Roast Saddle of Lamb with Herbs
With their smaller size relative to beef and pork, lamb and goat share the special trait of being some of the only animals that have a whole loin saddle that can be cooked for a small group of people at home. One saddle of lamb will feed 8-10, and a goat about 4-6, while a saddle of beef would feed about 50 – 60 and require large cooking setups to prepare.
What is a Lamb Saddle?
What is a saddle? Butcher specifications can vary a bit, but basically, the saddle of any animal is portions of two whole loins, complete with the tenderloins that are on the other side of the bone. In reality, it is what a t-bone steaks look like in their whole-muscle form conventionally called a sub-primal. If you took a cleaver to a goat or lamb saddle, you would end up with a bunch of small lamb or goat t-bone chops. But don’t start hacking away just yet.
How to Stuff and Cook a Lamb Saddle
As meat roasting goes, cooking a saddle is pretty simple, but for easy slicing, it’s best to take out the backbone before you cook it. This also creates a cavity begging to be seasoned with a mix of fresh herbs. See the tutorial video below for a demonstration of removing the bone, and seasoning with fresh herbs and breadcrumbs or purchase the loin already deboned, rolled and ready to roast. After your saddle is deboned, seasoned and tied, it gets pan-seared, roasted or grilled to form a crackling crust, then cooked until medium or so, depending on your taste, then rested and sliced. Just like other roasts, there’s plenty of pan drippings for a great sauce, too — always a crowd pleaser.
I’m going to share a simple side of buttered turnips: an age-old partner to lamb and goat. If you have a local co-op, keep your eyes open for different varieties of turnips. Pictured are scarlet, gold, and purple-top, listed in order of the amount of sweetness each one has. Serve with some cooked hearty greens or a salad for a complete meal.
This recipe is by James Beard Award-winning Chef Alan Bergo. He’s a chef from Minnesota and author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. Learn more about Chef Alan at foragerchef.com.
Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
Related Posts
Roast Saddle of Lamb with Herbs
Equipment
- Sharp paring knife for removing the backbone from the saddle
- Butchers twine, for tying the roast
- Large roasting pan
Ingredients
Meat
- 5 lb Deboned Rolled Lamb Loin Saddle goat saddle can also be used
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 2 ounces fresh herbs equal parts rosemary thyme, and sage, combined with some chopped Italian parsley. You’ll need about 5 tablespoons of finely chopped herbs in total.
- 4 tablespoons toasted breadcrumbs preferably panko
- 1 tablespoon flavorless oil like grapeseed or canola, for searing
Buttered Turnips (optional)
- 2.5 lbs turnips peeled and cut into wedges.
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped Italian parsley
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped shallot
Instructions
Prepping and seasoning the saddle
- Put a small handful of rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley on the cutting board and chop all of the herbs together at the same time until fine. Reserve the herbs for seasoning the saddle.
- Referring to the video below, remove the backbone from the saddle. Optionally purchase the loin roast already deboned, rolled and tied. Untie the rolled loin and follow remaining steps.
- Score the fat side in a crosshatch pattern lightly to help the fat render.
- Season on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Lay the saddle fat side down and season with the chopped herbs, then the toasted breadcrumbs. Press the mixture down on the meat to help it adhere, then roll it up tightly, seam side down.
- Tie the saddle tightly with butchers twine to ensure even cooking. Allow the saddle to come to room temperature before you start to cook it.
Cooking the saddle
- Preheat the oven to 250 ℉
- Heat the tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or cast iron pan (a 12 inch pan will fit a goat saddle). Turn on the oven hood, a fan, or open the window, as searing can make a little smoke and possibly set off your fire alarm. Alternately, grill the roast.
- When the pan is hot, sear the saddle deeply all over,about 10-15 minutes, removing fat from the pan as it renders that you can use to cook the turnips, if using. Either way, I like to remove fat as it gathers in the pan while searing to help cut down on any smoke.
- When the saddle is deeply browned, place it in a roasting pan on a rack, or on top of some carrots or vegetables so the meat doesn’t directly touch the pan, which can cause the bottom to cook faster than the rest of the roast.
- Cook the saddle in the oven until a thermometer reads 135 ℉, which will come out around medium from the low temperature cooking. Allow the saddle to rest in a warm place while you prepare the turnips, if serving.
Turnips (optional)
- Increase the heat of the oven to 375 ℉.
- Put the rendered lamb fat in a large pan and heat until just smoking. Add the turnip wedges, season with salt and pepper to taste, then cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 5-10 minutes. If needed, transfer to turnips to the oven to finish cooking.
- When the turnips are just tender, add the shallots, and butter to the pan and stir to combine. Cook the turnips for 2 minutes more, double check the seasoning for salt, adjust as needed, then finally toss with the parsley and keep warm while you carve the saddle.
Carving and serving
- When the turnips are done, transfer the saddle to a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife into 1 inch slices. Arrange the sliced saddle on a warmed platter surrounded by the turnips and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
