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slow cooked breast of lamb (and a couple of bowls of ribs)

17/9/2012

27 Comments

 
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If you think about it, breast of lamb should really be ticking all the boxes for the solitary skint foodie. It's cheap - cheaper (in Asda at least) even than our beloved pork belly; it's most often packaged as a 2-3 portion rolled and boneless joint, just right for a Sunday lunch plus leftovers; and it comes with the promise of sweet and tender meat.

But on the few occasions when I've been tempted to cook it, what I've found is that the box it most vehemently ticks, with a mahoosive, fuck-off, indelible marker pen, is the one marked 'Vast Amounts Of Unappetising Fat'.

Now fat can be a glorious thing, particularly when we're talking pork (see the previous post) and beef (although the government have been mysteriously silent on my proposal to provide free bread and dripping to all school children). But, in my opinion, a little lamb fat goes a long way.

Now, The Ginger Pig, butchers of distinction, have, with ineffable kindness, taken to gifting me an occasional package of 'mystery meat' - and this month's generous offering was two bone-in breasts of lamb. Time then, finally, to find a recipe or two which successfully dealt with the cut's unwanted adiposity.

Actually, before that, why is it called 'breast' of lamb anyway? As you can see from the diagram below (which I took from this page of the Ginger Pig's website without permission and with a cavalier disregard for the copyright laws, because that's how this samizdat, 'Fight The Power' gastro-rebel rolls, motherfuckers*), it's really the belly.
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Anyway, whatever you call it, the lot I was given weighed in at approximately 2.2 kg, from which I first removed about 400g of the most obvious and accessible fat. I then divided each breast into a boneless half and a bone-in half. The two boneless pieces were (badly) manhandled and tied into a rolled joint:
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I then steamed the bone-in halves for 1½ hours (which rendered out loads of fat) before slicing them into two portions of individual ribs.

I marinaded the first portion in a pomegranate molasses dressing and grilled them...
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...but, although they looked the business, taste-wise the molasses was too overpowering for the succulent ribs.

For the second portion, I used this recipe which I didn't alter save for two details. Firstly, I didn't have any grapeseed oil so used rapeseed oil, on the basis that there was only one consonant missing after all. Secondly, I didn't follow the cooking method - I coated the ribs in a little oil, roasted them for 15 minutes at 200C/180C fan, brushed them with some of the dressing, whacked the oven up to maximum, roasted them for a few minutes longer and then coated them with more dressing before serving.
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The dressing, though a bit sludgy in appearance, tasted absolutely fabulous. I'm going to keep a jar of it in the fridge from now on.

Steaming the ribs beforehand meant that there was just the amount of fat you want for a finger-licking bowl of ribs.

With the rolled joint, I decided on a slow braise to render the fat into the stock, which I could then skim off. But I was also going to brown the meat first - until my fellow blogger Lisa (AKA @peckhamryeeats) suggested browning after the braise. Brilliant. Because that way you can braise the lamb a day or two before you are going to serve it and then complete the cooking in under half an hour. Also, it allows all the fat in the gravy to rise to the surface and solidify, making it really easy to get rid of.

Job. Indubitably. Done.

slow cooked breast of lamb

Ideally, you'll have an oval, lidded casserole to cook this in.

I didn't bother with any stuffing, due to all the aromatics added to the stock. I served the lamb and gravy with this spinach dish and roast potatoes.

serves two
1 de-boned breast of lamb, seasoned, rolled and tied
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thickly sliced
1 celery stick, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 glass red wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bayleaf
3 juniper berries, crushed
2 sprigs of thyme
500ml chicken stock
salt + black pepper


Stage one:

Place your casserole over a fairly high heat. Add the oil, then the onion, celery and carrot. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have taken on a bit of colour. Add the garlic and stir.  Add the red wine and let it bubble away to almost nothing, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up any stickiness on the base of the casserole. 

Add the bayleaf, juniper and thyme. Nestle the lamb into the vegetables and pour in the stock. Bring this to a simmer, then cover the casserole and place in a 150C/130C fan oven for three hours, turning the joint once during this time.

At the end of the three hours, take the casserole out of the oven, remove the lamb and strain the gravy into a jug. Discard the vegetables and herbs. Allow both the lamb and the stock to cool, then refrigerate.

Stage two:

Remove the lamb and the stock from the fridge. After skimming off all the fat that has risen to the top, pour the gravy into a small pan and season to taste (you'll end up with about 200ml). Let the lamb come back to room temperature, then brush with a little olive oil, place in a small roasting tin and roast in a 200C/180C fan oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once, until browned and heated through. Remove from the oven and rest while you warm up the gravy. Remove the string from around the joint, cut the lamb into thick slices and serve with the gravy poured over and maybe some mint sauce or redcurrant jelly on the side.

* Please, please , please don't sue me. I'm so very sorry.
27 Comments
Sharmila link
17/9/2012 13:57:28

Lovely. I'm a bit of a fan of lamb breast, but yes, that load of fat is not appetising. I once made it for a Mongolian lamb dish which is basically like crispy duck pancakes, but with slow cooked lamb. But even better was lamb breast ste menehould. Everything is better in breadcrumbs.

