lamb: beyond the roasted leg

[iainpb]

I had lamb tongue recently in a restaurant served as part of an assiette of lamb, absolutely delicious! It seemed to be just lightly fried and I imagine it's quite a cheap cut.

Edited April 26, 2011 by iainpb (log)

[Okanagancook]

Yes, we have roasted a whole lamb 10 years ago for my hubby's 50th and we are planning on doing another in Oct. for his 60th. The lamb was around 50 lbs. I made a rub with lemon zest, garlic, butter, ground rice (helps the rub to stick on the lamb rather than slither off with the melting butter), other spices (can't remember). Also stuffed the cavity with onion, lemon halves and rosemary I think...then sowed it up. The thing of it was, we thought it would take around hours but it was medium-medium-rare in about 3 1/2 hours. It was fantastic and even people who said they don't like lamb couldn't get enough..here are some pics of what we did. Also, the weather outside in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in October was cool...right around freezing because we had a few snow flakes during the cooking.

[foodperestroika]

Since you seem to like lamb brains, you could try this recipe (the recipe mentions pork brains, but lamb will work just as well). You also check out the braised lamb tongues here.

[annachan]

Used to make lamb meatballs in korma sauce. Made lamb pie (ground lamb w/ onion and peas, seasoned with cumin and garam marsala - baked in puff pastries) for a pot luck last week. Kefta kabob is another lamb favorite.

[ChrisTaylor]

I ended up abandoning the idea of a spit-roasted lamb as I don't think such a night is a good time to experiment.

Anyway, the night is set for next Saturday. Here's the menu so far:

'Bean soup' from Roden's New Middle Eastern Food. Basically a big pot of beans, lentils, split-peas, vegetables (tomatoes, eggplants, onions mainly) and lamb. She uses lamb shoulder in the recipe but mentions that the real deal is usually made with the lamb's head and trotters. I can get lamb trotters locally and intend to use them--both in the stock, which I'm making today, and in the soup itself. The butcher reckons he can probably get one or two lamb heads for me in time for the big day. I was surprised at how much they charged me for the lamb trotters.

'Orechiette with lamb neck sugo' from Adrian Richardson's Meat cookbook. Made this a few times and really enjoy it. Easy to prepare for a crowd.

I'll also prepare some lamb ribs--seasoned with little more than salt and pepper and maybe a good squeeze of lemon juice to cut through the fat.

Considering possibilities for side dishes. My oven is largely going to be taken over by these dishes so my go-to sides--roast potatoes and other roast vegetables--are off the menu.

[Miranda]

How about

Mafé

Mafé (or Mafe, Maffé, Maffe, or Maafe), a traditional dish of the Wolof people of Senegal and Gambia, is one of the many variations of the African Groundnut Stew. It is often made with lamb or mutton (as is presented here); it can also be made with fowl, fish (fresh or dried) or in a vegetarian version. The basic Mafé recipe calls for: meat; onion; oil; tomato paste; peanut (or peanut butter); a vegetable or two, chile pepper, salt, black pepper, and water.

It can be prepared ahead, and cooked on the stove top, and I'm sure you can tart it up to be more gourmetish,

Couscous as a side dish seems an obvious suggestion

[Miranda]

If ChrisTaylor can get the smoker he's been talking about elsewhere, those braise-ready cuts like neck and shoulder can be brined, rubbed, and smoked for a long time to excellent effect.

Don't know which smoker Chris has been talking about, but mistygulley.com.au have the Masterbuilt on sale for $399.

[Baron d'Apcher]

I work (and live next to) a 35 acre farm on the North Fork of Long Island (NY). We raise Icelandic sheep in addition to pigs and chickens. The racks are always the most popular, which, like Paris Hilton and Zsa Zsa Gabor’s celebrity baffles me. The subtle variations between sub-primal muscles of the leg are nothing short of delicious when treated well. Below, from left to right: boneless neck, boneless shoulder "pumpkin", shank, shoulder chops, rack, breast/ribs, boneless saddle, top sirloin, knuckle, outside round, top round, shank.

 

 

For those with more time and mouths to feed, I recommend the lamb pumpkins which are boneless shoulders (no shank) filled with merguez sausage (all lamb), bound with pancetta and wrapped in caul fat. They beckon crock pots or slow braise situations.

 

 

Then there are the saddles which I de-bone and tie up. The loin, tenderloin, skirt and what would be the butt flap on a steer. The sinew, membranes and fat is judiciously removed, seasoned with ground juniper, rosemary and black pepper and rolled up. They roast well in cast iron pans or rotated slowly on the grill as on a rotisserie.

 

And with trimmings I make winter crepinettes with lamb, bread crumb, Pecorino, milk, Meyer lemon and oregano.  Wrapped in caul fat from the pigs.

 

There are indeed far more options beyond the leg, rack and shanks.  Makes one wonder where the rest often goes.

[Okanagancook]

Beautiful looking meat.  Nice string work too!

We get free range, grass fed lambs each year from a farm not far from here.

We used to be able to get them whole so we could cut them up as we liked but that can't happen anymore.  I really enjoyed the butchery.  Oh well.

The necks are usually sliced which I do a nice braise with.  Fantastic meat.

The tongues and hearts I am in the process of cooking sous vide.

The legs are so tender one can cut thick steaks and grill them.  Some end up in curries or kebabs.

Most of the other meat are chops or whole shoulders/legs.

The 'stew' meat is awful...usually the belly so it is very, very fatty.  I spend the time trimming and that is made into stews/braises.  Thankfully there aren't many packages of that.

Can't get caul fat here.