FoodbyDoug

Christmas Welcomes the Wood-Fired Oven

(Inside FoodbyDoug - The timing on my blogs are occasionally a little off. I will write a post, but then I send them off to my editor. Yes; I use an editor and her name is Gina Moreno Wilson. Gina edits in-between being a real estate agent in Las Vegas, a single Mom of two beautiful daughters, and an agent for her oldest daughter Sophia's singing career. She is also an author, holds a JD, has experience as a life coach, plus, plus plus. Once I get my entries back, I then have to move them over to blogger, format, load pictures, and more -- so excuse the delay)

Wood-Fired Oven Season Roasted Leg of Lamb. Has such a flavorful delicacy ever crossed your lips? If not, a true culinary treat awaits you. Read on…

First, a little bit of background: I’m sure it’s no surprise to my readers that I like to cook and my family enjoys the fruits of my labor. I am always seeking new tastes, developing new recipes, and seeking new methods of preparing or improving existing dishes. That passion led me and my family to a new addition this past spring. After much discussion and research, Jacque and I went over the top and splurged on having a wood-fired oven built in our backyard. After researching all our options, we opted for the Mugnaini Oven (http://www.mugnaini.com) out of Healdsburg, CA, and had local contractor Fritz Ridenour install/assemble/build it. My research shows, and I now have to agree, that the Mugnaini is the gold standard in wood-fired ovens. I have nothing but positive stuff to say about this oven and the entire Mugnaini organization.

For many families holiday time means eating out or catering parties, but at the Sklar house holiday means a time of sumptuous meal preparation where we create festive and tasty dishes to be enjoyed in the comfort of our home. For Christmas this year, Jacque and I decided on Leg of Lamb, Carrots and Pearl Couscous. I of course then opted to kick it up by roasting the lamb in our wood oven. We had just recently taken delivery on two lambs from the Corrigans in the Methow. The lambs are smaller then what we have been buying, so instead of the single traditional leg, I opted to pull two legs out of the freezer and defrosted them a good two days in advance. (It’s important to allow for adequate defrosting time.)

While the lamb is fine quality and stands alone, special seasonings properly applied can enhance the already rich flavor. To that end, I generously massaged the following into the defrosted legs:

Special Sklar Lamb Seasoning:

· Drizzle of olive oil

· Dave’s Favorite Seasoning Salt from Gene’s Harvest Foods in Omak (Lawry’s Seasoning is a good second choice if you don’t live near Omak)

· Montreal Seasoning

· Dried Rosemary

· 2 ½ heads of garlic put through a garlic press

Every so often prior to roasting I would return to the lamb that I had resting on the counter, and loving the aroma of the prepared seasoning mixture, I would give the lamb another quick rub down and massage.

Ready to Roast

Defrosted and adequately seasoned, we were now ready to roast.

(For conventional oven cooking, place in pre-heated oven of 450 for about 20 minutes, then turn over and cook at 325 until you reach your desired temperature – approximately two hours depending on size.)

Now wood oven cooking is very different and, trust me, it is a process. It is not a matter of sticking the dish in the oven and returning two hours later. The wood-fired oven requires patience and attention, but it is well worth it.

Note the paws to the left...Dallas loves to help me cook, and she loves watching the fire for me.

I started building my fire around 12:30 - low and slow. You do not want to over heat the dome, especially in cold weather, out of fear of cracking it. You also want the dome to absorb the heat to better hold temperature. After about an hour and a half, I had my oven up to 450 degrees and I placed the legs in the oven in a roasting pan with a small amount of left over wine from the previous night filling the bottom. I tented them with heavy-duty aluminum foil, and roast it close to the fire for about thirty minutes. After thirty minutes I turned the legs over and rotated the pan 180 degrees. For the next two hours every twenty or thirty minutes, I rotated the pan 120 degrees (1/3) keeping it well tented all the time.

I used my IGrill (http://store.idevicesinc.com/igrill/) probes to monitor the meat temperature and the ambient temperature in the oven. I kept the ambient temperature between 280 degrees and 350 degrees with a small fire burning the whole time in the rear of the oven. My target for the legs was medium rare at 155 degrees. With all that said, I had one side that was a little on the rarer side, and another side that was a little more well done… but I am still new at this wood oven stuff.

I wanted to prepare our carrots a little differently so I decided to add some feta cheese to an old standby recipe. I used the following:

Doug’s Christmas Carrots

30oz (1 ½ bags) mini carrots

2 tablespoons of butter/margarine

½ teaspoon white pepper

1 tablespoon dried mint leaves

½ to ¾ cup honey – you can use more if you wish

1½ cups dried cranberries

1½ cups crumbled feta cheese

I placed the carrots in a sauté pan with water and steamed until not hard. (I did not say soft and mushy – we are not making baby food!) I removed residual water and added the margarine and other ingredients except for the feta. I added the feta after all other ingredients were combined, and then immediately removed and placed in a bowl for serving. For presentation I placed a little more crumbled feta cheese on the top. If I had had some fresh mint that would have also added to the presentation.

Our second side was Pearl Couscous. It was a perfect compliment. I made this couscous, (http://riceselect.wpengine.com/products/couscous-orzo/, with Kalamata olives, prepared in beef broth. Pearl couscous is also known as ptitim, and it has a rich history dating back to Israel during the Ben Gurion days. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptitim) I followed the instructions on the container, replacing the water with beef broth, and adding in Kalamata olives - simple but really good.

All in all, this meal was everything we had hoped: special, festive, and extraordinarily flavorful!

*One more comment on the Mugnaini Wood Oven - It is a blast to have! Jacque and I have really enjoyed the new dimension it has given to both our cooking and entertaining. I am looking forward to sharing more about the oven and the Argentinian Grill we had built at the same time we had the oven installed. We have also had more pizza in the last six months then we have had in the last twelve years!

Just as a teaser, here are a few photos from this last Father’s Day when David Bradford and I did a whole goat on the Argentinian Grill. We had an Argentinian Grill built at the some time we had the wood oven and fireplace built. For the Argentinian Grill we went with a Norcal Ovenworks Grill
(http://www.norcalovenworks.com).

David and I bought the goat a few days before and slaughtered it at his house -- Jacque insisted if it cam to our house from the farm, it was going to become a pet.