Smoke-Roasting a Leg of Lamb?

[pilinut]

Once upon a time, when Jeremiah Tower was at his peak in the San Francisco restaurant scene, I had a wood-oven roasted leg of lamb: rosy pink, juicy slices rimmed with a wonderful smoky crust. Since that was some 20 years ago, it was clearly a memorable meal.

I'd like to duplicate that leg of lamb this Thanksgiving, and I'm wondering whether I should
a) simply roast the lamb in the oven with a pack of wood chips on the oven floor;
b) roast the lamb in the Weber kettle over indirect heat, with wood chips thrown over the coals;
c) smoke the lamb in the Weber bullet smoker over high heat;
d) brown the lamb in a hot pan then smoke it in the bullet over low heat for a couple of hours;
e) none of the above--another method would work better.

What do you think?

(I will be trying to hunt down a small bone-in leg of lamb, which I think is preferable to a boned leg. When I find it, I shall cut a deep slit down to the bone, stuff it with herbs, tie it up, spike it with garlic slivers and season it with salt, pepper, and a bit of soy sauce.)

[rudeboy]

I did a version of b and d about a month ago - it turned out really well. I browned it in a skillet with desired spices for the crust, then placed it over indirect, low heat for a few hours. I cooked to an internal temp of 137F, then let it sit for 20 min, where it came up to about 145F.

[dhedges53]

Let the smoking commence (If chowhound will let me post this link, that is).

http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/1...

[pilinut]

Thank you! Looks like there's more than one way to smoke a gigot. Perhaps the long, slow and low smoking is better for tougher cuts, whilst moderate heat , after browning, is better for tender, steak-quality meats, What do you think?

[dhedges53]

I agree, 100 percent. A rack of lamb should be browned and roasted quickly, while a shoulder or leg should cooked longer and slower. I've never smoked a leg of lamb, but having looked into it a little bit, I believe it's time to give it a try.

[DockPotato]

Can you use an electric or battery powered rotisserie with your Webers? We enjoy a boned leg or shoulder over charcoal with a few maple twigs broken into pellets and tossed onto the coals throughout the process. We untie the joint, insert fresh rosemary, garloc slivers and whatever seasonings or spices, and splash some soy sauce on it, retie and skewer. Towards the end we spread some dijon for a crust.

Sorry, never tried it on a flat grill.

[pilinut]

Sorry, no rotisserie, but the idea of the mustard crust sounds really good! Thank you!