Lamb ... mmm.... Lamb

[prasad2]

Australian lamb and New Zealand Lamb (Leg of Lamb and Rack of Lamb) is pretty popular world wide in most cuisines.

Where does your favorite Lamb come from? Which cuisine? What are your favorite Lamb preparations? Any Recipes?

Is it Australian Lamb?

Is it New Zealand Lamb?

Is it American Lamb?

Any other Lamb?

P2

[Chef/Writer Spencer]

American domestic lamb, specifically Colorado lamb. You'll never go back.....

[nervousnelli]

I've been buying lamb racks labeled "Austral" only because I don't have much money and that's the cheapest around. I believe it's Australian raised lamb that has an American shipper/distributor. Because I'm a Greek I've been eating lamb all my life and I find the "Austral" to be of good quality compared to what I'm familiar with due to my family background. It's available in those "big box" stores such as Costco and Sam's Club but I've also found it in my local Stop and Shop supermarket.

[Niall]

I always just eat the good stuff our local butcher has; I assume it's all australian. Usually I get a few loin chops. Unfortunately my girlfriend is a heathen who doesn't like lamb, but when I'm at home without her I eat well.

The best lamb I have ever tasted though was before I left Ireland; I had a girlfriend whose parents owned a farm, and the spring lamb there was amazing. Very juicy and succulent and yummy.

Edited May 20, 2003 by Niall (log)

[prasad2]

American domestic lamb, specifically Colorado lamb.  You'll never go back.....

I agree with you chef/writer Spencer

What are your favorite preparations with Coloradao Lamb? Why do you think you will never go back to another Lamb vs Australian or New Zealand?

[docsconz]

My favorite lamb that I can get readily is lamb from right here in upstate NY at 3-Corner Field Farm. I did very much enjoy Kamouraska lamb I had in Montreal. They are very different and very distinctive, the Kamouraska having a stronger lamb flavor. I would very much like to try a presale' lamb, sometime.

[Pam R]

I have a lamb roast thawing (it's a shoulder, not a leg) and all I can think about is the wonderful lamb roasts I enjoyed in a local pub in Melbourne (and Sydney and Hobart and Surfer's P...etc)

The problem is that it's been a few years since I've been there and though I can almost taste it (and am sure it's a simple recipe) I don't know how to recreate it.

Come on you Aussies - I'm sure you all know how to make a typical Australian lamb roast.... please share?

[Shalmanese]

Could you give us a clue?

I typically marinade a butterflied leg of lamb for 24 hours in some garlic, rosemary, salt, EVOO & white wine.

Then smear the inside liberally with mustard, salt, pepper & herbs and tie it up. Score the outside fat and insert some slivers of garlic and roast in a 500F oven for 15 minutes and then turn off the oven and let the lamb coast to med-rare.

Potato's underneath the lamb to soak up the yummy fat and juices are a must.

Usually, I also get the butcher to chop up the lamb bone when he butterflies along with any other scraps he happens to have on the day. Make lamb stock while the lamb is marinading and then reduce down to a demi to serve along-side the lamb.

Of course, your going to have to tell us what you had if you want the exact same thing.

[rlibkind]

You really don't have to do much with a shoulder roast, since that wonderful fat flavors it so nicely! Cut some garlic slivers and insert them into the meat. Salt and pepper, then roast in a medium oven to medium-well (shoulder doesn't do well pink). Or do it Moroccan style, which is pretty much the same, except you rub it with lots of butter and roast it in a slow oven for hours, basting it as often as possible with the butter (use more if needed). And in lieu of an oven, you can always use the indirect grill method.

The only thing else you'll need is a nice red wine!

Really, you don't need to do much at all to make a perfectly scrumptious roast lamb shoulder.

PS: I'm not an Aussie, if that matters.

Alternative recipe that requires some forethought and modest effort:

Marinate the lamb (on the bone or off, your choice) for 24 hours in full-fat yogurt in the refrigerator. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.

Crush and mince at least three or four cloves of garlic (six or seven are better) with a tablespoon or so of kosher salt. To this mix in some sage (dried or fresh), crushed coridander seeds and crushed black pepper. Rub all over the lamb and let it sit in the fridge for another 24 hours.

After second marination, light your fire: moderate oven or indirect over moderate grill heat. Roast 'til done. If you use a leg reather than a shoulder, you can cook it rare. If it's a shoulder, let it cook to medium-well.

