By Shavaugh Moss, Guardian's Lifestyles Editor

Derek Whyms shares his secret to the perfect lamb — every time

The first time you cut into a vacuum-sealed bagged leg of lamb, and get a whiff of the odious scent that greets you, it can turn you off from cooking that meat ever again. To make matters worse, if you get past the scent, and get the leg into the oven, if the meat isn't seasoned and cooked just right, the gamey taste that will come through can make for a disastrous meal.

Once done right — cleaned and seasoned well, and not over-cooked, your lamb will be naturally tender and extremely flavorful, and the hit of your dinner table.

There is some debate over which method yields the best results - slow cooking at low heat the entire time, or searing first on high heat and then slow cooking.

While I veer towards the high heat method, with a little crispy exterior, and a moist interior, one taste of a lamb prepared via Derek R. Whyms' low and slow method, and I was hooked.

The Family and Consumer Science Department head of department at Queen's College and proprietor of First Class Caterers & Event Planning has a fool-proof recipe for seasoning and cooking lamb, which will never let you down, make for a fabulous showing, and have people begging for seconds and thirds ... maybe even fourths, whenever you put it on the dinner table.

He says the first step to ensuring that your lamb is perfect every time is ensuring that the meat is clean, and devoid of the stomach-churning odor that you smell when you cut into the wrapping, and which he says is actually the scent of the blood that the meat has been sitting in.

"The first thing I do is clean the lamb by running cold water over it, and washing it with a lot of lime, rubbing the lime all over the meat, because the acid from the lime is going to help kill that scent. Now some persons don't like vinegar on their meat, and it's a preference, but for me, it isn't clean unless I clean my meat with vinegar," said Whyms.

His trick, a clear water rinse, then complete rub down with lime, then vinegar, then another clear water rinse, while you try to discard some of the extra fat. Whyms says you don't have to remove all of the fat, because it will roast off in the cooking.

After a thorough cleaning, he says proper seasoning is essential for a tender and delicious lamb. There are a number of recipes out there that tell you what to do, but Whyms' tender, succulent lamb calls for a rub of fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, (never use dry, because it doesn't have the flavor), garlic powder, Season-all and black pepper, onions, mint sauce and his secret weapons — Worcestershire sauce and pepper.

With a culinary syringe he injects the Worcestershire sauce into the meat in different places. He suggests you use as much as two cups, or to your liking. "It adds a flavor that is out of this world. There's always that something else flavor that persons can't figure out what it is, and this (Worcestershire sauce) is it in this instance. Worcestershire sauce has everything in it except the kitchen sink, which makes it an excellent sauce. After injecting the lamb with the sauce, he allows it to sit overnight in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, Whyms fine-chops rosemary and thyme, avoiding most of the stems, then adds the herbs to a combination of garlic powder, Season-all and black pepper which he rubs liberally over the entire lamb. Laughingly, he says while massaging the seasoning rub into the meat is a good time to chat with your significant other.

Then it's time for his secret ingredient number two — hot pepper. "You haven't had lamb until you've had some nice hot pepper over it."

He slices onions, an aromatic vegetable that he says adds flavor to any dish, which he spreads over the lamb, then he tops that with lots more sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary.

Like a true teacher, he encourages you to clean up the kitchen as you cook, and says by the time you're finished cooking, your kitchen should be clean, and you should have nothing to do.

He next pours mint sauce on top of the lamb, (not mint jelly, that's served on the plate, alongside the meat) which he says will work its way into the meat. He lifts the lamb out of the pan and onto heavy-duty aluminum foil, ensuring that all of the seasonings are transferred onto the lamb.

He gathers the foil around the lamb, enrobing the meat, then pours the Worcestershire sauce out of the pan onto the meat. He seals that package in another foil wrap and places it into a baking pan with a water bath that will give the meat a steam as it cooks, and adds moisture at the same time. He then cooks his lamb low and slow at 300 degrees for approximately two hours.

"The slower you cook it, the more tender it gets," says Whyms. He adds that if his wife Sharlene is upset with him for any reason, he either whips up a roast lamb leg or stuffed grouper for her, and all is forgiven, and the world is right again.

He also prefers to roast a bone-in leg of lamb, as opposed to boneless, because he says you get more flavor from the bone.

