lamb and apricot stew

I attempted last night to replicate a recipe several East Point friends of mine made for me a few some time past. Given that I did not see them cook it, I had to work mainly off of instinct and tacit knowledge about stewing, lamb, etc. It worked okay.

I started with 1 pound of bone-in lamb. This makes just enough for two, with potentially one portion of left overs. 2 pounds will do for serving four (no less, please).

First I heated oil in a dutch oven. Not too much oil is needed--we are sizzling cumin seeds and browning lamb. The fatty lamb will flavor the stew well enough. So thin layer only.

So, then, sizzle some cumin seeds and add the lamb. Salt the lamb generously. Also add a pinch of cinnamon. Then cover with chicken stock (just barely cover), add the dried apricots, cover, and then remove to the oven at 300 degrees for one hour.

I served this with herbed couscous and asparagus.

It turned out delicious, although the dried apricots were fairly roundly stewed, some of them fairly bursting apart. When I do it again, I will go even lighter on the chicken stock and will add the apricots half way through cooking just to see if it changes the flavor. The savory lamb need not be sweetened by the presence of apricots during too much cooking--the cinnamon imparts all the flavor we need in the dish. And I think it important that the apricots retain their integrity. What are we, after all, without our dignity?

Anyway, tasty lamb. EASY dish. Infinite variations possible.

roasting lamb

I had a partial success, partial failure, with l lamb roasting experiment last night. I started with a 3.5 pound leg of lamb (minus the shoulder, which is the way my market cuts it) and cut out the bone. This produced two separate pieces. Truth be told, I have no idea how to debone a lamb leg. I did my best to locate and sever tendons, and lay it flat. I then rubbed an herb mixture onto the meat--parsley, garlic, rosemary, ginger (all fresh, proportions ala Julia Child). I then rolled it, bound it with butcher's string and stuck it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

That night, I salted and peppered the meat and rubbed it in olive oil. It went on the grill at direct heat, 450, for about ten minutes (flipping once), and then I roasted at indirect heat, 350, for another 30 minutes before checking the temperature. This turned out to be overdone. And the crust to the meat was, frankly, too much for a roast.

It was a disappointment, of course, especially since it was the centerpiece of a four course celebratory meal. But I think in the future I can treat this much the same way I would a hanger steak. Cut the searing to two minutes a side, put it on indirect for fifteen minutes at 300-350 and check the temp. The searing should only serve to squeeze the meat to savor its juices. I am wondering here if it is not possible to slow roast it after a quick sear at an even lower temp (say, 250). I don't know enough about the mechanics of roasting to answer this definitively. Given that the lamb roast is so small (no six pound shoulder this), I ought to be able to treat it differently.