Reply
The Skint Foodie
17/9/2012 15:10:50

'Everything is better in breadcrumbs': words to live by. :o)

Reply
Oooo loook
4/10/2012 04:38:06

No ...not quite ..... eveything is better FRIED .... mmmmmm fried

Milli link
17/9/2012 14:06:21

I love your honesty, I love your blog.

Reply
The Skint Foodie
17/9/2012 15:11:38

Gulp! Thank you Milli.

Reply
Maite Ryall-Harvey
17/9/2012 14:10:10

This post is just what lamb breast needs. It's so lush but I've always struggled with the fattiness. Skint Foodie to the rescue again!
Thanks muchly.

Reply
The Skint Foodie
17/9/2012 15:12:59

My pleasure!

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Jim
17/9/2012 16:56:43

I love lamb but recently the price seems to have shot up. Using breast will certainly help budget wise.
This looks like a keeper to me and I think you've just convinced me what to serve for lunch next Sunday.
Thanks.

Reply
The Skint Foodie
18/9/2012 00:43:24

I reckon the trick is buying a whole breast from a butcher, rather than ready-rolled, so you can remove loads of the fat at the outset.

Have a lovely lunch.

Reply
Kavey link
18/9/2012 03:13:11

I love lamb!
Maybe it's called breast because it's the area behind where the teats are located? I always find it weird to get pork belly with nipples on the skin - boob not belly! Too much comparison to human anatomy, I guess!!

Reply
The Skint Foodie
18/9/2012 10:04:01

Nipples on pork belly are disquieting, aren't they? There was one solitary one on the last piece of belly I got. Somehow, just the one was even weirder.

Reply
Grainne
19/9/2012 10:13:53

The lovely vegan man (who really does have a great blog - thanks for passing the tip on) will not like this blog- but if you're going to eat meat I think you have a duty to eat it all - even the fatty bits with nipples.

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The Skint Foodie
19/9/2012 11:50:03

Actually, Adam (the lovely vegan man) left a very nice comment on here recently - which is how I found the blog!

Reply
Ben
21/9/2012 05:07:09

Lamb breast is excellent in a scotch broth. Poach it for a few hours, then chill the stock in the fridge overnight, and the fat can be lifted off like a plate in the morning.

Reply
Cat
4/11/2012 11:31:31

Dear Skint Foodie,
You have nothing to apologise for with your lamb breast recipe.It was beautifully succulent and tasty.The gravy was perfect and even my fussy son thought it was absolutely delicious.
Thank you .

Reply
The Skint Foodie
9/11/2012 02:01:01

So glad you (and fussy son) enjoyed it, Cat.

Reply
Lulu
22/11/2012 12:35:25

I've eaten breast of lamb for years and never really found it that much more fatty than any joint of lamb. At home, we stuff the boned breast with a dry sage and onion stuffing which absorbs lots of the fat and is yummy!

Reply
Chris
15/5/2013 05:19:35

Love the ideas, I'm a basic chap and love breast of lamb roasted slowly with a lid on then whack the temperature up with the lid off to crisp it up (lamb crackling!). You may have to pour some fat off periodically to avoid smoky kitchen/oven.

Then ensure you pour most of the fat out at the end and use the pan to make lush gravy. Serve with mash & green veg of choice (don`t forget the mint sauce to cut through the last bit of fat)

Reply
Mark link
4/6/2013 16:31:38

Oh dear, just bought a lamb breast, thinking it was a bargain for a curry or tagine. Gonna have to see if my basic skills can render a decent meal.

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Christina
15/9/2013 01:25:06

There are lots of lamb breast slow cooler recipes including curries. I've just popped mine on for dinner so I'm hoping it works ok :)

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findertravel.com link
26/6/2013 01:22:00

I cannot wait to taste that slow-cooked breast of lamb. I am sure about the spinach dish and roast potatoes served along with it will make it an exceptional recipe. Anyway I am going to try making those as per mentioned by you.

Reply
Nat
4/10/2013 05:46:11

Does this come out medium or well done?

Reply
The Skint Foodie
4/10/2013 08:17:44

They are not really appropriate terms for a slow braise like this. I can say that the resulting dish is very tender.

Reply
LuLuTheBlue
24/10/2013 13:32:00

I used the breast we got as part of a box of Salt Marsh lamb random cuts & did a variant of this. It was amaaaaaazing. BUT... I went for dry stuffing option, which I read as dry Paxo-this was an error (in hindsight an obvious one but there you go...). Anyway, fat rendering etc all worked a treat & the sage flavoured sawdust was distracting but not disgusting!

Reply
The Skint Foodie
25/10/2013 00:20:39

Oh well! We live and learn...glad the fat-rendering process proved successful!

Reply
Lucy Mars
27/10/2013 11:38:44

Cooked this today & was pretty much amazed by the transformation from hideous, fatty mass to DELICIOUS lamby goodness!
V tasty, especially served with roast potatoes cooked in coconut oil! Yum!

Reply
MarkSussex
25/11/2013 11:42:53

I found this recipe, and blog, after I bought a rolled lamb breast on impulse at the market (impulse = it was £3 and payday was still a week off) and realised I had no idea how to cook it. I had no juniper berries, but tossed in a couple of sprigs of rosemary instead and it worked a treat. No puddles of fat, and the 'lambiest' lamb joint imaginable. The remnants are currently baking in the oven in a pie, with the last dregs of the seriously good gravy. Thanks for the recipe, and your very affecting blog.

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  • blog
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