Preparing a sauce for Lamb..

[Noles82]

Hey guys, first time posting here. Seems like a great wealth of information here, Im excited.

I am planning a dinner party and will be serving Australian rack of lamb. With Lamb being so strong in taste, I have been trying to find a sauce I can prepare to match the taste and flavors for the lamb. Would a cabernet sauce suffice? Would like some opinions on what I should use.

I was looking at maybe a brown sauce for a setup.

Would it be worth while using a roux? Thanks for any advice.

Chris

[Suzanne]

Funny you should bring this up just now! Last night I made a slow-roasted leg of (Australian) lamb with a pomegranate glaze, following a recipe from Paula Wolfert's The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. Right after that recipe there's one for Slow-Roasted Rack of Lamb with Simple Mediterranean Flavors (pages 208 to 209) that looks just as great. Just a pan sauce for this one, nothing elaborate.

First the lamb is coated with a mixture of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, thyme, rosemary, and chopped garlic, and left to stand at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. Then you wipe off the coating, season the meat with salt and pepper, and sear it in a little olive oil in a skillet (pour out the fat after, but do not wash the skillet). The meat rests while the oven heats to 300 degrees; when it reaches temperature, you roast the meat in a baking dish for about 1/2 hour, until it reaches 130 for rare or 140 for medium (you really need to use a thermometer to be sure). Deglaze the skillet with more garlic, lemon juice, and water; reduce the sauce, then swirl in more olive oil, some grated lemon zest, and garnish with a little minced onion and more parsley. That's it -- very simple, but it sounds wonderful to me.

If you can't find a copy of the book and need more specific directions (measurements, etc.), let me know and I'll try to scan in the recipe and send it to you. But this is a great book to have, so look for it.

[cheflayne]

I agree with Suzanne on pomegranate. It goes great with lamb like in a pomegranate demi sauce. Another great sauce but somewhat outside the box is a licorice merlot sauce.

[KeeperOfTheGood]

Hey oh

Well, I will not disagree with the greater heads at all. I will instead ask you a question (and I know the ones that have read me posts from before will already be knowin what I am asking).

What do you expect of your finished product? By that, I mean, are you going for a rough woodsman lamb, with a good fire and smoke flavour? Do you want a north shore mediterranean taste (Spain or Greece)? Do you want a south shore mediterranean taste (Moroccan or Tunisia)? Or something more inland and toward the middle-east (Turkey or Lebanon)?

There are many many many ways of doing lamb, and each has its own types of sauces. Wine is not necessarily a part of such, nor is a roux. Moroccan can easily be thickened with some puree of squash. Others would do no thickener at all and serve good crusty bread to dip. Others would do au jus, maybe with a splash of wine or beer.

So, what is your planned destination with your cooked lamb, and then lets talk some ideas on getting there

OH, and, if you mean your are serving lamb (as grown whereeva) but that the recipe is "Australian Rack of Lamb"... I'd say au jus reduced with a splash of shiraz or marsala and minced schallots (or roast the schallots with the lamb ). Mint is also done with Australian lamb dishes as well.

[MarkV]

Suzanne:

Could you share your recipe for the pomegranate glaze?

Mark

[Thetruth709]

please do susanne, i would like to see this recipe,
thank you

[beefcheeks]

Originally Posted by MarkV

Suzanne:

Could you share your recipe for the pomegranate glaze?

Mark

Comes in a bottle. You can buy it at a Mediterranean deli/store. You could also order it online I suppose. This the product youre using Suzanne?

[beefcheeks]

Originally Posted by Noles82

Hey guys, first time posting here. Seems like a great wealth of information here, Im excited.

I am planning a dinner party and will be serving Australian rack of lamb. With Lamb being so strong in taste, I have been trying to find a sauce I can prepare to match the taste and flavors for the lamb. Would a cabernet sauce suffice? Would like some opinions on what I should use.

I was looking at maybe a brown sauce for a setup.

Would it be worth while using a roux? Thanks for any advice.

Chris

If using wine in the sauce, I suggest using the same wine you'd be serving with your meal...or at least the same varietal. I prefer a smooth smoky merlot. I prefer a reduction sauce to one thickened. Try this recipe:

http://www.cakebread.com/recipes/Mer...otEssence.html

[redace1960]

re keeperofthegood's post

" I'd say au jus reduced with a splash of shiraz or marsala and minced schallots (or roast the schallots with the lamb...)"

i second that. less is more with lamb. but for heaven's sake don't
serve it with asparagus. only because i'm cranky, its early and
bleeding EVERYONE does this. "its spring! and asparagus grows in
spring! and hey, lambs are born in spring! wow, what if.... "

[redace1960]

heres what i'd serve with it:
pan roasted, chunked small new potatoes in olive oil
with just salt, pepper and some twirls of lemon zest.

[Suzanne]

The recipe is in The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. I can't post it as written -- copyright and all that -- but here are the ingredients:

For a 5 to 6 pound (2.25 to 2.75k) leg of lamb:

2 tablespoons (30ml) pomegranate molasses or concentrate
1.5 tablespoons (22ml) extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (118ml) minced onion (fresh!!!)
4 large garlic cloves, mashed
2 teaspoons (10ml) tomato paste
1 teaspoon (5ml) crushed red pepper flakes, preferably Aleppo or Turkish
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) water

Mix everything together well. Coat the lamb all over and leave to marinate at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, turning once or twice.