Roasted Lamb leg

Raising lambs

 The summer of 2020 was quite uneventful for most people due to closures and restrictions, depending on one’s perspective.  On our homestead, we only saw it as an opportunity. With more time being spent at home, we knew it was the perfect time to try raising a different animal.

In March, we started scheming about what we wanted to raise and what would work best for our property. If I had unlimited money and land, I would raise it all. I would raise Chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, horses and just all the things. It’s always nice to dream… maybe someday…

 Our search and research began. We had no idea what was the best choice for our homestead and what we ended up with wasn’t what I expected.

 My animal of choice, other than chickens, has always been a pig. I still hope to eventually raise a few, breed them and become a small supplier for my local area. We thought a goat might be the direction to go even after hearing all the horror stories about them climbing on your vehicle and getting out of fencing. Not to mention my husband’s experience of being head-butted by one as a child at his Grandmother’s birthday party. That is a story for another post.

 After connecting with a few local farmers, we realized the breed of goat we wanted (Nigerian Dwarf) was just too far away and wouldn’t be available. So we crossed goats off our list.

We took a few weeks off from searching until one day, after reloading kijiji for what seemed like the hundredth time, a local farmer posted about some lambs he had for sale. They were so cute and fluffy! All logic went out the window and I jumped at the opportunity by reserving two lambs.

I then realized that I had never eaten lamb before and wondered why? I took a quick trip to the grocery store and I had a few answers before researching for myself. Lamb, as it turns out is one of the more expensive meats out there. It’s considered a luxury cut, and a specialty item that’s more likely to be eaten for special occasions, although it is very common in some cultures. It can cost 7 dollars or more per pound. I also noticed there wasn’t much for options or cuts. The demand for lamb was very low compared to beef, chicken or pork. I ended up leaving with a very small portion of lamb ribs.

 Lamb is leaner meat. It inherently contains more zinc, iron, and magnesium than non-red meats. In addition, you will get good amounts of potassium and B-12. I liked the taste enough to not regret my decision and move forward.

The lambs were delivered to our homestead in the middle of June. After speaking with the farmer who brought them, and asking some questions, I realized they’ve never been outside in a pasture. They were raised only inside a barn up until that point. The lambs were quite stressed from the change of environment, which is to be expected. Their new world was very stimulating and unknown.

 Some animals do well in a barn the majority of their time and they handle enclosures with ease. Lambs do not thrive in that type of environment. They get easily stressed and this will cause them to grow at a slower rate. Sheep do best with room to roam and be outside with fresh grass, but they also need to have an easily accessible shelter from the sun in the high temperatures of summer.

We got to experience raising a ram (male lamb) and an ewe (female lamb). The farmer we bought them from made sure they were unrelated just in case we decided to breed them. The ewe was a lot more timid than the ram. The ram would actually follow me around like a dog and was always good-natured.

We never had much of an issue with them, other than the night they got out of their fence right after I left for my first night shift back to work after returning from maternity leave. My husband had to call on 3 other people to help get them back in. We live close to a busy road during the spring and harvesting months especially, not to mention we would not want them to damage the farmer’s crops that surround our land. It was the great escape and my husband added 2 more rows of wire to our electric fence the next day so it wouldn’t happen again. We enjoyed them until late December before taking them to the butcher and are still enjoying the meat we raised right here on our small homestead.

Roasted Lamb leg

Recipe:
1 Leg Of Lamb
1 Tbsp Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2-3 Cups Water
1 Tbsp Rosemary
1 Tsp Basil
1 Tsp Oregano
6 Cloves Of Garlic
2 Medium Onions

Directions:

Always wash your meat with water before preparing.

Cut a quick cross hatch across then diagonally into the top layer of fat. The fat can be a little thick so cut into the meat a half inch to allow your seasoning to penetrate down into the meat.

 Season with salt, pepper then moisturize with extra virgin olive oil.

Add 2-3 cups of water to your roasting pan/slow cooker to make the meat moist, draw out vitamins/ minerals and to make stock for future soups or broth.

For herbs, season with rosemary, basil, and oregano. Dice up 6 cloves of garlic and 2 medium onions placing on top of the meat and in your future broth. Under seasoning is one of the most common culinary crimes in the kitchen.

 Place your leg of lamb into slow cooker on high for 5-6 hours or roast in the oven at 350 for 4 hours.

This cut of meat cooked up nicely and was very tender. At first I was intimated to cook lamb, after mentioning it to a few people who seemed to have aversion to eating it.  I think the homegrown herbs, onions and garlic are have their own part to play but this recipe has won me over and made an amazing broth.. Maybe I’ll make a post about what do with it Next ;)
 I can see us raising lambs again in the future.