Whyms also says that a cardinal rule that should never be broken is taking the lamb, or any meat for that matter out of the oven and cutting into it right away. He insists that you allow the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes, prior to cutting into it. "It allows all the juices to go back into the meat, but if you cut it right away, as soon as you cut it the juice runs out, which will make it tough."

He says lamb is an acquired taste, but says that his method of preparation for his leg of lamb can be applied to almost any cut from chops, to the rack of lamb.

If you don't want to use the Worcestershire sauce, another secret he uses to produce a delicious lamb is cream of mushroom soup, which he pours over the lamb, with all the other seasonings, which he says is also fantastic.

Naturally tender and extremely flavorful, leg of lamb is best roasted, whole, boneless or stuffed. Boned and butterflied, and smaller thinner cuts of the leg such as lamb steaks, chops or kebabs, can be grilled, broiled or sautéed. The flavor and texture of lamb is best when it is not cooked past medium. Tender, lean leg meat does not hold up well to the long cooking of a stew.

Leg of lamb comes in several forms, but most common is the whole leg on the bone, which enhances the flavor. These generally weigh from seven to nine pounds untrimmed, but may weigh five pounds or less. Figure on eight to 10 ounces per person of bone in lamb per serving.

A fully boneless leg is referred to as butterflied leg of lamb, and is perfect for stuffing and rolling or simply grilling or broiling. When buying a boneless leg allow six to eight ounces per person. As a general rule, when cooking leg of lamb, figure on 10-13 minutes per pound for a large leg (over seven pounds), eight to nine minutes per pound for a smaller leg, (five to seven pounds).

Whyms likes to add a Bahamian flair to his leg of lamb, and likes to serve it with a breadfruit mash (made the same way as you would mashed potatoes), and tamarind sauce drizzle, which made for a delicious blend of savory and sweet.

Whyms studied culinary art at the College of the Bahamas. He got into teaching full-time, after an unfortunate incident at work. As an active member of his church, he had to travel a lot, and sought time off from his boss for a church activity. He said his then boss told him he needed to go and work for the church full time. He couldn't take it anymore, and ended up in the school system where he has been teaching for 12 years — the past two of which have been at Q.C. He previously taught at Jordan Prince Williams and Charles W. Saunders high schools.

In the school system, Whyms prides himself on producing high standards amongst his students, and is never satisfied with mediocrity. He pushes them to bring out their best, and says his greatest satisfaction is when his students are successful.

Whyms credits his high school teacher, Joy Wood, at L.W. Young for bringing out his love for the culinary arts, which gave him his career. He said she made the class interesting, and he does his best to ensure that he makes it just as interesting for his students.

When not teaching, Whyms finds time to engage in other culinary exploits, and is a partner in First Class Caterers and Event Planning, a company which allows him to create tantalizing cuisine using indigenous Bahamian products. They also offer a service where they plan your entire events, and even do house calls. They come to you, and prepare and serve a three-course meal of soup, salad and entrée. For dessert, they decorate your bedroom with body oils, rose petals, lingerie ... and the rest is up to you. They don't even try to clean up. They leave you to your devices, and return the next day to clean up and collect their stuff. The standard price is $275, but according to your wishes, the price varies.

Derek Whyms' Herb

Roasted Leg of Lamb

1 leg of lamb

1 fresh bunch of thyme

1 fresh bunch of rosemary

2 cups Worcestershire sauce

2 goat peppers/red peppers

2 tablespoons fresh garlic

2 tablespoons Season-all

2 large onions

1 jar mint sauce

2 tablespoons black pepper

4 limes

Clean lamb with lime and vinegar.

Inject with Worcestershire sauce and rub sauce and mint sauce over surface off lamb, and marinate over night in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl combine chopped herbs and seasonings, and spread over lamb. Add sprigs of thyme, basil and rosemary leaves. Add chopped pepper and sliced onion.

Wrap lamb leg in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place in steam bath and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.

Tamarind Sauce

1 box of tamarind

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Combine tamarind, sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium-low heat, and allow to come to a boil. Add balsamic vinegar. Strain to remove seeds.

Breadfruit Mash

1 medium breadfruit (boiled with skin on)

Butter, to taste

Cream, to taste

Dash of salt

White pepper (Seasoning salt can be substituted)

Peel off breadfruit skin and mash.

Add butter and continue to mash.

Add seasonings (salt and pepper).

Combine and put over water bath until ready to serve.

Mound breadfruit mash onto a plate, fan sliced lamb meat on top, drizzle with tamarind sauce and serve.