Mastering cooking with lamb with a little help from Summit Creek Natural Lamb

Q. I am making a lamb dish for Labor Day weekend. I want something fresh and tasty to make for my family. What are some new lamb recipes?

A. Key to finding a tantalizing lamb recipe that is quick and easy for the summer holidays is adding fresh ingredients and keeping it simple. Try this one. It’s among our favorites at Summit Creek Natural Lamb.

Roast Lamb with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Serves:

• 4-6

Cooking time:

• Medium. Allow 25 minutes per 1 pound plus 25 minutes.
• Well done: Allow 30 minutes per 1 pound plus 30 minutes.

Temperature:

• Gas-mark 4-5, 350° F

Ingredients:

• 2-3 pounds leg or lamb joint
• 4 tbsp creamed tomatoes or Passata
• 3 cloves of crushed garlic
• Salt and black pepper
• 3 oz. diced sun dried tomatoes
• Fresh basil for garnish

Directions:
Weigh the joint and calculate the cooking time as shown above. Place the joint on a rack in a roasting tin and open-roast in a pre-heated. In a small bowl, mix together Passata or creamed tomatoes, garlic, seasoning and sun dried tomatoes. Spread this mixture over the lamb 20 - 20 minutes before the end of cooking time. Return to the oven for the remainder of the cooking time. Allow the joint to stand for 10 minutes before carving. Some of the mixture may fall off during carving. Simply serve with the slices. Serve with broccoli and new potatoes, baked leeks and onions.

Q. What is best to serve with my lamb? I want something tasty and easy that the whole family will like.

A. The options are plentiful this time of year. At Summit Creek Natural Lamb, we recommend green and white beans, mushrooms, sautéed small potatoes, gratin squash, eggplant or pumpkin make wonderful side dishes that that will complement, not take away from, lamb at the center of the plate.

Q. Are there different methods to cooking lamb? What are they and how are they used?

A. There are two main ways to cook lamb, either using dry heat or moist heat. Dry heat consists of grilling, rotisserie, broiling, roasting, sautéing, pan-frying where the meat is in direct or close contact with the hot surface. High heat is used to quickly brown the outer surface and all additional cooking is done at much lower temperatures. At Summit Creek Natural Lamb, we’ve found that this method works best with tender cuts or tough cuts that have been marinated.

Moist heat cooking is either braising or stewing the meat. During cooking, the meat is in contact with a hot liquid at a low temperature. The hot liquid tenderizes and adds flavor to the meat. Moist heat works best on tougher cuts such as the shoulder or shank but it can also be used, carefully, with more tender cuts.

Q. I always have trouble getting my lamb to turn out just right. What are some special pointers to make sure it’s absolutely delicious every time?

A. At Summit Creek Natural Lamb, our FIVE TOP TIPS to preparing lamb to perfection are:

• Make sure to cook your lamb medium-rare. Many people overcook theirs leaving it dried out and flavorless.
• Do not remove all of the fat from the joint you want to roast. A little bit of fat left on the bone adds extra flavor and bastes the meat as it cooks.
• For a new flavor, cut slits in the top of the roast and insert garlic or mint leaves before roasting.
• Instead of using the traditional mint jelly, try serving red pepper jelly, sweet and sour, souvlaki, teriyaki, cranberry or barbeque sauce with your lamb dish.
• To create a dish that appeals to the eye, garnish with peach or pear halves, pineapple, tomatoes or mushrooms.

Tuesday, August 7th, 2007 at 2:35 pmand is filed under Preparing Lamb, Q&A, Recipe, Serving Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.