Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Lamb for the Holidays
I love lamb, especially Colarado Lamb. For any of you who dont know the difference between Colarado Lamb, New Zealand and Australian, treat yourself this holiday season and order a rack or 2 from your butcher. Colarado lamb is bread for meat, its larger and more flavorful than its Australian and New Zealand relatives, bread genetically with wool in mind. Its well worth the higher price.
This month for Christmas Eve we'll be serving a prefixe dinner using some great Colarado Lamb. Hear's our recipe:
Mustard Crusted Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Pan Jus
Ingredients:
Mustard Coated Lamb
1 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs
2 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tabelspoon cayanne pepper
Salt & Pepper - as needed
Vegetable Oil - as needed
4 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 frenched rack of Colarado Lamb (8 chops)
1. Season the lamb racks with salt & pepper - be liberal and rub in the seasoning.
2. Combine the breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and cayanne.
3. Let sit for 1 hour before cooking so the seasoning has a chance to set
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a sautee pan and sear the lamb on all sides until golden brown (do not discard pan, we will use it for the sauce)
5. Once the lamb is cool, rub it with the mustard and then dredge it in the breadcrumb mixture coating the lamb evenly
6. Place the lamb, fat side up in the preheated 375° oven for 12-15 minutes, until medium rare (135 degrees), let it rest 10 minutes before carving.
Red Wine Pan Jus
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced celery
1 small yellow onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoon flour
1 cup veal stock (or beef broth, low sodium)
2.25 cups red wine
1. In the pan used for the lamb sautee the carrot, celery and onion in the oil the lamb was seared in
2. Once the vegetables are a golden brown, add the flour and mix to incorporate and cook for 3 minutes to cook the flour slightly.
3. Add the tomato paste, cook it until it is rust colored.
3. Deglaze with 2 cups of the red wine and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the veal stock and simmer for 30 minutes until the mixture reduces by 1/3rd.
5. Strain the mixture through a chinois and season with salt and pepper.
6. Sautee the dried cherries in the butter and add 1/4 cup of red wine. Cook until the cherries are plump, reduce by half and then add the mixture to the sauce to finish.
We'll be serving ours with celeriac puree & braised winter greens.
Happy Holidays