There's a definite chill in the air now so it's time to find some really warming dishes that the whole family will love. These ones really seem to fit the bill and use cuts of meat that I admit I never really know what to do with. Before I get on to the recipes, this advice for what to look for when buying your cuts of meat is also very handy to know :
Buying Lamb and Hogget
- Lamb should be brownish-pink, but not bloody. The colour of the meat varies with the age and breed of the lamb.
- Lamb will be pinker than hogget, which will be redder in colour.
- The meat should be fine grained and not hard.
- The fat should be creamy white and not oily.
- Look for joints that are meaty and short rather than long and thin.
- Avoid lamb that looks slimy, grey or has blood spots.
- The pink membrane on the outside of the fat, called the bark or fell, should be pliable, not hard and wrinkled.
- The bones should be white and moist-looking.
Buying Mutton
- Mutton will be dark in colour, similar to beef, but with a brownish tinge.
- The fat and bones should be white.
- The meat should not be bloody.
- It will have a ‘sheepy’ odour.
Recommended Cooking Methods
Chops/Chump: Grilling, frying, braising.
Cutlets/Noisettes: Frying, grilling, barbecuing.
Shanks/Knuckles: Braising, stewing.
Leg: Roasting, braising, stewing.
Loin/Loin chops: Roasting, grilling, frying.
Rack: Roasting.
Saddle: Roasting.
Scrag end: Stewing.
Middle neck: Stewing.
Shoulder: Roasting, braising, stewing.
Roast Leg of Lamb
Timings
Slightly pink - allow 20 minutes per 450g/lb at 190c/375f/G5. For ‘cooked through’, add a further 20 minutes.
Cooking tips
- Take the meat out of the fridge three hours beforehand to bring it up to room temperature.
- Pre-heat the oven properly; give it time to reach the required temperature.
- Do all the vegetable peeling and chopping well in advance.
- Once the meat is cooked to taste, remove from the oven, cover it with foil to retain the heat and set aside to rest. Resting the meat is very important as this makes it more juicy, tender and succulent.
- Whilst your meat is resting, use the time to make the gravy and increase the oven temperature to roast the vegetables.
- Finally cook the last minute vegetables like peas, beans and broccoli.
- Remember to heat the plates.
- If confident enough, carve the meat at the table.
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Christmas recipe
Mutton in Beer
A heart-warming recipe – perfect on a chilly day as a Christmas supper.
900g Leg of lamb or mutton – boned and trimmed.
575ml Brown ale
2 Medium onions - finely sliced
1tsp Salt
25g Unsalted butter
Black pepper to taste
Bread slices - cut into large crustless cubes
- Cut the meat into thin slices across the grain.
- Place in a heavy pan with the beer and onions. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently.
- After an hour add the salt, pepper and butter. Simmer for a further 20-30 minutes or until tender.
- Serve on cubes of bread in a deep dish.
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Mutton and Turnip Pie Serves 12 (2x6x9cm muffin tins)
For the filling
2kg Neck fillet of mutton - cut into 2cm pieces
4 Large onions - finely chopped
3lt Lamb or Chicken stock
900g Turnip - peeled & cut into 2cm pieces
Plain flour for dusting
Rapeseed oil for frying
A large sprig of rosemary
Salt & pepper
For the pastry
1325g Plain flour
570ml Water
430g Lard
4 Egg yolks
1 Egg- beaten for glazing
10g Salt
- Pre-heat the oven to 200c/400f/G6
- Season the mutton & dust generously with the flour
- Heat a little oil in a heavy-based saucepan & fry the mutton & onions for 3-4 minutes or until they just start to turn brown
- Add the stock & rosemary, & simmer very gently for 2 hours or until the mutton is soft & tender
- Add the turnips & a little water if necessary. Cover & simmer gently until the turnips are soft
- Adjust the seasoning; remove from the heat & leave to cool
In the meantime make the pastry
- Put the water, lard & salt into a saucepan & bring to the boil
- Once the lard has melted, remove from the heat & add the flour
- Beat in the flour & when cool enough to handle, knead to a smooth paste
- Knead in the egg yolks. This will make the pastry sticky so add a little more flour as required
TIP - Do not let the pastry get cold before making the pies, otherwise it will become unworkable.
- Set aside a quarter of the pastry for the lids, remembering to keep it covered & warm
- Divide the remaining pastry into 12 equal sized pieces
- Place a piece of the divided pastry in each of the patty or tin moulds & using your fingers, work the pastry into the base & up the sides of each mould until there is a collar of pastry, approx 1cm, standing proud.
- Pack each pie with the mutton mixture, roll out the remaining pastry, cut into the appropriate sized rounds, moisten the edges of the pies with the egg wash, cover with a lid & crimp the edges to seal.
- Make a small hole in the top of each pie & brush with the egg wash to glaze.
