Until this past Easter, I had never prepared a rack of lamb because I was afraid. Not that I’m afraid of cute barn animals or of straying like a vegan might have concern, but I was afraid that I would waste all kinds of time and money and disappoint my brunch guests. I was afraid to fail preparing natural lamb, Colorado-raised lamb, in my own kitchen. In the back of my mind then, as I planned my menu, I strategized a Plan B just in case my mail order lamb didn’t turn out like I had planned.
I was intent on making something special for this Easter Brunch, something other than ham and eggs, something to delight my children and guests. Lamb was the one thing I hadn’t tried before, but armed with my recipe from a cookbook with great photography (that’s how we neophyte chefs assess a recipe as worthy), I scoured the grocery store for the ingredients I needed to make my Colorado lamb the centerpiece of the day’s entertainment.
Hours later, it took three trips from the car to transport my goods to the house. Many more hours later, I had made the homemade rolls and set the table. I’d been to the liquor store and borrowed heaps of serving pieces from my mother. It was nearly 5 a.m. by the time I’d fussed enough over everything to be ready for brunch the next morning. Knowing that I’d sleep right through any alarm, I vowed to stay up and keep on ticking. It wasn’t until I accidently locked myself out of the house on a last minute run to the grocery store that I realized I was not thinking clearly. The keys were inside; I was outside. I called my grown children’s homes using the cell phone reserved for work. No one answered. I called again and again. No answer. No answer. Brunch was due to start in one hour.
Thankfully, my employee answered my call and drove to my house to unlock my door.
The lamb was a huge hit, its savory scent filled the room, and while I’d doubled up on the quantity because I’m the type that always wants too much food on a brunch line rather than to run out of everything, every bit of my Colorado rack of lamb was eaten. The compliments, too, were all about the lamb. No one mentioned the vegetable tray, or the Eggs Benedict. No one asked for seconds on cupcakes from the hottest new bakery in town. The basket of homemade rolls never emptied out entirely; but the natural rack of lamb did.
And at the end of a long afternoon of tidying up, I vowed, I’m not waiting until next Easter to order another rack of lamb from Summit Creek Lamb. This Colorado-grown lamb was spectacular, succulent, savory.
Try my recipe, and see if you don’t agree:
2 racks of lamb (6 or 7 ribs each), trimmed
Of course, offer mint jelly as a garnish for this recipe. Some guests prefer natural Colorado lamb without the jelly, so let guests serve themselves in the buffet line. This mail order lamb from Summit Creek Lamb turned out to be the best Easter brunch I had ever prepared or for that matter better than any I’ve been to…even in a restaurant! And most importantly, my family loved it, loved it, loved it.
Posted in Colorado Lamb, Preparing Lamb, Rack of Lamb, Recipe, Serving TipsLamb can be prepared in many interesting ways as the attached video from the 2006 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen shows. In the video, we watch Chef Wolfgang Puck preparing Colorado rack of lamb. He uses some interesting ingredients, such as soy sauce, ginger and honey in addition to some other more common lamb seasoning ingredients to give the rack of lamb unique flavor appeal. He points out that soy sauce when used in a marinade tenderizes meat. Note, however, that with Summit Creek Natural Lamb, the rack of lamb is already quite tender due to the grain ration the lamb receives prior to going to market. This grain ration also tends to impart a mild flavor to the meat. Chef Puck browns the meaty side of the rack at high temperature in a skillet before roasting in the oven. This tends to seal in the juices and give the meat an appetizing exterior color. Note that Chef Puck says to let the rack “rest” before serving (so be careful not to overcook it because it will continue to cook while resting). As you can see, the rack is cooked to a mouthwatering medium rare. Bon apetit! ( For your next party or special event, you can find Summit Creek Natural Lamb gift boxes available for delivery right to your door at www.summitcreeklamb.com.)
Posted in Preparing Lamb, Rack of Lamb, Serving Tips, VideoBy Gil Whiteley
If I prepare a special meal and I want to impress my guests, I use Summit Creek Natural Lamb Chops or Rack of Lamb, period. It doesn’t get any better than that for me. I recently broiled a couple of racks with a dry rub (recipe below) for New Years Eve dinner. I never go out on New Years—amateur night on our highways. First, you can’t drink a bottle of wine and drive. But even if you are sober, drunken people will crash into you. Still, New Years is special, and to me that means serving lamb. This New Years, I served an extravagant bottle of Clarendon Hills 2005 Astralis Syrah, which has a street value of around $350.00. In 2007, Astralis was the highest rated wine in the world. I only drink it with lamb, although it goes terrifically with other things.
Clarendon Hills is in Southern Australia where lamb is what they eat five days a week. The wines of that region are grown to accompany lamb—perfectly paired for any dinner highlighting lamb. Summit Creek Natural Lamb is a perfect choice for the complex unfiltered wine of Clarendon Hills, which can make a great meal memorable. No skimping here.
It’s funny but my favorite wines with lamb are from what I refer to as the mostly overlooked red grapes: Syrah/Shiraz, Grenache, Zinfandel, Sangiovese and the newly discovered, in America at least, Pinot Noir. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, a nice Spanish Rioja, maybe a Meritage style blend, or even a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, all can be incredible with lamb.
