Rack of Lamb

Generally speaking, I'm not an impatient person.  I can happily bide my time.  I'm content enjoying the anticipation whilst the good things in life meander toward me.  I usually save up rather than bash the credit card.  I drive like an old man because I'm never in that much of a rush to get anywhere.  I'm learning to play the banjo and I've allowed myself ten years to become competent.  No sense rushing these things.

And then there is resting roasted meat, which is where I go from patient to pacing and anxious. I don't want to wait even longer, I want to eat it now!

Often times I've spent days or even weeks planning that roast and hours preparing it.  The smells coming from the kitchen are driving me mad and it looks glorious!  Finally, it's done.  And now I have to wait another twenty minutes before I can tuck in?  It seems.....well, to be honest, it seems mental and more than a little masochistic.  Hard as it may be, it is a worthwhile exercise and here's why.

As you heat meat the proteins in the cells begin to denature and squeeze out some of the water molecules that separate them.  This denaturing process starts to happen at about 50 degrees C, which is the equivalent of rare.  Continue up to 65 degrees C and the denaturing turns to coagulation and you lose a lot more moisture. So, as you cook you lose moisture, it's unavoidable and necessary assuming you want the outside of the meat to be brown and tasty (Maillard reaction).  Generally speaking after cooking you'll end up with a piece of meat that is hot and dry on the outside and cooler and moist in the middle.  As the meat rests it continues to cook a little, which means that moisture continues to be forced out albeit at a slower pace.  The net result is that some of the moisture in the centre makes it's way toward the outside and the meat seems less dry due to the more even distribution.

Steaks and chops can benefit from a minute or two, large roast ribs of beef or a turkey can easily rest for an hour.

What got me thinking about all this was a simple rack of lamb.  This recipe isn't really much of a recipe at all as all you have to do is slather a basic marinade on a rack of lamb and cook it for 18-20 minutes at 200 degrees C (or on the bbq).  It's good enough to serve up at the poshest dinner parties (where all will declare you genius!) and yet quick enough to make on a Wednesday night after a long day at work.  

Don't let the anchovy put you off.  The end result does not taste at all fishy and anchovy and lamb have an affinity that, in my opinion, can't really be beaten.
  • Rack of lamb (half a rack, four cutlets, per person is generous)
  • 10-12 anchovy fillets chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • some thyme and/or rosemary chopped
  • a splash of Worcestershire sauce
  • a splash of olive oil
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a cup or bowl until you have a thick paste and slather it over the rack of lamb.  It will be sloppy and make a bit of a mess so do it on a plate or board.  You can let it stand for as long as you want or cook it straight away.  I cook mine for about 18 minutes at 200 degrees C......let it rest for a few minutes......and serve it rare.  Often times I have it with mashed potatoes or roasted squash, but it's great and a bit lighter with just a green salad.

I'm not sure exactly what it is that does it, but this dish makes all seem right with the world.  You get four (or more) little individual servings of meat on the bone, each one the perfect size.  The sweetness of the lamb and the salty, savoury marinade are just sensational together.  The marinade burns a bit in places and forms a partial crust over the lamb, which is tender and juicy.  Maybe the flavour and texture contrast is the secret?  I don't know for sure but's one of by favourite meals.

The Wine

Pepper Tree 14 Shores Merlot 2008 - $29.50 from the vineyard

Strawberries and rhubarb (little bit of red pepper maybe) on the nose with a little vanilla and oak.  The strawberry was surprisingly pronounced for a merlot.  We got thyme as well but that's possibly due to the thyme in the lamb marinade.   A light and silky mouth feel and the fruit really carries through.  Decent length on the finish and gentle tannins as you'd expect.

We bought a lot of this last time we were at the vineyard and that was the last one.  We'll be buying more.

(download)

Tagged Meat Quick Dinner Recipe Wine

Beef with stout

Well I must confess that a year is a little longer than I'd anticipated between blog updates.  My legions of devoted foodie fans have been vocal in their disapproval (my mum said I should start again) and so here we are.  It's been a busy year.  Weepix and I have left Sydney and moved to the Central Coast (more on that later) due to work related shenanigans that see us travelling for up to twenty hours a week, hence the lack of blog activity.  The downside of this is the loss of daily access to all the food related wonders that Sydney has to offer (which we are feeling acutely).  The upside is we're cooking an awful lot more often as the temptation of 'let's just grab some Thai' is no longer there.  So plenty of blog fodder.  There have been litres of stock produced, ice cream made, absurdly good steak prepared, cheesecake perfected and a pork pie incident.

On that note, let's dive right in.

