The question is: What’s for Easter dinner? We all know the two most popular meats in the world to serve as the centerpiece of an Easter dinner are lamb and ham. For most Americans, unlike most of the rest of the world, the choice is usually ham. I’ve had plenty of ham for Easter dinner, but I began to wonder “Why ham?” My thought was, since lambing season’s peak occurs during the latter part of winter and early spring, lamb would be a logical choice. However, there are reasons, both religious and practical, for why these two meats became traditional choices for an Easter dinner.
I’m not religious, nor was my family. Religion was very rarely discussed at our dinner table, which never witnessed a meal begun by saying grace. My semi-formal religious education consisted of a smattering of Sunday School classes at the local Unitarian church my parents brought us to, out of a sense of suburban duty, on a semi-regular basis. So, when I began researching the historical religious significance of lamb as it relates to Easter and Passover, I was starting from a very small knowledge base. Ignorance would be a less charitable descriptor of my lack of knowledge, but accurate nonetheless. I learned, as happens with so many food traditions, there was much more to learn about why lamb became a tradition.
I knew the basics of the biblical story of God punishing the Egyptians for their disobedience by sending a series of plagues upon them which culminated in the death of their firstborn sons. I knew Jews painted their doorposts with lamb’s blood to differentiate themselves from the Egyptians so God would “pass over” their homes while meting out this punishment. I’ll leave it there, as there are many Easter bunny holes to flail around in when researching the complex histories of Passover and Easter. For the purposes of this column, the tradition of lamb as an Easter offering begins with this first slaughter of the little beasties, which later became ritualized.
While researching, I learned it became a practical seasonal alternative for European farmers who raised pigs. The farmers would begin curing their hams as the weather cooled in the fall, so they would be ready when spring arrived. With Easter being the first large feast of the season, ham became a natural choice for many Europeans.
This tradition of ham predominated in the United States with the earliest European settlers, even as large sheep herds began to appear in many areas. Most of these sheep were raised primarily for their wool, as it’s significantly more costly to raise sheep for meat compared to hogs. Once wool began being replaced with synthetic fabrics after World War II, the price of lamb meat increased substantially, as there were far fewer lambs to be had due to diminished sheep herds. Today, our domestic sheep herd is one-tenth of what it was at its peak during WWII when wool was used for our military uniforms.
It’s apparent, with a trip to a typical American meat counter during any time of year, that lamb products lag considerably behind in relative counter space compared to beef, chicken, and pork products. Lamb’s counter space increases slightly the week before Easter, but not by much, as the amount of space needed to stock ham grows exponentially that same week.
While I was considering ham versus lamb for Easter, I thought back to my restaurant chef days 30-plus years ago and remembered marinating lamb legs in yogurt with mint, which I would grill for Sunday brunch buffets. The yogurt I used in those days was made from sheep’s milk produced at Hollow Road Farm in Old Chatham, New York before it was sold to Tom Clark and became Old Chatham Sheepherding Farm. I liked the idea of lamb marinated in ewe’s milk yogurt and I believe I got the idea of marinating the lamb in yogurt and mint from having lamb kebabs in a Greek restaurant. The yogurt marinade creates a nice little crust while roasting and mint is a natural with lamb, providing an herby sweetness to contrast the slight gaminess of the lamb. I added cumin, which gives the dish a warm earthiness, while orange zest provides a fresh tang.
This year, I decided to recreate a version of a yogurt and mint marinated lamb leg and invite my nephew, Dane; his lovely wife, Patty; and their 4-year-old son, Charlie for our first meal together since the pandemic took hold last March. We were celebrating Lois’ and my completed vaccinations, allowing us to gather in small groups as prescribed by the newest CDC guidelines. Pre-pandemic, we would get together often for meals, so this was a special celebration. Charlie had a breaded chicken breast and steamed broccoli as we suspected he wouldn’t be having anything to do with lamb. As so often happens with food-fussy 4-year-olds, Charlie had four bites of chicken and ate the tops off the broccoli while the stalks served exclusively as handles. Somehow, he found room to eat four large chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.
Roast Leg of Lamb Marinated in Yogurt and Mint
I found a boneless 2½-pound half lamb leg, produced by the reputable meat producer Chiappetti, which was perfect for the four of us. When marinating the lamb, the least messy way is to open the leg flat and spread the yogurt marinade on the inside first, then truss the leg and spread the remainder of the marinade over the trussed lamb. Here’s the best video I found for how to truss meat if you find it difficult to put the lamb leg back into the string netting. The chef is trussing beef tenderloin, but the technique is the same.
I served the lamb with roasted asparagus with olive oil and lemon zest, and roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary.
Ingredients:
2½–3 lb. boneless half lamb leg
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 bunch mint, approx. 1 cup finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
Zest of 1 orange
1½ tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
About a dozen grinds of pepper
Method:
The day before, or at least four hours before, combine all the ingredients for the marinade.
Trim any excessive fat from the lamb if necessary, spread the yogurt marinade over the lamb, and truss as described above. Cover and refrigerate in a nonreactive container for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.
Position the oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 F. Place the lamb in a deep pan with a roasting rack and allow the lamb to sit unrefrigerated while the oven heats. When the oven reaches temperature, place the roasting pan with the lamb on the top rack and turn the temperature down to 350 F. Roast for 1 hour.
Check the internal temperature of the lamb after 1 hour, it should be about 115 F. Turn the temperature back up to 425 and roast for another 15 minutes or until the internal temperature is 130-135 F. Take the lamb from the oven and allow it to rest in a warm spot on the cooktop above the oven, loosely covered with foil for the 15-20 minutes it takes to finish roasting the cubed sweet potatoes.
Carve the lamb in ¼–½ inch slices.
