Hispanic Heritage · Argentina

La Patagonia

San Carlos de Bariloche · Villa La Angostura · San Martín de los Andes · El Bolsón · Neuquén · Cipolletti

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Cordero patagónico al horno con salmuera

Descubre

Patagonia’s lamb traditions inspire this oven-roasted version with salmuera, a seasoned brine. It brings the relationship between meat, salt, herbs, and a patient cook into a home kitchen.

La Gente

Follow the roasting guidance and check doneness rather than relying on time alone. Let the lamb rest before carving. The brine seasons as directed, while the roast itself supplies the richness at the center of the meal.

Sabor

Patagonia cooks with salt, smoke, and herbs. Lamb and salmuera, trout and lemon, game with the wild fruit of the forest. Garlic and oregano carry the seasoning, with ají molido in the brine for the families who like a little warmth. Nothing is sweet except the calafate jam at breakfast and the chocolate at four.

Spice DNA · Smoke high · Herb high · Acid medium · Heat low · Sweet none

Seasonings to explore

• Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the salmuera. Adds a savory garlic base.
• Oregano, whole. In the salmuera and on the lamb.
• Crushed Red Pepper. Ají molido in the brine, for the families who do.
• Black Pepper, ground. On the lamb.
• Parsley flakes. In the brine when there is no fresh, which on the steppe is often.
• Thyme leaves. In the brine.
• Paprika. A pinch, for color on the skin.

From your market: a bone-in leg of lamb (a whole lamb on a cross is for the estancia; the leg is the home version), lemons, coarse salt, potatoes, and hardwood. Badia does not sell the wind. Open a window.

Cocina

Cordero patagónico al horno con salmuera

Leg of lamb, slow, brushed with the Patagonian brine. The cross and the wind are for the steppe. The oven gets you close.

Serves 6

Salmuera

• 2 cups warm water
• 3 tbsp coarse salt
• 3 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 6 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tbsp Badia Oregano, whole
• 1 tsp Badia Thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp Badia Parsley flakes, or a handful fresh
• 1 tsp Badia Crushed Red Pepper
• Juice of 2 lemons

The lamb

• 1 bone-in leg of lamb, 5 to 6 lb
• 1 tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
• 1 tsp Badia Paprika
• Coarse salt
• 2 lb potatoes, halved
• Olive oil

1. The brine. Dissolve the salt in the warm water. Stir in the garlic, oregano, thyme, parsley, ají, and lemon. Let it sit an hour.
2. The lamb. Score the fat side in a diamond pattern. Rub with pepper, paprika, and a little coarse salt. Set it fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Brush with salmuera.
3. Low and slow. 300°F, uncovered, 3½ to 4 hours, brushing with salmuera every 30 minutes. Halfway through, scatter the potatoes around the lamb in the pan with a little oil so they roast in the drippings.
4. The skin. For the last 20 minutes, raise the oven to 425°F, brush once more, and let the fat crisp and darken. Do not brush again after this; the brine would soften it.
5. Rest. 20 minutes under foil. Carve thick. The loin will be pink. The shank will fall apart. Both are correct.
6. Serve with the potatoes, bread, a green salad, and a Patagonian Merlot or Pinot Noir. If it is summer, eat outside, late, in whatever wind you have.

Pueblos de la Patagonia

San Carlos de Bariloche · Villa La Angostura · San Martín de los Andes · El Bolsón · Neuquén · Cipolletti · General Roca · Viedma · Puerto Madryn · Trelew · Gaiman · Rawson · Esquel · Trevelin · Comodoro Rivadavia · Río Gallegos · El Calafate · El Chaltén · Río Grande · Ushuaia

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