These wines—big luscious fruit—have enough heart to stand up to and enhance the rich flavor you find in lamb. When shopping for wine for lamb think big, but give a try to some of the grapes you don’t always reach for. It should be special, and not the same ol’ same ol’.
Lamb allows us to experiment with so many great wine varietals, and the same preparation of you lamb can be a completely unique experience by just changing your wine selection. Experimenting with different wines can be a luxury, but also an adventure in your wine life. The rules set down by the wine geeks (that would be me to an extent) can be limiting.
It’s your palate and pleasing your palate is all that is necessary. Don’t be afraid to try a buttery Chardonnay or a Rose Brut Champagne with lamb either. Lamb is one of our great culinary treats, and should always be looked on as such. It’s a staple comfort food for much of the planet, and at its best it stands alone.
If I had to match a wine with lamb tonight, I’d head back to Clarendon Hills and open a 2005 Bakers Gully Syrah, it’s about $70.00 a bottle, but is in the top five bottles of wine I’ve opened (about 600 Bottles) in the past eight months. The Lamb? That’s easy, Summit Creek, of course.
Gil Whiteley is a sommelier and has been writing about wine for the past 10 years, he is currently the wine columnist for Wild Blue Yonder, the in flight magazine of Frontier Airlines. Gil discusses wine regularly on his radio show; Gil Whiteley, Sports and More, on 1510-AM, Mile High Sports Radio in Denver.
Posted in Colorado Lamb, Lamb and Wine, Preparing Lamb, SuggestionsBy Gil Whiteley
I’ve owned and operated several restaurants over the years; I’m a chef by necessity, a sommelier by trade and I’m devoted to finding perfect pairings of wine and food. Most people have never had a perfect pairing, or not taken the time to notice what wine best compliments the fare served. But in my business One plus One can equal Three or if you’re extremely lucky, Four, when done right.
I was early in my teens before I first tasted lamb, coming from a lower-middle-class family. Both of my parents worked every day of their lives while I was growing up. It was only later in their lives that they actually got to enjoy more of a lifestyle. Food was consumed for survival in our house; it was rarely celebrated or enjoyed. To this day, I still refuse to go into a restaurant that advertises, “Just like Mom made.”
My sister Mary requested lamb for our family dinner on her 16th birthday (May of 1960; I was almost 12). Our family tradition was to allow the birthday boy or girl to ask for a special meal—within reason—on birthdays. I was introduced to steak the same way a couple of years earlier when my older brother asked for it. Mary had eaten lamb at one of her friends’ houses and loved it.
The taste of lamb made me pause. It seemed exotic, not that I knew what exotic meant back then, but my thoughts understood the concept. My sister was an excellent cook, and I always loved it when she had time to make dinner. It somehow was just better.
I remember thinking, “Wow!” I’m not sure what cut of lamb we had—most likely a roast or a leg—but I couldn’t believe how good it was! It looked like beef, but had such an elegant flavor that I couldn’t put my finger on it. My father was of English heritage, and insisted we have a mint sauce or jelly with our inaugural lamb, and, boy, was he right. I’d never had jelly with meat before either, but I remember thinking on that day that food was a wonderful world I was about to discover.
Just a few short months later, I had lamb again on my 12th birthday because I requested that my sister prepare it just as she did for her own birthday. I’m not sure what she did because it was even better. My romance with lamb had a dramatic beginning. And to this very day when I have lamb (and that’s once or twice a week), it’s special…every time. It’s my twelfth birthday all over again. I can tell you now that we weren’t enjoying the quality lamb that only an all natural Summit Creek Lamb provides. I liked lamb from the beginning, but now I love it.
Imagine my delight when I discovered Summit Creek Natural Lamb—a perfect blend of nature and control of our otherwise toxic environment. Summit Creek lambs consume nothing but the finest natural nutritional feed. The end result is consistency of product—perfect lamb every bite, every time. When you come down to it, stability is all we can hope for. And once you discover Summit Creek Natural Lamb and learn that you never have to fear a lapse in consistency, it’s reassuring to know that you can rely on the same great meat each and every time. Lamb you buy in a supermarket can be as inconsistent as a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck, so in order to make your wine choices easy, you need to narrow down your options by buying a controlled, but all-natural cut of lamb from Summit Creek. It is only that way you can have the confidence of serving the very finest meal possible.
Gil Whiteley is a sommelier and has been writing about wine for the past 10 years, he is currently the wine columnist for Wild Blue Yonder, the in flight magazine of Frontier Airlines. Gil discusses wine regularly on his radio show; Gil Whiteley, Sports and More, on 1510-AM, Mile High Sports Radio in Denver.
Posted in Colorado Lamb, Preparing LambFrom the Lamb Guru…
Preparation of lamb: Many people think lamb is a mystery meat that is difficult to prepare. The guru prepares lamb all the time and knows preparation is easy. You just have to follow a few simple steps:
The Guru’s Suggestions…
*butterfly—cut boneless leg open lengthwise so thickness is somewhat uniform (for more even cooking).
Posted in Lamb Cutlets, Lamb Guru, Lamb Legs, Lamb Selection, Lamb Shanks, Lamb Steaks, Loin Chops, Preparing Lamb, Rack of Lamb, SuggestionsQ. 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?
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