Will It Be Lamb Or Ham This Easter?

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

The two most popular centerpiece dishes of an Easter Sunday dinner are roast lamb or glazed ham. An informal survey reveals that these are equally well-liked choices, and opinions run strong about having one or the other. Based on what you see at a regular supermarket, ham is the thing. But go to the local specialty butcher or farmer’s market in the spring and you are just as likely to find whole lambs or all different cuts of it for sale.

Both have their traditional places on the springtime table. Lamb has been regarded as a religious symbol since ancient times. It was at the Last Supper, and Jesus has been depicted as the lamb of God. The Pope has dined on roast suckling lamb at Easter dinner for thousands of years. Lamb is served symbolically for both Easter and Passover. It’s also especially important to Orthodox religions, with a whole lamb roasting on a hand turned spit as a common sight at Greek Easter celebrations.

Ham is common to those who celebrate Easter in more northern climates, where historically, preserved ham was the last big cut of meat that might be available at the end of the winter. It’s a fairly forgiving meal to cook, and appeals to a wide variety of palates. Plus you usually end up with plenty of leftovers, great for sandwiches and soups.

What both ham and lamb have in common is being served with a sweet sauce or glaze. Lamb has its traditional mint jelly, while ham is often seen adorned with pineapple rings and glaze, or another equally sweet sauce.

While my husband grew up eating a ham dinner on most major holidays, he has converted to my side of the family’s preference for lamb at Easter. Roast lamb with mint sauce goes way back as our longstanding Easter family tradition.

I’ll never forget the year my family took a spring trip to a local farm. That was the year my sister and I each got our own pet bunnies, and my parents purchased a whole lamb, butchered into the different cuts. We came home with quite the carload! We had some lamb for Easter dinner and a whole freezer full that lasted well into the summer (Lamb burgers anyone?).

Now I can’t say that we kids had a ton of enthusiasm for eating that farm raised lamb, in large part because right next to the bunny hutches, we had seen all the cute spring lambs frolicking in the meadow and destined to be someone else's Easter dinner. We were in the prime years of loving fuzzy little animals. But over time I have grown to really love lamb, especially when I can get my hands on the flavorful free-range variety as opposed to fattier, corn fed lamb. Grass fed lamb's flavor varied depending on the season. In the springtime they feed on grass containing onion and chives.

Try roasting your favorite cut of lamb over an outdoor barbecue to enjoy a feast like the Pope this Easter. With an olive oil herb marinade, the lamb becomes tender and flavorful. The cooking time will vary depending on which cut you choose. Rack of lamb or lamb chops cook the fastest, followed by loin and shoulder, followed by leg. For a mixed grill just stagger the cooking times. Lamb is cooked to medium rareness when it reaches an internal temperature of 125 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, more or less for well done or rare.

It pairs so well with a simple homemade mint sauce, and spring side dishes of roasted baby red potatoes and asparagus. And if you have any staunch ham lovers to feed, you can throw a ham steak on the grill while you’re at it!

Serves/Makes: 8

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs, chopped
• 6 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped
• 6 fresh oregano sprigs, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 8 pounds leg of lamb, boned, trimmed, and butterflied by butcher
• salt and black pepper, to taste

***Garlic Mint Sauce***

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• salt and black pepper, to taste