Embrace tradition of lamb for Easter

Embrace tradition of lamb for Easter

Story by Bailey Watts

Photos courtesy of Grassroots Farm

A holiday meal has roots within the cradles of the first civilizations and now, finds its way to Americans’ dinner tables every year.

Lamb has long been a cherished traditional meal for the spring season. An Ohio farm is ensuring your next feast is not only sublime but healthy.

Grassroots Farm is a far cry from the industrial food scene. This farm sits between Cincinnati and Columbus in Cynthiana and has been in the care of the Wulsin family since 1968. It has been almost 30 years since the farm adopted a New-Zealand style grass-fed program.

Its 300 acres serve as a green nursery for several kinds of animals that are raised without GMOs, pesticides or chemicals. The farm also employs the use of solar power. At the heart of their enterprise, Grassroots Graziers LLC has three words in mind; “Health, Taste, Connection.”

Lamb is a winner for zinc and iron, as both keep our immune systems strong.

The lamb is 100% grass-fed on a roaming basis. Every three months the sheep are blessed to see a new fresh patch of land to graze upon.

Drausin Wulsin, explained, “It’s not a simple trick, rotation and rest periods, to take care of them and keep them protected.”

Even in the winter they care for them just as vigilantly. Guard dogs and herding dogs see to it the sheep are contained and protected from any outside threat.

Wulsin would elaborate that it’s because of his staff that it’s possible to have such a good product.

One secret to their success Wulsin would explain is that instead of the common wool sheep, the farm raises hair sheep. These sheep render the meat very easy to eat, even for children.

The labor-intensive work yields a, “truly tender and exquisite product.” Wulsin likened it to the brilliant tastes of wild-caught salmon.

If lamb isn’t your style, the farm has plenty of other products as well. Beef is a strong contender and a popular meat.

Wulsin explains that their eggs are nothing to sleep on. Their eggs are evidently farm fresh in the color of the yolk, and the “exquisite taste” of the egg.

But for an Easter dinner, the thousands-year-old traditional lamb may be one to stick with.

The family farm ships prepared meals, or if you’d prefer can go and pick them up yourself. To check out their farm and products, visit grassrootsfoods.biz.

Whether you’re remembering sacrifice or just aiming for a healthy holiday meal, lamb has been the go-to dish for thousands of years.

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The farmers were kind enough to share one of their favorite lamb dishes. While it may be a challenge to get just right, the challenge is well worth it.

Bone-In Leg of Lamb

4-pound bone-in leg of lamb

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

4-6 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup water

In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper and rosemary.

Cut slits in the roast with the tip of a paring knife and slip in the peeled garlic cloves.

Brush the oil onto the roast and rub the seasoning mix onto all the meat surfaces.

Place leg, meaty side up, in a roasting pan on a flat rack and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 450 degrees and move oven rack to lowest position.

Pour water into the bottom of the pan, and roast for 10 minutes. Turn leg over and roast for another 10 minutes. Turn leg over again and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Continue turning leg over every 20 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 130 degrees for rare or 135 degrees for medium-rare. (Total cooking time is about an hour, depending on size of leg and preference for doneness.)

Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Salt Magazine




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