By Liane Arno
MATT celebrated his 21st birthday in Portugal and has very fond memories of it. Like all of us at that age embarking on the “grand tour” after leaving school he didn’t have much money, but he had enough to buy a small bottle of white port which he kept untouched and safe despite walking away from so many possessions in his life’s journey.
And so more than 50 years later we decided to travel back and see if we could find the place where he reached the age of majority.
We didn’t manage to find the Port House where the bottle of port was manufactured but that was easily made up for the fact that we absorbed ourselves into the Mediterranean way of life, which means plenty of eating and drinking.
MATT celebrated his 21st birthday in Portugal and has very fond memories of it. Like all of us at that age embarking on the “grand tour” after leaving school he didn’t have much money, but he had enough to buy a small bottle of white port which he kept untouched and safe despite walking away from so many possessions in his life’s journey.
And so more than 50 years later we decided to travel back and see if we could find the place where he reached the age of majority.
We didn’t manage to find the Port House where the bottle of port was manufactured but that was easily made up for the fact that we absorbed ourselves into the Mediterranean way of life, which means plenty of eating and drinking.
Ever since I met Matt he had been making his Portuguese Lamb – a slow cooked piece of heaven. At this time of year with lamb in season you will find plenty of legs that are either boned or with the bone in them.
If you buy a boneless leg of lamb it will cost around 50 per cent more than one with the bone in it. The weight of the bone is less than 20 per cent of the weight of the lamb with the bone in it – so you make quite a saving if you bone the lamb yourself. And it is so easy.
You don’t have to bone the lamb, of course, for the recipe. Some say that you should always leave the bone in for better flavour as the bone marrow is released. It may well be but if you don’t remove the gland (see below) it can permeate the whole meal and make the lamb taste quite gamey. And boned lamb is easy to carve of course and allows the marinade to be more evenly distributed.
So if you want to bone your lamb, just follow these directions. If not, skip to the recipe.
If you buy a boneless leg of lamb it will cost around 50 per cent more than one with the bone in it. The weight of the bone is less than 20 per cent of the weight of the lamb with the bone in it – so you make quite a saving if you bone the lamb yourself. And it is so easy.
You don’t have to bone the lamb, of course, for the recipe. Some say that you should always leave the bone in for better flavour as the bone marrow is released. It may well be but if you don’t remove the gland (see below) it can permeate the whole meal and make the lamb taste quite gamey. And boned lamb is easy to carve of course and allows the marinade to be more evenly distributed.
So if you want to bone your lamb, just follow these directions. If not, skip to the recipe.
Place your leg of lamb in a marinade overnight consisting of:
Cook in a slow cooker or in your oven for 160 degrees for about 5 hours. You should be able to pull it apart.
Add flour to the delicious juices to make a fabulous gravy which can be liberally poured over not just your lamb but the mashed spuds you have made to accompany the meal.
- Port
- Bacon
- Onion
- Garlic
- Prunes
- White wine
- Olive Oil
- Olives
Cook in a slow cooker or in your oven for 160 degrees for about 5 hours. You should be able to pull it apart.
Add flour to the delicious juices to make a fabulous gravy which can be liberally poured over not just your lamb but the mashed spuds you have made to accompany the meal.
We ate ours at Phil’s holiday place overlooking Western Port Bay. A bit of a rustic presentation but you can’t complain about the view!
* The age of majority didn’t change to 18 until 1977.
* The age of majority didn’t change to 18 until 1977.