how DO i cook a 6lb deboned lamb tenderloin?

thank you in advance for your time, expertise, and any suggestions!


i am cooking a 5.74 lb deboned lamb tenderloin for christmas dinner.
this is my 2nd time with lamb and my FIRST with this particular 60 dollar cut of meat. . . .
HELP! hehe

most of the recipes i am finding for this particular cut suggest kebabs or chops but i would like to cook it, ideally, as one piece of meat OR as filets. it's a holiday, after all!

the best recipe i have found/deduced, so far, calls for a port reduction - basically, rub lamb in olive oil, garlic, cumin (i'll probably add some cinnamon and nutmeg), and then let the lamb sit for a couple of hours (some sources suggest that any sort of marinating/letting it set in this rub is silly?), then searing the lamb on all sides, and setting aside in a roasting pan or baking dish. then, place shallots (and other veggies if we like) in the pan and sautee those, then add port and deglaze the pan. then, finally, pour the sauce/veggies over the lamb and roast in a 350 degree oven for 10-20 mins depending on how cooked we want it. i've read 145 degrees for med rare and 160 degrees for medium.

does anyone have any suggestions for recipes, tips, trouble-shooting ideas, for me?

my parents are NOT super into the rare meat thing but i am reading, too, that one does NOT want to overcook lamb.
ideas/insight about this issue?

thank you, again!

happy holidays!

Hi,

You might want to call your butcher. The average lamb tenderloin weighs in at about 2.5 pounds.

Tim

Hi,

All tenderloins are without bone. Is it possible you are making a deboned leg of lamb?

Regards,

it's a tenderloin! and 5.74 lbs. we specifically ordered it - without first figuring out what to do with it

Hi,

The last two evenings, I have had venison backstrap or tenderloin.

I rubbed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, then let them come to room temperature (about an hour). I seared them, then put them in a 350 degree oven until they came to 125-130 degrees. By the time I served them after tenting with foil to rest for 10 minutes, they had internal temperature of 135 to 140 degrees. I think this would work well for your lamb, too.

While the meat was resting, I made a gravy with the pan juices.

Regards,

femalemadman wrote:it's a tenderloin! and 5.74 lbs. we specifically ordered it - without first figuring out what to do with it

Female,

Your butcher "pulled the wool", so to speak.

Beef tenderloins average 5 to 7.5 lbs.
Pork tenderloins average roughly a pound or so.

A 6 lb. Boneless Lamb tenderloin would have to come from a 1000 lb. Lamb!!!

My guess is that you have a boned leg of lamb. A fine roast, but not at tenderloin prices.

Lamb tenders, even from large domestic lamb, weigh in at half pound or less!

It could be a lamb loin even if not the tenderloin. 5 lbs is on the large size but not unheard of.

Bnls. Domestic lamb loins are 1 to 1.5 biggest.

And I've seen a lot of them over the years.

6# loin. No way

Mutton?

And, since when would a tenderloin need to be deboned?

Hi,

Maybe she can upload a picture, then we will know what is going on.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Maybe she can upload a picture, then we will know what is going on.

Regards,

Ah, but then we'd KNOW. And if we know, then we can't speculate endlessly. And what fun would that be?!

Whatever it is isn't going to cook in 10-20 minutes.

teatpuller wrote:Whatever it is isn't going to cook in 10-20 minutes.

Depends on the recipe....

http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/ ... herb-salad



Ron

FWIW lamb tenderloins are really small

the two little strings of meat in the upper portion of the lower right image
are lamb tenderloins and they weigh no more than /5 lb each

Like I said...boned and rolled lamb leg.

uh.. go demand your money back.

To get back to your question, OP: I suggest that you tie the meat to hold a round shape through cooking, take it out of the refrigerator an hour before you start preheating the oven, season the meat however you like (salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary?), roast it at anywhere from 250 to 325 deg F depending on how fast you want it to go (ballpark 15-20 minutes per pound at 325, more like 20-25 minutes per pound at 250; I like to go longer at a lower temperature; you might be in more of a hurry), take it out of the oven at 120-125 deg F if you like it medium-rare, 130-135 if you like it medium [the temperature will climb some more after it comes out of the oven], and let it rest 20 minutes or so before slicing, to allow the juices to redistribute themselves in the meat. I'm going by memory on those temperatures; if you have some cookbooks around to consult, whatever temperature is right for whatever doneness you like in beef is also the right temperature for lamb.

femalemadman:

I'm very curious as to what you finally ended up doing with your lamb.
How did it come out?

Can you post an update for those of us sitting on the edges of our chairs?

Happy holidays!

oh, sorry! had no idea how exciting my post was ha

the lamb turned out really, really yummy!
i was confused about a few things but figured them out with a little research/logic.
first, it was a lamb loin roast i believe not a "tenderloin" - otherwise phrased as Rolled Roast Lamb Loin or some such thing.

this is how i prepared it:

Two hours before searing, mix cumin, olive oil, and cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and about 6 cloves, finely minced garlic into a rub and rub all over the lamb.
Place in large ziploc bag or roasting bag and put in freezer to sit, turn once or twice if you think of it.

In roasting pan or saute pan, heat olive oil and place lamb loin roast in pan - sear all sides of the lamb roast.

Remove lamb from roasting/saute pan and place 2 or 3 shallots, well chopped/almost minced into the pan and saute until soft.
Add some garlic if you like.

Place pre-chopped roughly chopped carrots, celery, and onion into pan and saute for a few minutes to bring out flavors.
Place 3 cups of port wine into and and deglaze pan. Reduce sauce a bit.

Place lamb back in pan and nestle atop/among the veggies. Scoop reduced sauce and veggies over lamb and then place in oven to roast.

In 350 degree oven, a 5.74lb lamb roast took approx 60 mins.
So, approx 10 mins/lb.
Recommend roasting for 30 mins and then checking every 10.

Want the middle to be at least 145 degrees F via meat thermometer (MR) - that way, the ends will inevitably be more M/done.

Remove lamb and let rest for 5-10 mins.

END scrumptious end!