- Bake for 45 minutes until crisp & golden
The turnip can be substituted with kohlrabi to make these pies even more interesting.
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Mutton Broth Serves 12
Like mutton itself, chunky home-made soups are becoming very fashionable. This is a warming broth, ideal for a chilly day & only needs serving with crusty bread to make a substantial meal
2kg Leg of Mutton-bone removed
6lt Lamb stock
450g Pearl Barley
175g Green split peas
175g Yellow split peas
2 Large onions-finely chopped
2 Leeks-finely chopped
4 Large carrots-finely chopped
4 Medium turnips-finely chopped
4 Celery stalks-finely chopped
Rapeseed oil for frying
Chopped parsley for garnishing
- Wash the pulses & soak overnight
- Place the mutton in a saucepan & completely cover with the stock. Simmer gently for 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Top up the pan with water if necessary to ensure the meat remains covered. Skim as required.
- Remove the meat from the stock & cut into chunks when cool enough to handle.
- In a clean pan, heat a little oil & sweat off the vegetables until soft.
- Add the peas, barley & stock.
- Add the meat, simmer gently for 30 minutes, and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve in large bowls, garnished with chopped parsley, with crusty bread.
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Haricot Mutton Serves 6
As served at Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire.
1.8kg Middle or best end neck of mutton – cut into chops
450g Carrots – diced
450g Turnips – diced
450g Onions – sliced
1tbs Tomato ketchup
- Trim any fat from the chops.
- Seal the chops in a pan with the fat trimmings, until coloured. Remove from the pan.
- In the same pan fry the vegetables in the mutton fat, without colouring.
- Lay the chops in the bottom of a large saucepan, followed by the vegetables and cover with boiling water.
- Bring the stew to the boil and simmer very gently for 2-2.5 hours, or until the meat is tender. Add more water during the cooking period as required.
- Season with salt, pepper and the ketchup.
An economical dish with the added value of using fashionable mutton, it is ideally made the day before to allow the flavours to develop and mature. This also means the solidified fat is easy to remove from the gravy once cold.
Serve in a deep dish with herb dumplings and a pureed root vegetable.
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Mutton, Mushroom and Rosemary Pie
Serves 12 (2x6x9cm muffin tins)
For the filling
1400g Minced Mutton
75g Unsalted Butter
3 Onions - finely chopped
10g Fresh Rosemary - chopped
350g Mushrooms - finely chopped
1200ml Lamb or Beef Stock
5g Grated Nutmeg
20g Corn flour
Salt & Pepper
For the pastry
1325g Plain flour
570ml Water
430g Lard
4 Egg yolks
1 Egg- beaten for glazing
10g Salt
- Pre-heat the oven to190c/375f/G5 on dry heat.
- Melt the butter and sweat the chopped onions and rosemary without colouring for 2/3 minutes.
- Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for a further 3 minutes.
- Add the minced mutton and cook until all the meat is coloured.
- Add half the stock and the grated nutmeg.
- Cook gently until all the liquid has evaporated, but the mixture is still moist.
- Season with salt and pepper and allow to cool.
In the meantime make the pastry
- Put the water, lard & salt into a saucepan & bring to the boil
- Once the lard has melted, remove from the heat & add the flour
- Beat in the flour & when cool enough to handle, knead to a smooth paste
- Knead in the egg yolks. This will make the pastry sticky so add a little more flour as required
TIP - Do not let the pastry get cold before making the pies, otherwise it will become unworkable.
- Set aside a quarter of the pastry for the lids.
- Divide the remaining pastry into 12 equal size pieces.
- Place a piece of the divided pastry in each of the patty or muffin moulds. Using your fingers, work the pastry into the base & up the sides of each mould until there is a collar of pastry, approx 1cm, standing proud.
- Pack each pie with the cold mutton mixture, roll out the remaining pastry, cut into appropriate sized rounds & moisten the edges of the pie cases, place a lid over the meat & crimp the edges of the pies to seal.
- Make a hole in the top of each pie & brush with the egg & water mix to glaze.
- Bake for 45 minutes until crisp & golden.
- Mix the corn flour with a little of the remaining stock to slacken & add to the rest of the stock.
- Bring the stock to the boil, stirring until thickened. Season with salt & pepper.
- When the pies are cooked, re-cut the hole in the top of each pie & pour a little of the thickened stock into each.
- Serve the pies with additional thickened stock.
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Lamb Pasties Makes 10
500g Shortcrust pastry
250g Potatoes (any) - peeled and diced.
250g Lamb shoulder - trimmed and cut into very thin slices
60g Onions - chopped
60g Leeks - washed and thinly sliced
125g Swede - finely diced
Sea salt and black pepper
Egg wash
- Pre-heat the oven to 160c/325f/G3.
- Roll out the pastry 3mm thick and cut into 12cm diameter rounds. Set aside in the fridge to rest.
