Red Wine Braised Lamb Shoulder

Via Alton Brown, a great recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 2-3 lb. lamb shoulder
• 16 oz. red wine blend, plus 1 tablespoon (recommended: Syrah, Grenache or Mourvedre)
• 4 large sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 teaspoon chopped leaves
• one medium onion, quartered
• four cloves garlic, sma
• 1/2 c. flour
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

1. Put a 10-inch straight-sided saute pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. 
2. Toss the lamb with the vegetable oil in a medium mixing bowl. When the pan is hot, sear the lamb for 1 minute on each side. 
3. Remove to a plate and cool for 3 to 4 minutes. 
4. Add the meat to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag, then pour in the 16 ounces of wine and 4 rosemary sprigs, along with the garlic and onion. Remove as much air as possible so that the wine is completely surrounding the meat. Put the bag in a container to prevent leaks and refrigerate for 3 hours.
5. Heat the oven to 250 degrees F.
6. Transfer the contents of the bag back to the 10-inch straight-sided saute pan or Dutch oven and cover. Put the pan on the middle rack of the oven and braise until the meat is tender and falling away from the bone, about 4 hours.
7. Remove the meat from the oven to a platter. Discard the rosemary. Cover the meat with aluminum foil to keep warm while finishing the sauce.
8. Filter the sauce, and set the pan over medium-low heat
9. Simmer, whisking frequently, until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the flour slowly at a time, adding as it absorbs
10. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon of wine and the remaining chopped rosemary and continue to cook for another minute. 
11. Taste and adjust seasoning by adding salt and pepper, if needed.
12. Drizzle over meat as served, and enjoy!

Verdict

Fantastic. Tender, flavorful, not overly lamb-y. 

Stir-fried Lamb with Green Onions

Ingredients

• 8 oz. lamb fillet, trimmed and very thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp  white sugar
• 1½ tbsp  Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp  dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp  Chinkiang vinegar
• 1 tsp  sesame oil, plus extra to serve
• 1/3 c. vegetable oil
• 2  garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4  thin slices of ginger
• 8  green onions, cut into 2" lengths

Procedure

1. Combine lamb, light soy sauce, sugar and 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine in a bowl. Season to taste and stand for 30 minutes.
2. Combine dark soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and remaining Shaoxing wine and set aside.
3. Heat a wok over high heat until smoke appears. 
4. Add vegetable oil, swirl it around wok, add garlic and ginger, let it sizzle until just coloured (8-10 seconds), then immediately add lamb. 
5. Toss rapidly using a spatula until lamb is partially cooked and slightly charred (20-30 seconds), then add reserved dark soy sauce mixture and mix through. 
6. Add green onion and stir-fry until most of the sauce is absorbed. 
7. Check seasoning and add extra sesame oil if necessary.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Verdict

Delicious!

Best. Dinner. Ever.

Well, not the best dinner I've ever had, but definitely one of the best all-elements dinners I've ever cooked. I had a hankering for MEAT today, and lamb happened to be on sale at WSM. So I headed home with a 6.4 oz. Niman Ranch lamb sirloin and got to thinking. After briefly considering warming up rice that I had already made, I said to myself,

Self, are you stupid or something?

and so proceeded as I should've,

• slicing up half an onion and
• three small Yukon Gold potatoes,
• drizzling with olive oil and
• coating in pepper and salt,
• for roasting.

The

• other half of the onion, sliced, along with a
• large clove of garlic, and combined with
• dry red wine,
  
• olive oil, and a
• bunch of dijon mustard.
• Lamb was placed in said mixture, and from there to the
• fridge for half an hour.

In the interim, I popped open a bottle of the Best Beer Evar (aka Bell's Special Double Cream Stout) and mixed up some of the ol' KD family salad dressing and a baby-spinach and romaine salad.

Then, to the grilling.

• After putting the taters and onions in the oven for a bit,
  
• I broke out the large cast iron enamel skillet, heated to medium
  
• and threw on the lamb along with onions and all the sauce.
  
• Turning intermittently, I added more wine as the sauce cooked down,
  
• took the lamb off at medium-rare and
  
• let the onions and sauce reduce some more.
  
• The potatoes and onions came out and joined the lamb on the plate,
• and all were then covered in the astonishingly tasty gravy and onions

The stout was a perfect complement, but really, every single thing was perfect in this meal. I don't even know if I dare try to replicate it. Just perfect, on a cool fall evening.