SPRING LAMB
Serves 6
Death.
It happens to us all, including this lamb. Served not so subtly on a meat cleaver, this is an homage to nose-to-tail cooking. It covers a range of preparations from raw to cooked lamb, using several different cuts of meat. A lamb loin carpaccio, seasoned simply with salt, is accompanied by buttered fava beans. Kalamata olive tapenade is topped with smoked lamb belly. Roasted lamb leg sits atop a fresh fava bean hummus. Braised fennel pairs with lamb shoulder confit and tomato-braised artichoke hearts accompany a lamb neck sausage seasoned with olives and garlic.
This is a study in butchery skills, and it’s violent and delicious.
LAMB KNUCKLE:
100 grams Greek yogurt
10 grams thyme leaves
10 grams rosemary leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 grams salt
200 grams lamb knuckle or shank
10 grams canola oil
LAMB SHOULDER CONFIT:
200 grams lamb shoulder
Salt for seasoning
Canola oil
LAMB BELLY:
200 grams lamb belly
Salt for seasoning
Freshly ground pepper for seasoning
LAMB LOIN CARPACCIO:
100 grams lamb loin
Salt for seasoning
OLIVE TAPENADE:
200 grams Kalamata olives, pitted
15 grams olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 thyme sprigs, leaves only
1 gram salt
LAMB NECK SAUSAGE:
100 grams lamb neck meat
30 grams Olive Tapenade
20 grams pork fat
1 garlic clove, sliced
2 grams thyme leaves
0.5 gram salt
BRAISED ARTICHOKE:
50 grams tomato, diced
25 grams shallot, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
100 grams white wine
200 grams water
10 grams salt
5 grams sugar
1 thyme sprig
3 artichoke hearts, cleaned and halved
EGGPLANT PUREE:
300 grams eggplant
2 grams salt
20 grams olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
150 grams water
GLAZED FENNEL:
200 grams fennel bulb, diced
100 grams water
25 grams unsalted butter
1 gram salt
FAVA BEAN HUMMUS:
100 grams fava beans, blanched and peeled
1 garlic clove, peeled
20 grams olive oil
0.5 gram salt
FAVA BEANS:
100 grams fava beans, blanched and peeled
30 grams water
10 grams unsalted butter
3 grams salt
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
Butcher’s twine
Smoker
Applewood chips
Meat slicer
Meat grinder
6 large cleavers
LAMB KNUCKLE:
Put the yogurt, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Marinate the lamb knuckle in the yogurt mixture in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Remove the knuckle from the marinade, wiping off any excess. Put the canola oil in a small oven-safe sauté pan and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot and has begun to smoke, sear the lamb knuckle until it is a deep golden brown on all sides. Transfer the sauté pan to the oven and roast for 7 to 10 minutes, until tender. Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate to rest. Let the knuckle rest for 10 minutes, flipping over every 2 minutes to let the juices settle in the middle. Keep warm until ready to plate.
LAMB SHOULDER CONFIT:
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Season the shoulder with salt, put it in a roasting pan that just fits the shoulder, and cover with oil. Set the pan over medium heat and bring the oil up to 200°F. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until the shoulder is tender and falling off the bone. Remove from the heat and let cool for at least 30 minutes. Remove the meat from the oil and pull it off the bones. Shred the meat with a fork, season with salt to taste, and keep warm in a small pot until ready to plate.
LAMB BELLY:
Preheat a smoker to 180°F.
Season the belly with salt and pepper. Roll the belly up into a log and tie it with 5 pieces of butcher’s twine so that it stays securely rolled. Smoke in a smoker for 2 to 3 hours with applewood chips, until the meat is tender.
Remove the lamb belly from the smoker and let it rest for 2 hours. Use a meat slicer to slice the belly at the ¾ mark on the slicer. Lay the slices out on a tray, putting pieces of plastic wrap between the layers as needed. Once all the belly is sliced, wrap with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator until ready to plate.
LAMB LOIN CARPACCIO:
Season the loin with salt. Wrap the loin in plastic wrap and roll the end to create an even tube. Freeze for 2 to 4 hours, until frozen solid. Slice the loin on the #1 setting of a meat slicer. Lay the slices out on a tray, putting pieces of plastic wrap between the layers as needed. Keep the sliced loin in the refrigerator until ready to plate.
OLIVE TAPENADE:
Put the olives, olive oil, garlic, thyme leaves, and salt in the small bowl of a food processor and pulse to grind the mixture into a smooth paste. Reserve in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
LAMB NECK SAUSAGE:
Dice the lamb neck into 1-inch cubes. Put it in a mixing bowl with 30 grams of the Olive Tapenade, the pork fat, garlic, thyme leaves, and salt, mix well, and run the mixture through a meat grinder fitted with a 6-mm die, catching the ground meat in a mixing bowl set over a bowl of ice. Portion the ground lamb mixture into 10-gram patties.
Set a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, sear the sausage patties for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160°F. Keep warm until ready to plate.
BRAISED ARTICHOKE:
Put the tomato, shallot, and garlic in a medium saucepot set over medium heat. Sweat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then add the white wine to deglaze. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, then add the water, salt, sugar, and thyme, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes before adding the artichoke hearts, bringing back to a simmer, and then reducing the heat to low. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes, until the artichokes are tender. Remove from the heat and reserve in the braising liquid until ready to plate.
EGGPLANT PUREE:
Slice the eggplant in half and season with salt. Let the pieces sit in a colander at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow them to release their bitter juices.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Rinse off the salt, pat the eggplant dry, and put it in a mixing bowl with the oil and garlic. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and put the eggplant and garlic on the pan. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, until completely tender. Remove from the heat and let cool. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and put it in a blender. Add the water to the blender and puree for 1 minute, until smooth. Add salt to taste and keep warm in a saucepot until ready to serve.
GLAZED FENNEL:
Put the fennel in a large sauté pan, cover with water, and set over medium heat. Cook until almost all the water has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the butter and salt and reduce the heat to low. Toss the fennel to incorporate the butter and emulsify it with the water. Turn off the heat and keep warm until ready to plate.
FAVA BEAN HUMMUS:
Put the fava beans, garlic, oil, and salt in the small bowl of a food processor. Pulse the ingredients for 1 minute or until the hummus comes together as a creamy puree. Store in an airtight container until ready to plate.
FAVA BEANS:
Put the fava beans and water in a medium saucepot set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the fava beans are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the butter and salt and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, to glaze the beans. Keep warm until ready to plate.
TO FINISH:
Use the meat cleavers as plates. This plating arranges the lamb from least cooked on the left to most cooked on the right. Starting on the far left side of the cleaver, put 3 grams of Fava Beans on each cleaver and top them with 2 slices of Lamb Loin Carpaccio. Next to that put 3 grams of Olive Tapenade on the cleaver and lay 10 grams of Lamb Belly on top. To the right of that, place 5 grams of Fava Bean Hummus and top it with 10 grams of roasted Lamb Knuckle. To the right of that, put 10 grams of Glazed Fennel and top it with 10 grams of Lamb Shoulder Confit. Lay half a Braised Artichoke next to that and top it with 10 grams of Lamb Neck Sausage. Put 7 dollops of Eggplant Puree around the cleaver. Serve immediately.
