Big fan of barbacoa de borrego and of Saveur recipes, but was dubious of slow-smoking a leg 4-6 hours till 190F. Way too dry, even when drenched with the salsa. I'll stick with Patrcica Quintana's more elaborate recipe from Puebla: La Cocina de Los Angeles. Tons more effort with some hard-to-find ingredients, but worth it. I'm not a purist; happy to try shortcuts, but this one was a complete waste of a beautiful lamb leg.
Barbacoa (Chile-Rubbed Smoked Lamb)
Lamb shoulder is the ideal cut for this Pueblan-style barbecue. We love this version, which is adapted from Steven Raichlen's The Barbecue Bible (Workman, 1998), and is served with a refreshing tomatillo salsa. This recipe first appeared in our June/July 2011 BBQ issue along with Molly O'Neill's story Sunday After Church.
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Credit: Penny de los Santos
SERVES 8-10
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp. dried Oregano
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
6 dried guajillo or chipotle chiles, stemmed and seeded
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 whole cloves
2 whole allspice berries
¼ medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 8-10-lb. square-cut, bone-in lamb shoulder
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE TOMATILLO SALSA:
¼ lb. tomatillos, husked and rinsed
4 cloves garlic
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
2 jalapeños, stemmed
1 tsp. sugar
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Puree vinegar, salt, Oregano, cinnamon, chiles, garlic, cloves, allspice, and onion in a blender. Season lamb with salt and pepper on a baking sheet, and rub all over with the chile puree. Let sit a room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
2. Meanwhile, make the tomatillo salsa: Place tomatillos, garlic, onions, and jalapeños in a 4-qt. saucepan and cover with water by 1″. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Drain vegetables; reserve 1 cup cooking liquid. Puree boiled vegetables, reserved liquid, sugar, cilantro, salt and pepper in a blender. Set salsa aside.
3. Prepare your grill using the kettle grill, bullet smoker, or gas grill method, (see links for instructions) using apple wood chunks or chips (see Fuel and Flavor). Place lamb, fat side up, on grill grate. Maintaining a temperature of 225°-250° (if using a kettle grill or bullet smoker, replenish fire with unlit coals, as needed, to maintain temperature; see instructions), cook until a thermometer inserted in the meat reads 190°, 4–6 hours. Shred lamb, discard bone, and serve with salsa and warm corn tortillas.
Ratings & Reviews (3)
ooops, my bad. Just noticed the recipe called for shoulder, not leg. How embarrassing! Shoulder definitely would have been moister. :-(
Made this with the chickpea soup. Once I got the grill set up properly it was a fun day of anticipation. Removed from the grill at 160 degrees and it was perfect. We had guests - they were surprised and delighted by this moist and flavorful lamb. The soup was spectacular - added red potatoes.
Barbacoa (Chile-Rubbed Smoked Lamb)
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