I hope that this is the correct forum . . .
I have searched all over the internet to find a recipe that my dad used to make and have had no luck. Basically, it was a leg of lamb, marinated in a brandy soaked cheese cloth and coated with some sort of herb (cumin?) crust. At some point, it was also flamed. If anyone could help me out, I would truly appreciate it.
Thanks!
Hmm. Three possibilities. Google, “leg lamb cumin” turns up this.
http://www.lowcarb.ca/karen/recipe007.html
No mention of marinating in brandy.
And this.
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/africa/morocco/lamb-leg1.html
Also no mention of marinade.
And this. “marinated roasted leg lamb brandy” turns up the fact that there’s something called “Gigot d’Agneau en Chevreuil f. Marinated-roasted leg of lamb, peppercorn sauce”, the recipe for which unfortunately is not found in English, so I look under “leg lamb peppercorn”, and find this.
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/lamb/peppercorn-crusted-roast-leg-of-lamb-recipe.html
It’s marinated overnight in burgundy, but I suppose you could use brandy, and I suppose you could flame it if you wanted to.
The reason why your dad’s recipe might have had the lamb wrapped in cheesecloth during the marinade might be because it was a butterflied leg of lamb, i.e. boned, and the cheesecloth was to hold it together in a tidy bundle. Most cooks just use twine to hold roasts together.
Thanks, Duck!
I actually found all of those recipes last night. Unfortunately, it is the brandy part that I am most after.
FYI - growing up poor, it was always bone-in leg and save the leftovers for stock. Mmmm, lamb stock . . .
Do a search for one of Zenster’s recipe threads.
We had a food thread going in Cafe Society the other night, and got quite a few responses. Email a mod to see if you should move this over there.
I see this is many years ago but I think I have found the recipe you seek. It seems to meet all your criteria of lamb, brandy, cumin, cheesecloth and flaming! I registered here just to answer your post.
http://www.cooks.com/recipe/ra2np9y7/special-lamb-roast.html
SPECIAL LAMB ROAST
5 to 6 lb. leg of lamb
2 cloves garlic, slivered
1 c. brandy
1 tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed black pepper
1/2 c. dry sherry
1/2 c. white wine
You will also need cheesecloth.
Mix together white wine, sherry and 1/4 cup brandy. Use for basting.
Make holes in lamb with sharp knife and insert garlic in holes. Drench cheesecloth with 1/2 cup brandy and wrap lamb in it. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix cumin, salt and pepper. Unwrap lamb; press spices into lamb and place on rack, fat side up. Roast for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and baste with wine mixture frequently. Remove meat and place on rack; let sit for 15 minutes. Heat remaining brandy; pour over lamb and ignite. Garnish and serve.
Moderator Action
Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society.
It’s leg of lamb for this 4th of July in the Kinthalis household!
Did you check in the BBQ Pit? 
Inside joke. If someone is trolling in the Pit, posters will sometimes start posting recipes to disrupt the troll.
ETA - And now I see this thread is a zombie, which makes my joke rather pointless. :smack:
For what it’s worth, this is the exact recipe that I was looking for 16 years ago.
I find it tastes better if you add braaaaaainnnnnnssssss.
I think Roald Dahl had a recipe for it.