… as many food bloggers will know, on occasion we get sent one or two rather dubious products to trial… this can sometimes be an awkward thing as I do like to be honest and I also have a policy that I must be able to cook with the product in order for me to review it… I hate to sound ungrateful because really i’m not… but I guess these odd items make the good things I get sent even more special… and you see i’ve been very fortunate to receive what I would consider two incredibly high quality products to review… both the Welsh Lamb, sent to me by the lovely people at Meat Promotion Wales and the Thyme Honey, sent to me by the delicious New Zealand Honey Co are both exceptional products and I feel proud and privileged to have them in my kitchen and cook with them…
… my only gripe… and it is a teeny weeny one… is that it is a little odd to be sent products that I can purchase on my doorstep… I mean, there are lambs in the field opposite my front door for goodness sake and honey bees producing local honey in hives not 400 yards down the road… that being said, both products are of such high quality and produced ethically by local producers that it seems unfair for them not to benefit from promotion and purchase by people who care about the authenticity and heritage of their food…
… the folks over at Welsh Lamb are keen for me to promote the use of lamb as a barbecue meat and I do love the idea of a wonderful slow roast on hot coals but both our ridiculous British weather and my lack of said barbecue (i’m sure I had one in the garden shed but can I find it…?) means I am oven roasting it direct onto a metal rack… the prep and process is identical anyway it’s just that the oven version lacks that smokey charcoal something…
welsh lamb with honey and thyme
the thyme honey is simply heavenly… I have been sent three stunning honey’s by the New Zealand Honey Co but the moment I saw and tasted the thyme honey I knew it would be perfect with lamb… and this recipe is just so simple it brings out the flavour of the meat so gloriously I am actually watering at the mouth as I type…
1 leg of lamb – boned and butterflied
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Thyme Honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves – peeled and crushed
a bunch of fresh thyme
you can get your lamb boned and butterflied by your friendly neighbourhood butcher or suck it up like me and try yourself… instructions are here… with a sharp knife it was surprisingly quick and easy plus you then get the opportunity to make the most incredible roast lamb stock and even your own lard if you’re that way inclined…
– once butterflied, mix all the ingredients well and pour over the lamb, wrap in cling-film and refridgerate for at least and hour… the leg of lamb i’d been sent was huge so I actually halved it at this stage into two smaller butterflies and have frozen one of the portions for something exciting on another sunny day…
– once ready to cook use a couple of metal skewers through the meat to hold the butterfly shape and ease the handling
– if barbecuing you really need one of those barbecues with a lid – heat your coals and let them go to grey before you chuck the lamb on, close the lid and leave it for 30 – 40 minutes
– if roasting, pre-heat the oven to 190C then place the lamb directly onto the oven shelf with a drip-tray beneath to catch all the lovely juices… again it should take roughly 30 – 40 minutes but it really does depend on how you like your lamb cooked and I like mine a little on the pink side so 30 minutes did me fine… I served this with a wonderful green garden salad of my own broad beans and courgettes… divine!
eat and of course, enjoy!
I love lamb done anyway!!But with NZ honey and thyme this is a definite must try.
The lamb looks delicious. I've never thought to use honey but I'm convinced.
And, I just discovered our grill in the garage yesterday!
By the way, a “tip of the hat” to you Brits. You're doing a great hosting job for the olympics.
Best,
Bonnie
That's it I'm coming round, looooooooove roast lamb.
The ironies surrounding lamb are not limited to the UK. Here in the US we grow a lot of lamb and yet, even in Colorado where until recently I lived for 10 years, lamb was grown in the southern part of the state and yet was hard to find in the markets. Go figure.
The lamb looks gorgeous Dom. Drooool… and with the healthy salad of broad beans and courgettes… yum! Wouldn't mind getting lamb and honey, just saying 🙂
Oh my, this is making my mouth water just looking at the pictures! We love lamb in our home. Great idea with the honey!
I love any type of lamb. This looks so juicy and tasty. It's fun to be able to taste honey from another country, but your right in preferring your local honey. You get more health benefits from honey produced no more than 50 miles from your doorsteps. That said like you, I certainly wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth either. Enjoy!
My general rule these days is that I no longer accept product unless it is at least Canadian and something I believe in.As for your lamb dish the flavour of the lamb shines through.
Yum … love the saucey slather for this roast! I also love the crisscrossed skewers that keep things together and make for easy turning! You clever bloke!
I love the simplicity of this (except the butterflying!) I'd like to try that glaze/marinade on other meats, too. I can't get that Thyme Honey out of my mind 😉
Lamb is my favorite red meat, hands down–and especially on the bbq! I could eat a hunk of chargrilled lamb right now. I've never tried lamb with honey–fascinating!
This is my favourite way to cook lamb. A good butterflied leg cooks so much faster too. Your marinade is something very special indeed……fantastic!
That truly looks glorious. I wish my computer had scent capabilities because I imagine it smells like red meat heaven.
Lamb with honey is a wonderful combination and it's making me seriously hungry. I'm all for putting it on a barbecue. I did manage to find my barbecue although it was a lengthy exercise extricating it from the shed and I've only managed to use it once this summer.
We don't get lamb here that is affordable. I have only had it a couple times and that is definitely not enough to know how to really cook it. I have never had a company send me anything to try. I think that would be wonderful especially if it was HONEY!
Lamb, honey and thyme, gosh what a winning combination!! This looks utterly scrumptious. Sometimes simple recipes are the best – especially when it comes to roast lamb.
Wow, and here I thought I was special when I got offered olive oil… lol.. lamb AND honey? Very nice. And, let me just say, I love to grill/barbecue, but I don't think I'd know the first thing about grilling lamb.. I'd probably overcook it and ruin it! Your roasted lamb looks perfect! And I love the thyme mustard combination!
yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……… thats all I have to say about that!
I don't think you could have planned the marriage of those two ingredients any better. The thyme honey sounds perfect with the lamb! Even if you were unable to grill this, I think roasting it worked beautifully.
Goodness! This looks so scrummy it is literally making my gob water. This is just a perfect combination of ingredients, I can almost taste it from where I am seated.