Any recipe that starts with 'fry your pancetta in the butter until the fat runs' is a solid gold promise of tasty things to come.  It's also potentially a nod toward heart disease, high cholesterol and diabetes, but as long as we don't start all our recipes like this then it's an acceptable risk.  The recipe in question is a Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall one for Beef In Stout (page 288 of 'Meat').  As Hugh points out it's a particularly good recipe if you don't have any beef stock (more on that later too) on hand but still fancy something with great depth of flavour and that provides a perfect excuse for a good bottle of red.....as if such an excuse is ever really needed.  It's dead simple and freezes amazingly well (it actually seems better after it's been frozen for a while) so it's worth making a large batch.  This serves 8-10.
  • 1.5kg of chuck, rump or shin (stewing beef) - trimmed and shopped into large chunks.
  • 250g of slat pork, pancetta or bacon - chopped into chunks or squares.
  • 50g of butter of dripping.....mmmmm, dripping.
  • 500g of baby onions - peeled but left whole.
  • 50g plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
  • 1 litre of stout (I used Guinness, bottles not cans, but any stout will do).
  • A bouquet garni of a few parsley stalks, some thyme and a couple of bay leaves.
  • 500g mushrooms - half button and half big flat ones sliced up.
  • Salt and pepper.
Once you have everything sorted as per the list you need to toss your beef in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess and set it aside.  Heat a large frying pan (with a large casserole pot off the heat alongside) and fry the pancetta/bacon in the butter until the fat runs, at which point you want to remove it to the casserole but leave as much butter in the frying pan as possible.  Now fry your whole baby onions in the pan until they have a bit of colour and add to the casserole.  Brown the beef in batches until it's nicely coloured* and add it to the casserole.  Add half a bottle or so of the stout to the frying pan and deglaze making sure you get all the tasty sticky bits, then pour into the casserole with the rest of the stout (covering the beef, add a little hot water if short), the bouquet garni and some salt and pepper.  Bring to the boil and then set to a very gentle simmer for 2.5-3 hours either on the hob (a simmer mat is handy here) or in the oven at about 120C.  After 90 minutes or so you need to sweat the mushrooms in some butter and then add them and the juices to the casserole.

That's it.  The only thing that can go wrong is simmering too quickly or for too short a time, which causes the meat to become chewy and a little tough.  Cook it slow and it'll coalesce into a meltingly tender, incredibly rich stew that smells as good as it tastes.

* Should you brown the beef?  I think that's a whole separate blog post right there.  By doing so you dry it slightly but you add nice flavoursome brown bits.  As the beef in this recipe is cooked covered in beer I say you should risk the browning for the extra flavour.

The Wine

Brezza Barbera d'Alba Cannubi 2004 - $45 from Dan Murphys

Surprisingly light in colour, not far off Burgundian, with a beautiful but fairly delicate nose of redcurrant and rhubarb with a bit of a smoky leather with a vegetal thing lurking at the back.  Might need a bit more time for the nose to develop.  It's soft on the palate at first and the slightly smoky woodiness comes through with the redcurrant.  Then you get a belt of tannins at the end that will soften with a bit more time.  Great with food but a bit young.

(download)

Tagged Recipe wine

Miniature Sheep Wine

Now this is the sort of food story that gets me excited.  It’s got everything – wine, miniature sheep, clever sustainability, giant guinea pigs locked in combat with eagles – perfect. 

I worked in sustainability and waste management for several years and I’ve lost count of the number of businesses that want to ‘reduce their carbon footprint’ by continuing exactly as normal but planting a few trees to offset the energy they use.  Don’t get me wrong the trees are great, but not using the energy in the first place is even better.  Peter Yealands (who, just to make the story even better, has an awesome beard) obviously understands that and is doing something about it.

In order to provide the grapes with the best growing conditions, he needs to keep the grass on his 1000 hectare estate trimmed.  This requires a tractor to travel 3500 km a year, which costs NZ$1.5 million, releases a large amount of Co2, nitrous oxides, sulphides and particulates and, no doubt, takes a huge amount of man power.  What to do?  Bring on the sheep of course……well it is New Zealand.  Not conventional sheep, which are widely used, but can also eat the grapes, oh no, we’re talking specially bred miniature sheep.  Let them loose to take care of the grass (provide additional fertiliser?) and, trials going well, you’ve saved yourself a small fortune, saved a load of harmful emissions and reduced your workload.  I love it. 

Obviously you still have to invest time in animal husbandry and potentially spend some money for additional feed, winter shelter and vets etc, but, even if the scheme ends up breaking even in a monetary/time sense, you’re still streets ahead with the emissions……assuming miniature sheep don’t fart too much.  He’s also planning to sell the wool and the meat from his new sustainable lawnmowers, which generates even more income.  The man is my new hero. 

I’ve not tried Yealands wine before but I’ll certainly be looking out for it now.

 

Tagged Food Production Wine
​