Pulled lamb

February 21, 2021meza-admin

Prep time: 24 hours

Cook time: 1 hour

Serves: 6 sandwiches

Growing up in the Balkans, lamb was always a staple of every solemn occasion. Getting married? Roast a lamb. Getting divorced? Roast a lamb. Finally graduated college? Roast a lamb. Lost a bet? Pay for the roasted lamb.

Although it’s clear to me why lamb is treasured so much I just find the lack of creativity despairing. So, with the ever rising tide of street food craze I decided to jump the bandwagon with a pulled lamb in brioche. Keeping up with tradition but using a bit more modern techniques.

The meat:

All though I have decided to go for the leg, alternatively neck would be an even better cut for long slow cooking like sous-vide.

The whole idea behind slow cooking, be it sous-vide, braising or stove top simmering is picking the toughest cuts of meat as they are wholesome in connective tissue which is made up of collagen. When put through low heat for a long period of time, collagen breaks up in to gelatin, which makes the meat moist and tender.

Neck, shank, leg and shoulder are the ideal cuts of lamb for slow cooking, and which one you choose for this, or similar recipe is up to you.

As for the cooking process itself, I find sous-vide to be the superior one for pulled lamb as it leaves you with the most delicate and moist results for the meat itself. All the accumulated juices will be used to make a sauce reduction additionally deepening the flavor.

In case you don’t have a sous-vide setup which is more than understandable for a regular household my advice is to sear the seasoned meat (as shown in the recipe below) on a hot pan, then braising for 5-6 hours on very low temperature 140-150*C. Once completely tender and falling off the bones, bake for an additional 20-30 minutes on 170*C.

Pickled onions:

Pickled veggies for me are an essence of street food toppings. their sour but not overwhelming taste balanced with sweetness allows them to pair with any ingredient.

If onions are not your thing, pickled carrots, radish and fennel are all great alternatives, because besides providing a rich taste their crunch also greatly contributes to the texture of the dish.

Tomato Coulis:

Having picked a meat with tremendous aroma, garnished with sourness from the pickled onions and bitterness from the spring onions mayonnaise, we need something to neutralize the strength of all those ingredients, something sweet.

What better to accompany these palates than tomato coulis. Sweetness from the tomatoes is additionally expressed seasoning the coulis with honey.

Spring onion mayonnaise:

Local to my area, or more precisely across the Balkan, there is only one way to eat lamb – Rotisserie. Besides bread, only side dish allowed to accompany this sacred meal is spring onions, eaten with hands, of course.

Trying to recreate a traditional meal in a street food manner I knew I had to incorporate the spring onions in some form. Pickling instead of the onions came to mind, pureeing, frying … and then it hit me from nowhere – spring onions mayonnaise. I was certain this would come out as neat, but I was more than surprised with the outcome. This thing is pure addiction.

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  • Prep time: 24 hours
  • Cook time: 1 hour
  • Total time: 25 hours
  • Serves: 6 sandwiches

Ingredients

For the lamb:

  • 1 kg leg of lamb
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon butter, for the sous-vide sauce

For the tomato coulis:

  • 1 kg tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the pickled onions:

  • 1 kg red onions, (You can scale the recipe to one onion but pickled onions last forever in the fridge and are delicious!)
  • 500 ml apple vinegar
  • 500 ml water
  • 100 gr granulated sugar
  • 50 gr salt
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 slice lemon peel

For the spring onion mayonnaise:

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 500 ml sunflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1-2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the assembly:

  • Brioche buns, recipe: https://meza-blog.com/recipe/brioche-buns/
  • arugula

Method

For the lamb:

  • 1)

    Place your sous-vide cooker inside a pot filled with water and set to 60*C. While the water is heating, prepare the spice rub.

  • 2)

    In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients listed and thoroughly rub all over the meat. Lightly score the meat with a paring knife to insure deeper flavour penetration

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    .

  • 3)

    Place the meat, along with the herbs and garlic inside a vacuuming bag and vacuum.

  • 4)

    Once the water reaches 60*C, submerge the lamb and cook for 24 hours. *Tip: Cover the pot with aluminum foil to prevent vapor.

  • 5)

    After 24 hours, remove from the tub, pour the released juices to a small sauce pan and transfer the meat to a baking tray.

    Place inside a 170*C pre heated oven for about 40 minutes, until a crispy exterior is formed.

  • 6)

    On medium heat, simmer the lamb juice until reduced to 1/3, take off the heat and stir in a tablespoon of butter.

  • 7)

    When the meat is done, simply shred with your hands before serving.

For the tomato coulis:

  • 1)

    Wash and slice the tomatoes into quarters.

  • 2)

    Sprinkle with salt, place on a baking tray and put in the center of a 170*C pre heated oven for 20 minutes.

  • 3)

    Once soften, transfer the tomatoes to a heavy bottom pot and cook over very low heat until all the water has evaporated.

  • 4)

    Once no more water is present and texture is “pasty”, season with salt and honey and blend with an immersion blender.

  • 5)

    Pass through a fine sieve and chill completely before serving.

For the pickled onions:

  • 1)

    Using a sharp knife, slice the onions very thin.

  • 2)

    In a large jar, place hot water and apple vinegar. Stir in sugar and salt until dissolved.

    View post on imgur.com

  • 3)

    Once dissolved, add in your thyme, peppercorns, lemon and bay leaf.

    View post on imgur.com

  • 4)

    Lastly, add in your onions, making sure everything is submerged under the liquid. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

For the spring onion mayonnaise:

  • 1)

    In a mixing bowl add your egg yolks, salt, pepper, mustard and lemon juice.

  • 2)

    While constantly whisking, start pouring in your oil one drop at a time until all the oil has been emulsified.

  • 3)

    Once mayonnaise is done, toss in finely chopped spring onions and stir to distribute evenly.

  • 4)

    Chill before serving to settle.

Assembling:

  • 1)

    To assemble, first toast both sides of your brioche on some butter.

  • 2)

    Spread the bottom side with mayonnaise and top with arugula, atop the arugula place the shredded meat and a drizzle of the reduced sauce. toss some pickled onions and enclose with top part spread with tomato coulis. Enjoy!

Nutrition

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