- Mix the remaining ingredients together with a little cold water to moisten and season.
- Place a pile of the mixture in the centre of each pastry round and moisten the edges of the pastry with egg wash.
- Fold the rounds in half and seal, flute the edges and brush with egg wash.
- Cook for 45-60 minutes.
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Summer Lamb, Herb and Lemon Stew Serves 10
1kg Shoulder of lamb – diced
50g Plain flour
40ml Rape seed oil
750g Onions – sliced
1 Garlic globe – crushed
1tsp Ground cinnamon
1.25lt Chicken stock
1.25kg New potatoes
2 Lemons – zested
50g Fresh Parsley – chopped
25g Fresh rosemary sprigs – new growth
- Dredge the lamb in the flour and fry in the oil until browned, turning as necessary.
- Remove the lamb from the pan and add the onions and garlic and fry until soft.
- Return the lamb to the pan along with the cinnamon and rosemary and stir well to incorporate the spice.
- Add the stock, cover and simmer gently for around an hour and a half.
- Add the potatoes and cook for a further hour until the meat and potatoes are tender.
- Adjust the seasoning and stir in the lemon and parsley just before serving.
- Serve as a bowl meal with a chunk of crusty bread to mop up the broth.
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Lamb and Thyme Burgers with Beetroot Relish Serves 4
500g Lamb mince – lean and fresh
2tsp Fresh thyme – finely chopped
Grated zest of a lemon
250g Beetroot – fresh, cooked, peeled and diced
1 Small red onion – finely diced
2tbs Fresh parsley – finely chopped
1tsp Fresh thyme – finely chopped
2tsp Olive oil
2tsp Wholegrain mustard
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and black pepper
- In a bowl, mix together the lamb, thyme, zest and a little salt and pepper. When thoroughly mixed, shape into 4 even size flattened patties. Chill for at least an hour before cooking. At this stage, the burgers can be frozen
- Mix the beetroot with all the other ingredients and leave to steep for an hour at room temperature.
Grill, griddle or barbecue the burgers and serve with the relish, chopped Little Gem lettuce and a chunk of crusty bread.
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Lamb and Turnip Hot-Pot Serves 6
1.5kg Lamb neck chops
5 Lamb or mutton kidneys-halved and trimmed
500g Onions-thinly sliced
60g Unsalted butter
1lt Lamb/mutton stock
500g Large potatoes
500kg Large turnips
75ml Rape seed oil
1tbs Rosemary leaves-chopped
Plain flour for dusting
Melted butter for brushing
Salt and black pepper
- Pre-heat the oven to220c/425f/G7.
- Season the chops and kidneys with salt and pepper and dust with flour.
- Fry the chops over a high heat in a little of the oil until nicely coloured, then remove to a colander and drain.
- In the same pan, briefly fry the kidneys to colour. Drain and set aside.
- Add a little more oil to the pan and fry the onions over a high heat until they begin to colour.
- Dust the onions with two tablespoons of flour, stir well and gradually add the hot stock, stirring well to avoid lumps.
- Sprinkle in the chopped rosemary and simmer very gently for 5-10 minutes and season to taste.
- Peel the potatoes and turnips and slice into 3mm thick slices.
- In deep lidded casseroles, cover the bases with a layer of potatoes and turnips, followed by a layer of the chops and kidneys moistened with a little sauce.
- Continue with this layering until the meat and most of the sauce is used, ending with a layer of turnips and finally a layer of overlapping potatoes.
- Brush the top with a little of the sauce.
- Cover and cook in the hot oven for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 140c/275f/G1 and cook for further 2 hours until the meat is tender.
- Remove the lid and turn the oven back up to 220c/425/G7, brush the potato top with a little melted butter and bake for 15 minutes or so until the potatoes are browned.
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Hogget Meatballs and Chestnut Stew Serves 6
1.25kg Lean minced Hogget
3 Garlic Cloves-crushed
1kg Carrots-diced
800g Tinned Chopped Tomatoes
375ml Red Wine
1.25lt Chicken Stock
50g Redcurrant Jelly
18 Small Waxy Potatoes - cooked
18 Cooked Chestnuts (tinned or vacuum packed)
5g Dried Mixed Herbs
15ml Vegetable Oil
Salt & Pepper
- Mix the lamb with half the dried herbs and season with salt and pepper
- Shape the meat into 18 equal sized balls and rest in the fridge for an hour.
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the meatballs for 4-5 minutes until they are brown.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan add the tomatoes, garlic, carrots, wine, stock and remaining herbs.
- Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the carrots are cooked.
- Add the redcurrant jelly and blitz the mixture to a chunky sauce.
- Add the meatballs, cooked potatoes and the chestnuts return to a simmer & cook for a further 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning.
- Serve in a bowl with either a lump of crispy bread or a baked dumpling.
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Hubby would like these but he would have to cook it himself as I don't cook or eat lamb
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