What Are the Best Tips for Cooking Rosemary Lamb?

Many recipes that use lamb as an ingredient also include rosemary because these two flavors complement each other well. Although rosemary lamb usually is straightforward and simple to prepare, there are a few things that an individual might keep in mind while preparing it. Rosemary tends to have a strong flavor, so it usually is best for it to be used sparingly with lamb. Although rosemary might be used to flavor sauces or jellies that are served with lamb, an individual should know how to properly use it to enhance the lamb's flavor and not overpower it. In addition to properly knowing how to use herbs to flavor the lamb, an individual should know the various ways to cook rosemary lamb.

Many people believe that lamb has a distinct and pleasant flavor on its own, so herbs and other ingredients are used to complement this flavor. There are several ways to use rosemary when cooking rosemary lamb. A cook might choose to lay sprigs of rosemary on top of the meat to lightly flavor it, chop it finely to use it as a rub or roughly chop it to use in a marinade. If large pieces of rosemary are used when cooking rosemary lamb, the pieces generally are removed before it is served.

When chopped and cooked with the dish, rosemary generally is used in sauce made from the pan drippings. In order to make sure that the rosemary does not overpower the sauce, it should be finely chopped. Doing so allows the rosemary to permeate the sauce without having a woody texture or strong flavor. When used in a meat rub, the rosemary should be finely chopped so that the flavors are distributed evenly on the meat.

There are several ways to cook rosemary lamb. A popular way is oven roasting. This produces a juicy cut of meat with added flavor that has intensified over time. Many people lay herbs, aromatics and vegetables under and on top of the roast, creating different flavors.

Other ways to prepare rosemary lamb including braising it with vegetables and herbs or grilling it. When braising, the rosemary usually is left on the stalk, placed in the pan during cooking and removed when it is ready to serve. Many people who grill rosemary lamb prepare an herbal rub or marinade to flavor the meat before grilling it.