Entree – Lamb

Lamb Pops with Green Goddess Mint Dipping Sauce

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Sometimes heavy hors d’oeuvres and dessert make a great party.  Lamb Pops are perfect for “something more”.

Lamb Pops Ingredients:

  • 1 Tab chopped garlic
  • 1 Tab chopped fresh peeled ginger
  • 1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for pan
  • 2 Tab cracked black pepper
  • 24 lamb chops, frenched and completely trimmed (See “How to French a Rack of Lamb’ on the blog)

Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, ginger, soy sauce, 1/4 cup oil, and pepper.
  2. Place lamb chops in a large shallow baking dish.
  3. Pour over garlic mixture.
  4. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.
  5. Preheat grill or a grill pan over medium high heat.
  6. Remove lamb chops from marinade.
  7. Wipe off any excess.
  8. Place on grill.
  9. Season with salt and pepper.
  10. Grill, rotating lamb chops 1/2 turn after 1 minute, and continue grilling until cross-hatch marks form, about 1 minute more.
  11. Turn lamb chops and repeat process on opposite side.
  12. Transfer chops to a warm plate and let stand 3 to 5 minutes before serving with dipping sauce.

Green Goddess Mint Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch scallions
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 2 bunches mint leaves
  • 14 macadamia nuts
  • 1/2 c white balsamic vinegar
  • 4 oz extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

  1. Place scallions, cilantro, mint leaves, macadamia nuts, vinegar, olive oil, and 1/4 cup water in the jar of a blender.
  2. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Blend until pureed.

Source:  Taste of Australia VPWL December 2014

 

How to French a Rack of Lamb

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Show to french a rack of lambometimes you can buy the lamb already frenched.  Sometimes the butcher will do it for you.  And – Sometimes it is fun to be the “gourmet chef” and do it yourself.  To make Lamb Pops just cut the chops into individual pieces.  Some say divide before you french, others after.  After makes them more uniform.

 

 

Ingredients:
One rack of lamb

Special equipment:
A sharp, skinny knife

Method:

  1. Make cutting guideline:
  2. Stand the lamb rack up on one end so that you can see the “eye” of the lamb chop.
  3. Score the fat side at the edge about an inch and a half or so up the rib from the eye to use as a cutting guideline.
  4. Do the same on the other end of the rack.
  5. Cut fatty side to the bone: Using a sharp knife, cut through the fatty side of the rib roast, to the bone, from one marked end to the other.
  6. Then go back over your cut and holding the knife perpendicular to the roast, jab it in several places to go all the way through the other side, so that the reverse site gets “marked” with scores.
  7. Cut around the flesh of the rib bones: Turn the rib rack over, so that it is now bone side up. You should be able to see the markings made from the knife that got inserted from the other side. Those markings will delineate the boundary beyond which you will not cut.
  8. Working from the skinny ends of the rib bone, make a cut down along the bone, until you get to the previously scored marking.
  9. Then cut across to the next rib and cut up to the end of that rib bone.
  10. Continue to do this until all of the bones have had the flesh cut around them.
  11. Pull the fat and flesh from the bones.
  12. Turn the rack over again so that the fat side is on top, and begin to pull off the fat and flesh from the bones.
  13. Use your knife to help cut away any flesh that is sticking to the bones.
  14. Scrape away any residual flesh on the exposed bones.
  15. Use a towel to wipe the bones clean.

There you have it! Your rack of lamb is perfectly “Frenched”.

Source:  Simply Recipes

Merlot Grilled Lamb

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We are lamb lovers! “Too cute, but not too cute to eat.”

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c soy sauce
  • 1/2 c Merlot
  • 1/2 c dry white wine
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 1/2 c chopped fresh oregano leaves or 2 Tab dried oregano
  • 2 Tab coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 Tab dried rosemary
  • 1 Tab coarse-ground pepper
  • 1 leg of lamb (5 to 6 lb.), boned, butterflyed, and fat-trimmed
  • Oregano and rosemary sprigs (optional)
  • Salt

Directions:

  1. In a 9- by 13-inch baking dish (or large Ziploc bag), combine soy sauce, Merlot, white wine, garlic, chopped oregano, chopped rosemary, and pepper.
  2. Add lamb and turn to coat with marinade.
  3. Cover and chill at least 6 hours or up to 1 day, turning meat over several times.
  4. Lift lamb from marinade (reserve marinade).
  5. Place on a barbecue grill over a solid bed of medium coals or medium heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 4 to 5 seconds).
  6. Close lid on gas grill.
  7. Cook, turning as needed to brown meat evenly, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of leg reaches 135° to 140° for rare (thinner portions will be well-done), 30 to 45 minutes.
  8. Brush meat occasionally with marinade up until the last 10 minutes of cooking.
  9. Transfer meat to a platter, keep warm, and let rest 5 to 15 minutes.
  10. Garnish with oregano and rosemary sprigs.
  11. To serve, thinly slice meat.
  12. Add salt to taste.

 

Serves:   8-10

Source:  Sunset, May 1998

Peach BBQ Sauce

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Margie made this in a small batch to go on the lamburger/chicken buffet.  This one has a real bite!

Ingredients:

  • 2 c soy sauce
  • dash cayanne
  • 1 Tab minced onion
  • 1/4 c catsup
  • 1/4 c marinara sauce
  • 1/4 tsp horseradish
  • 1/4 Tab Sriracha
  • 1 Tab red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 Tab balsamic
  • 1/4 c peaches – diced with juice (peach nectar)
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp chipolte adobo sauce pureed

Directions:

  1. Put everything in a pan.
  2. Simmer until onions are soft and sauce has thickened.

Serves:  makes about 2 cups

Source:   Margie Kleerup

Note: I puree a can of chiplote in adobo sauce and keep on hand in the refrigerator.  It has a more subtle bite than most of the peppers.

