToxyFree if you are local!)
3. While the fat is melting, use a knife to cut several slits all over the roast. Try to make the slits go as far down into the center of the roast as possible.
4. Push a garlic sliver into each of the slits. (Sometimes I've added herbs in there as well when I was "freestyling" without looking up the recipe! It all tastes divine!)
5. Sprinkle organic salt all over the roast and start slathering the roast with the different oils. (The original recipe states to remove the leaves of the herbs and chop them all together and add to the oil before slathering. Sometimes, okay most of the times, I just place whole sprigs of the herbs under and over the roast).
6. We place this all into the fridge for up to two days prior to cooking but the recipe says to at least marinate it all for 3 hours at a cool room temperature before cooking.
7. We have cooked the roast two ways and it is delicious both ways: 1. follow the book recipe or 2. slow cook in a covered roasting pan for 8 hours.
The book recipe for cooking: (let the roast sit at room temperature for at least an hour)
-preheat the oven to 425 degrees
-place the roast over the stripped stems of the herbs and some rosemary sprigs
-pour any remaining marinade still in the pan over the roast
-roast for 15 minutes
-baste the roast with the pan drippings
-reduce the heat to 300 degrees
-cook for 30 minutes
-baste the roast with the pan drippings
-cook for another 30 minutes
-"this should give you a roast that is pink to light grey, juicy, tender & delicious!"
Note: we marinate, store and cook all in our unglazed clay cookware and always love the results:)