[RooStew]

Last time I was home I picked up a leg of spring lamb (along with a bunch of other tasty treats) from queen vic markets and cooked it up for the family. I marinated it in heaps of red wine, garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, lemon zest and mirepoix overnight. I then pulled it, dried it and sealed it in a roasting pan. Deglazed with the red wine, mirepoix etc, covered it and popped it in the oven at about 150' for 2.5 odd hours. It just fell off the bone. I can tast it now.mmmmmm.

I miss home.

[PCL]

I sympathise mate.

When living in London, we attempted lamb roasts that never quite made the mark.

No access to it right now, but the Webber's a great way to do lamb leg roast. Rosemary, garlic slivers all over, salt, pepper, rubbings of mixed herbs, salt, oil/butter. Cover and walk away. Come back in a bit. Voila!

Tried to do the same in the oven, but messy with the pre-searing and all that.

Sauce: Deglaze pan, demi and wine, mount with butter, chopped parsley and garlic sauteed mushies, more parsley, wedge of lemon to go round the table, roast potatoes in garlic and rosemary.

[jackal10]

Don't fuss it

Either just bung it in a hot (400F/200C) oven for about an hour and a half; let it then rest for half an hour.

I guess if you are an Australian (I'm not) and its warm outside you can put it on the barbeque ovefr a layer of herbs; turning (and fresh herbs) after about half an hour.

or

Put in 140F/60C for seven hours or so - not time critical. Sear it first or brown it after if you like. Can use sous-vide if you have the equipment, but a plate-warming oven will do.

See EGCI Science of the Kitchen - Meat cookery

Seven hour leg of lamg: the long time low temperature cooking results in super tender juicy meat, evenly cooked all through.

Edited February 19, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[Pam R]

Thanks everybody. Not Australian (but had some wonderful lamb there).

The lamb had thawed, so it got slathered with olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed garilc. Then slow cooked (Not as slow as you suggested jackal) at 250 for a few hours. It was wonderful - tender and moist. Enjoyed by all.

Next time, I'll try some of your suggestions...though the bbq one will have to wait for most of the snow outside to melt ;)

[Shinboners]

Either just bung it in a hot (400F/200C) oven for about an hour and a half; let it then rest for half an hour.

I reckon resting the roast is a seriously underrated part of making a good roast. I've been to many of dinners where they did a roast, but it turned out dry as they didn't let the meat rest properly. Not only does it waste the meat, but it wastes all the preparation work.

Seven hour leg of lamg: the long time low temperature cooking results in super tender juicy meat, evenly cooked all through.

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Mmmm....seven hour leg of lamb....that is probably my favourite way of cooking a leg of lamb.

Edited February 20, 2005 by Shinboners (log)

[Shalmanese]

Rather a trivial question but why do I frequently see lamb shanks priced higher than or equal to legs of lamb at butchers and supermarkets? Surely the leg is a more desirable cut?

I have a hankering to make braised lamb shanks but I simply cant get myself to pay that much for them.

[culinary bear]

We have much the same thing over in the UK, and it's simply down to market forces.

When it comes to trade butchers supplying restaurants, the price can be a lot higher than you think it should, purely because the shank, as a convenient 1-person hunk of meat, has quite a demand going for it. You could bone and roll leg portions to get rough equivalents, but that involves additional time and labour, and as there are only two shanks to the sheep (the foreleg 'shanks' are much smaller and not much use), the price is higher than one might expect.

[PS]

How much are they asking for them? In the last couple of weeks I've paid between £3.50 and £5 for a pair of shanks, which felt pretty reasonable to me.

[winesonoma]

How much are they asking for them? In the last couple of weeks I've paid between £3.50 and £5 for a pair of shanks, which felt pretty reasonable to me.

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At my local market they are $6.99 a pound, legs are $4.99.

[nwyles]

How much are they asking for them? In the last couple of weeks I've paid between £3.50 and £5 for a pair of shanks, which felt pretty reasonable to me.

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I am paying $5.00 per kilo in Canada. I am paying a premium for little ones so I can serve two to a serving. The popularity has driven prices up 25 % over the last couple of years.

Edited April 18, 2005 by nwyles (log)

[Shalmanese]

I'm paying about $7.00 a Kilo for shanks, $6.50 for leg of lamb.

[PCL]

some would say that portioning and frenching the lil' bastards cost time, therefore money.

some people here in Melbourne charge per unit for the lil' bastards. will check .

[lamington]

Supermarket price seems to be around A$7.50

[culinary bear]

5.60 per kilo (that's UK pounds sterling but my keyboard is royally fucked), from the cheery souls at Frosts the Butchers, Chorlton, Manchester.

[PCL]

I think what we've established here is that it's cheaper in relative terms in Australia.

[Shinboners]

$2 to $3.50 per shank at the Queen Victoria market.