 

Nyama Choma – Barbecued Meat in Kiswahili

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Nyama choma, meaning “barbecued meat” in Kiswahili, is Kenya’s unofficial national dish.  It is roasted and then traditionally eaten with the hands.  To accommodate the large group (and current sanitation concerns) we cubed the meat and cooked it on skewers.

Ingredients:

  • 5 lb Reme  (lamb, cubed)
  • 5 lb Heihei (chicken, cubed)
  • 8 lb Kitozas (beef, cubed)
  • 5 lb Hotiti (sausage, cut in 2 inch pieces)

Directions:

  1. Skewer each meat on separate skewers.
  2. Cook over charcoal until done.
  3. Serve with Pinati (peanut sauce), Yassa, (onion ), Kumine (cumin sauce), sauted mushrooms, sauted onion and peppers.
  4. Serve with geelrys (yellow rice).

Serves:  50

Source:  Research and a trip to Africa

 

 

Lamb or Beef Kabob Marinade

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You can use beef or lamb in 1 inch cubes.  Alternate on skewers with green pepper, onion, tomato and mushrooms.  I will frequently put the vegetables on their own separate skewers as they take different cooking times.  You can also microwave the peppers and onions to shorten cooking time.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c ketchup
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tab steak sauce
  • 1 Tab sugar
  • 2 Tab vinegar
  • 2 Tab Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 c water
  • 2 Tab oil

Directions:

  1. Combine ingredients in saucepan.
  2. Heat to boiling.
  3. Add meat.
  4. Let stand several hours or overnight.
  5. Reheat marinade for sauce.

Serves:  4 using 1 1/2 lbs meat

Source:  Gerry Hastings

Tri Tip Marinade by Margie

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Great for lamb or beef. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 onion
  • 1/2 head of garlic
  • 2 Tab tequila
  • 1/4 c orange juice
  • 1 – 2 tsp chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Korean garlic chili
  • 1 tsp paprika

Directions:

  1.  Place all the ingredients except meat  in a food processor and whir until it is a chunky paste.
  2. Place meat and marinade in a zip lock.
  3. Place in fridge 1 hour to 1 day.

BBQ, broil, bake, or cook however you like.

Serves: Enough to marinate 3-5 pounds.

Source: Margie’s brain

 

Mint Aioli

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I find the Mint Aioli much better with the lamb than mint jelly (too sweet) or mint sauce (too thin).

Ingredients:

  • 1 c mayonnaise
  • ½ c finely chopped fresh mint
  • 2 Tab minced garlic
  • 1 Tab white wine vinegar
  • salt to taste

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, chopped mint leaves, minced garlic ,and white wine vinegar. Add salt to taste.
  2. Cover and chill overnight.

Serves: Makes 1 cup

Source: Sunset June 2001

Curry Sauce/Dip

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This is a good basic sauce/dip that is good on chicken, fish, shrimp and lamb as a main dish.

Ingredients: 

  • ½ c mayonnaise
  • ½ c sour cream
  • 1 Tab curry powder
  • 4 Tab chopped Major Grey chutney
  • 2 tsp grated orange peel

Directions: 

  1. Mix all ingredients until smooth.
  2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hr.

Serves: 1 cup+

Source: CDKitchen – what’s cooking on line, submitted by Dena, USA

Honey-Vinegar Leg of Lamb

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The nice thing about this recipe is most of the work is done early (or the day before) and it is forgiving about how long it rests after roasting.

Ingredients

  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 c fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 1 Tab fennel seeds, crushed
  • ¼ c olive oil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 5 lb boneless leg of lamb, tied
  • ½ c red wine vinegar
  • ⅓ c honey
  • Mint Aioli

Directions:

  1. Pulse garlic, parsley, fennel seeds in a small food processor until very finely chopped.
  2. Add oil and process until smooth.
  3. Season generously with salt and pepper (mixture should taste quite salty as this is the only seasoning meat will get).
  4. Rub parsley mixture all over lamb.
  5. Transfer to a roasting pan, cover, and chill at least 8 hours.
  6. Let lamb sit at room temperature 1 hour.
  7. Bring vinegar and honey to a boil in a small saucepan.
  8. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 8–10 minutes. Set glaze aside.
  9. Place rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 325°.
  10. Roast the lamb until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of lamb registers 100°, about 50 minutes.
  11. Increase oven temperature to 450°, brush roast with glaze, and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 120°, 15 minutes longer.
  12. Transfer lamb to a cutting board and let rest 30 minutes before carving (temperature will rise to 140° for medium-rare while lamb is resting).

Serves: 12

Source: Bon Appétit October 2013

Comments: If the lamb has netting remove it and tie the roast in 3 – 4 places with string. Otherwise when the lamb is cooked and you remove the net, you will remove all the good crust too. You can simply cut the string while you are carving.

Mint Aioli

I like the Mint Aioli much better with the lamb than mint jelly (too sweet) or mint sauce (too thin).

Ingredients:

  • 1 c mayonnaise
  • ½ c finely chopped fresh mint
  • 2 Tab minced garlic
  • 1 Tab white wine vinegar
  • salt to taste

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, chopped mint leaves, minced garlic ,and white wine vinegar. Add salt to taste.
  2. Cover and chill overnight.

Serves: Makes 1 cup

Source: Sunset June 2001