Thursday, July 24, 2008

Lamb Kebab on Rosemary Skewers


With a shoulder of lamb on hand and a fierce craving for Greek food, I thought lamb kebabs would hit the spot. We are very fortunate to have friends who supply us with organic lamb from their family farm. It is the most flavorful and succulent lamb we've ever had. So far this year I've made gorgeous lamb chops and my boyfriend smoked a leg of lamb which was so delicious that five of us were able to polish it off no problem. In both cases, we loved it so much that we didn't even have time to take photos. Next time, I promise.

I've always been intrigued about using rosemary sprigs as skewers and given that we were grilling lamb, what a great time to try them out. I was so excited to give them a go since I love fresh rosemary but I thought they would be a lot more difficult to use. Turns out, with a little sharpening of the ends of the rosemary tips, they were as simple to use as regular wooden skewers.

While eating these lamb kebabs my boyfriend and I repeated over and over, "this is so delicious, this is the only way we are eating lamb from now on!" The skewers were a perfect balance to the gorgeous lamb and don't even get me started on the amazing tzatziki from Kalyn's Kitchen we served it with. My intense craving for Greek food could have only been more satisfied had we actually visited the Country itself.

RECIPE:
1lb lamb shoulder, cubed (1")
8 thick, large rosemary skewers
1/4 tsp garlic, finely grated
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 TBSP fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 TBSP olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients except the rosemary skewers in a large bowl. Toss everything together so the lamb cubes are thoroughly coated. Cover and refrigerate the lamb for about an hour. Meanwhile, remove all of the rosemary leaves from the stem leaving about an inch of the leaves at the bottom of the stem. If the end of the stems aren't sharp enough to thread the lamb, use a pairing knife and peel away some of the stem into a point. Prepare your grill. After the lamb has marinated, remove from fridge and gently thread the meat onto the skewers. Grill the skewers for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Serve these with this fantastic Tzatziki and some pita.

18 comments:

Dragon said...

The rosemary skewers are a great idea. These look delicious!

Natasha said...

I've seen Jamie Oliver using rosemary skewers, but I always thought it would be near impossible to do. Now that you've proven it can be done, I might try it myself :)

Sid Khullar said...

We don't get lamb here much, mostly mutton and I couldn't dream of cooking that for 3 - 4 minutes on each side! I'll try this with chicken and see how that turns out.

Mansi said...

what a brilliant idea about using skewers! loved it!:)

Lo said...

Here in WI, where we have a short growing season, there is no chance of finding rosemary hefty enough to use as skewers. So, I often try to run rosemary leaves up into the meat with a regular wooden skewer.

That said, I think rosemary skewers are a grande idea. And nothing beats the lamb/rosemary combo!

Nate @ House of Annie said...

I think this would go great with chicken, pork, even beef!

Shaheen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shaheen said...

Yummy! I was just thinking what natasha mentioned.. I thought the skewers would bend, and not be too easy to handle. But good that I found out here that it is possible! :)

Pragyan said...

Hi, First time on your blog..loved it. Absolutely wonder-stuick at the innovative way of using rosemary skewers..flavor galore in the kebab..definitely trying this someday!

Kathy - Panini Happy said...

I've been meaning to give rosemary skewers a try - it just sounds like it would be so flavorful! You're so lucky to have friends to provide you with farm-fresh lamb. :-)

Unknown said...

Oh wow - that's fantastic! I love rosemary and with lamb? Heaven ;)

Madeline said...

Thanks Dragon!

Hi Natasha, I've never seen Jamie do this but it doesn't surprise me, it's so good. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. Just make sure you have fat stems. Good luck!

Haha, Sid, the Mutton might not be as good ;) I think chicken would be great.

Thanks Mansi Desai!

Hi Lo, that's a fantastic idea. I never would have thought of that.

I agree Nate n Annie!

Give it a try Coco, it's not hard at all.

Welcome Pragyan! Thanks for such a lovely comment. Hope to hear from you again.

I thank my lucky stars for those friends, Paninikathy :)

Hi Christie, Heaven indeed :)

linda said...

That looks delicious! Love the rosemary skewers! And I would loved to have had a taste of the smoked leg of lam...yum!

White on Rice Couple said...

What a beautiful combo of lamb and herbs! We've always wanted to try skewering meat on our rosemary, it's definitely a "must try"!.

You've inspired us!

Madeline said...

Thanks so much Linda and White on Rice Couple! Let me know if you try them, I'm sure you'll love them as much as we did.

Anonymous said...

What a brilliant idea!

You should really submit this recipe to Cookthink's Root Source Challenge. You could win a cookbook and have your recipe featured on their weekly Root Source Email. And next week's ingredient is rosemary!!

Check it out:
http://www.cookthink.com/blog/?p=1119

Anonymous said...

First of all, this looks amazing! I love the idea of using rosemary branches as skewers. Second, I'm glad I found your blog. I look forward to reading more.

Madeline said...

Tiffany, I'm so glad you found me too! Thanks for your lovely comment, I hope to hear from you many times again :)

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