Recipe: Meatsmith’s French-Style Lamb Torchon Stands Out From Your Average Roast

Easter is right around the corner – and lamb is a quintessential centrepiece of the holiday feast. This French-inspired recipe, from Andrew McConnell and Troy Wheeler’s Melbourne butchery, Meatsmith, goes beyond the classic roast.

It takes cues from French torchon (which loosely translates to “dish towel”), a luxurious way of preparing foie gras. The traditional technique involves seasoning the foie gras, rolling it into a cylindrical log, and cooking it in a bain-marie before serving it cold, sliced into medallions. While the original takes a few days to prepare, this dish is far more approachable – it’s ready in just under three hours, including prep.

Meatsmith’s version sees a butterflied leg zhooshed up with a punchy Mediterranean trifecta: fresh herbs, lemon zest and umami-packed anchovies. “The anchovies don’t make the lamb taste fishy,” Wheeler explains. “Instead, they melt away during the roasting process, acting as a natural seasoning that amplifies the richness of the meat.”

Before cooking, you swaddle the lamb in caul fat – a lacy membrane that bastes the meat as it roasts over a bed of fennel and lemon. “The caul holds it neatly together and adds an extra layer of succulence,” says Wheeler. The result is a beautifully uniform roast that carves into perfect, herb-flecked rounds. (Note: if you’d prefer to skip the caul fat, kitchen twine will also do the trick.)

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Meatsmith’s lamb leg torchon

Serves 6–8

Preparation time: 40 minutes, plus 1 hour to chill

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

2kg boneless, butterflied leg of lamb

500g caul fat

½ bunch each of rosemary, thyme and oregano, leaves stripped from stems

Zest of 1 lemon

4 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped

½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, chopped

100ml olive oil

Salt and cracked black pepper to season

Kitchen twine for trussing

For roasting the lamb

Olive oil

Salt flakes

1 fennel bulb, cut into 8 pieces

1 onion, cut into 8 pieces

1 lemon, cut into 8 pieces

1 garlic bulb, cut into 8 pieces

Method

To assemble the torchon, lay a large sheet of caul fat down on a flat surface. Take a small pinch of the rosemary, thyme, oregano and lemon zest and sprinkle over the surface of the caul fat.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, place the remaining herbs, lemon zest, garlic, anchovy, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until well combined and set aside.

Lay out the boneless lamb leg flat on the bench with the fat side facing down. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and then spoon over a generous layer of the herb and anchovy mix. Any remaining mixture can be kept for dressing roasted vegetables later.

Roll the lamb up into a cylindrical shape and place it into the centre of your prepared caul fat, with the fat side facing down. Fold the caul fat over each end of the lamb, into the centre. Next, fold over the caul fat closest to you, then roll the lamb away from you to fully encase it.

Truss the torchon with the kitchen twine in about 3cm intervals until it is tightly held in shape. Set on a tray (uncovered) in your refrigerator for about 1 hour before you are ready to start cooking.

To cook the lamb, preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the fennel, onion, lemon and garlic in a roasting dish that will fit the lamb torchon.

Unwrap the torchon, drizzle with olive oil and rub all over until evenly coated. Place the torchon on top of the vegetables and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Roast the torchon for 60 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 52°C. Remove the torchon from its roasting dish and rest for at least 15 minutes.

To serve, slice the lamb into even pieces, around 1cm thick. Place on a warmed platter with the roasted vegetables and spoon over some of the roasting juices from the pan. Season with salt and serve with a whole roasted cauliflower cheese.

meatsmith.com.au