Pastramă de Miel Rapidă
Pastramă de Miel Rapidă·(pas-tra-muh de myel ra-pee-duh)
La Grătar (The Weekend Cookout)
Twenty minutes is the entire window between dropping your keys and turning a supermarket lamb shoulder into a garlic-laced pastramă that smells of freshly pressed wine. If you ask a Romanian about autumn, they don't give a damn about pumpkin spice—they want roasting meat, so we skip the seven-day cure for a wine-soaked marinade, slap the lamb into a cast-iron skillet, and let the fat blister and singe. Slice it thin across the grain, leave the juices on the board, and eat.
Before you start
Whip together a quick mujdei.
Smash 4 extra cloves of garlic with a generous pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of oil, and 2 tablespoons of water until sharp and pungent to serve as a sauce.
Ingredients
- boneless leg of lamb2 1/2 lb
- dry wine1 cup
- garlic1 head
- sunflower oil2 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- dried thyme1 tbsp
- smoked paprika1 tbsp
- hot paprika1 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- honey1 tsp
Method
- 01
Combine the marinade ingredients.
In a large zip-top bag, mix the wine, crushed head of garlic, oil, salt, thyme, paprikas, black pepper, and honey until the salt dissolves.
- 02
Marinate the lamb overnight.
Submerge the lamb in the bag, massage the liquid into the crevices of the meat, squeeze out the air, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. The wine tenderizes, the salt cures, and the garlic does the heavy lifting.
- 03
Dry the meat completely.
Remove the lamb from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking and aggressively pat it completely dry with paper towels. If it hits the grill wet, it steams instead of searing.
- 04
Grill over high heat.
Preheat a charcoal or gas grill to high. Cook the lamb directly over the heat for 5 to 7 minutes per side, letting the flames lick the fat, until a thermometer hits 135 F in the thickest part for a perfect medium-rare.
- 05
Rest and slice.
Transfer the lamb to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let it rest for a mandatory 10 minutes before slicing thinly against the grain.
Notes
Do not skimp on the garlic.
The marriage of thyme and heavy garlic is non-negotiable here. Raw garlic loses its aggressive bite over the fire and transforms into a deep, savory sweetness.
Serve with the classics.
Pastramă demands context. Serve it fanned out alongside steaming hot mămăligă (polenta) and drizzle generously with the mujdei you prepared earlier.
From Cook Romanian in America.