Easter 2005: Smoked Roasted Leg of Lamb &Grilled Whole Rockfish

Rick and Jane Rutherford, Dan Sullivan, and, recovering from foot surgery, George Watson, joined us for a splendid Easter dinner. In addition to the mains described here, we had cheeses and bread to start, a smoked bluefish and mango salad, asparagus with a butter / lemon & orange zest / garlic sauce, potatoes roasted in the juices of the lamb, and a huge berry cobbler with with whipped cream.

Grilled Whole Rockfish

This Rockfish Recipe is based on one from the MD Seafood Marketing Program.

1 4-6 lb. Rockfish, dressed
1 lemon
4 green onions, sliced thin; instead, I diced one medium to large yellow onion
4 mushrooms, chopped; I used more, med. dice
Pepper to taste; I added also 1/2 chopped jalepeno - it gave a nice zing
½ cup chopped sweet pepper - I used a sweet red peppep
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 teaspoons capers, drained
1 teaspoon lite soy sauce - and a bit of teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil - a bit more
¼ teaspoon garlic powder - I would only used minced fresh garlic
¼ cup dry vermouth, or white wine - I also used white wine, quite a bit more than 1/4 cup, as I cooked it down several times
8 strips bacon - omitted, see below.

Toothpicks

Start fire with charcoal briquettes. As I already had a nice fire going from cooking lamb roast, we just added cherry wood logs as needed.

Squeeze lemon juice on Rockfish, inside and out and sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Sauté vegetables in olive oil and lite soy sauce with seasonings and dry vermouth.

Cover with lid and add water - or wine - as necessary to keep vegetables from burning. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stuff fish with vegetables and wrap bacon around the fish to hold together and secure with toothpicks - I used dental floss to sew up the fish as well as short wooden skeweres. Grill fish in wire rack - which lacking I placed fish on foil in a large pan and sat this to the side of the grill off the fire. Cook about 10 minutes, flip and cook about 10 more minutes until fish is done (about 20-25 minutes). But did not flip. Do not allow fire to flame up. Sprinkle with water as necessary. To serve: Remove bacon and toothpicks. Carefully remove skin. Place skinless pieces of fish and stuffing on platter and serve immediately.

Smoke Roasted Leg of Lamb

Ingredients:
1 4-6 lb boneless lamb leg

MARINADE FOR LEG OF LAMB
Based on one on COOKS.COM, also Cuisine of the Sun

2 oz. lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup dry red wine up to 2 cups
4 oz. olive oil
2 large cloves garlic -- minced or more
1 lemon -- zested and 1/2 orange zest
2 med. onions, chopped
1/2 c. chopped parsley
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce -- omitted
1 teaspoon soy sauce - or two
2 tsp. marjoram
2 tsp. caraway seeds - or fennel seeds, coarsely ground
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 pinch kosher salt

This may be used to marinate 8 lamb chops or a 6 pound leg of lamb.

Combine all of the above ingredients. Place meat in a plastic bag, pour the marinade on top and place in the refrigerator 12 hours. Or leave out for several hours in cool room. Place meat in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake at 325 degrees for 3 1/2 hours, basting often with the marinade. When using lamb chops, marinate them the same way and grill.

To Cook the Roast in a grill / smoker: Start the charcoal 1/2 hour before time to put meat on. Figure 20-30 min. / lb. Use a thermometer to guage cooking stage. Omit foil.

If you want good smoke, soak some flavorful wood chips in water. I had a lot of cherry wood which makes excellent smoke. As it has been out in the weather all winter, I used it damp on top of the charcoal both for flavor and for heat. I kept the fire on one side of the rectangular grill, with the logs on the charcoal. Then, with the stuffed leg in the cotton mesh bag it came in, I placed it on the grill over the heat - this for a few minutes until blackened on the fire side. Then, using available tools - I found wooden salad "claws" to be the best device for moving the meat around - turn meat over and roast on second side for a couple more minutes. Now place on a rack in a pan on the cool side of the grill. Pour a couple tablespoonsful of marinade over the roast as well as two cups of liquid - white wine, dry white vermouth or water in the lower pan. Lower the top of the grill to contain heat and smoke and roast until an internal temperature of 130-140 for rare to medium rare. This should take two to three hours. Add wood or charcoal as needed to maintain heat of 300-325. Baste whenever you add wood or every 20-30 min. Keep liquid in lower pan so that juices from meat will not burn.

After reaching heat, turn meat out into a pan and keep warm in a warming oven or oven turned on to lowest heat. Meat will keep without further cooking for as much as a couple of hours, at least. Make gravy with drippings. (See my notes for a future discussion of gravy prep.)