Wild Country New Zealand BBQ Leg of Lamb

Here is a fun recipe from  Wild Country New Zealand. They hand make a range of delicious gourmet condiments using many locally grown ingredients from the Waikato in New Zealand.

BBQ Leg of Lamb

1.75 – 2kg leg of lamb carvery leg or boned.
¼ cup lemon juice
3 – 4 strips of lemon rind, chopped
½ cup Wild Country Garlic Infused Olive Oil
a handful of oregano leaves, washed, destalked and chopped
1 teaspoon of maldon sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 cup white wine

Place lamb in a large non corrosive dish and pour lemon juice over, turning lamb to coat. Combine oil, oregano, salt and black pepper in a small bowl and mix well. Using a spoon or your hand rub the inside cavity of the lamb as well as the outside. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Transfer lamb to roasting pan, spoon over any herb mixture and juice left in dish, then add white wine. Truss the lamb with string to hold it into shape.
Place lamb on a rack in the roasting dish and then BBQ with the hood down for at least 30 minutes per 500g of meat.

If you don’t have a hooded bbq simply place meat on the grill and you may need to cover with a little tinfoil to hold the moisture in.
Remove lamb from roasting pan and rest in a warm place for 15 minutes before carving.

Wine Pairing

This dish is well suited for either a New Zealand pinot noir or if you are fortunate enough to find a well aged Bordeaux blend from Waiheke Island.

Wines to seek out Torlesse Wines, Bannock Brae Estate, Domaine Georges Michel or Peninsula Estate.

New Zealand Cheese News

One one of my visits to the Christchurch Arts Center I came across this mobile cheese shop. Now whenever I visit, I always make a point to stop by the shop.

Here is some recent cheese news from the Canterbury Cheese Monger

The rare and exquisite Karikaas 3 ½ yr old Gouda is now available. We have kept these cheeses for over two years ourselves, which means that we only have a small amount to sell each year. Full rich butterscotch flavours and the lactic acid crunch characterise this wonderful example of very old Gouda. Get in quick for your fix before we run out for another year or so.

Congratulations to all our cheesemakers winning medals and category awards at the Cuisine Champions of Cheese awards early last month. As many of you are probably aware two main awards were won by Mercer Cheese Extra Mature with Cumin for the ‘large’ cheesemaker and Over the Moon Dairy washed rind, Gallactic Gold for the ‘artisan’ cheesemaker.

Despite winning the award for larger producers, Albert Alferink from Mercer sells all the cheese they make from their own retail store, so unfortunately we aren’t able to stock and sell this award winner. Their shop is definitely worth a visit if travelling south from Auckland.

We had sampled the Gallactic Gold previous to the awards and had decided to give it a try, but winning such a large award has meant a very busy time for Sue Arthur of Over the Moon and we will be getting some of this cheese as soon as we can.

 Another notable award winner was Blue River Dairy, with their Curio Bay winning the Champion Sheep’s cheese award. Most of our suppliers won medals. Full details of the award winners can be found at the NZSCA website:

You can visit the Canterbury Cheese Monger at 44 Salisbury St, Christchurch, New Zealand. Ph +64 3 379 0075

Kiwi Store in USA

Here is a link to Koru Naturals that has a range of New Zealand foods including mustards, chutneys, and salts made with the finest organic ingredients, including Maori herbs, all available in USA –  check it out today!