The weather is getting chilly and we are at that crossroads of Summer into Autumn. For a few weeks the last of the Summer tomatoes will still be fine and yet the weather calls for heartier fare than the simple Summer dishes we’ve been making. I love the braises and ragouts, (wra-gooz), where tougher cuts of meat bubble for an eternity in stocks and wine. The aroma’s in your home will make you dizzy and I like the feeling of a good meal bubbling away in the background while I work, especially as it gets darker earlier.
Lamb chops are unaffordable at twenty bucks a pound but the shoulder is perfect for recessionary cooking. It’s cheap, bone-in and because the muscles work as the lamb walks around, the meat is tough and extremely flavorful. The bones are big, too, have the butcher saw it up onto chunks.
The shoulder is way too tough to grill or roast. It needs to braise in a liquid to reach an edible tenderness. You have frozen stock on hand, right? From the veggies and bones you’d have typically thrown away? Great. If not, now’s the time to make it.
Or use bouillon cubes, or commercial stock from the market. You’ll need about three quarts and a bottle of red.
Start with a few strips of bacon in a thick bottomed pot. Render it until the bacon fat is hot and the bacon is very crisp. While the bacon is frying, pepper the lamb; lots and lots of freshground peppercorns. The pre-ground stuff is like sawdust compared to grinding your own.
Now sieve out the bacon, leave the heat at fairly high, dredge the lamb in flour…
...knock off the extra flour then drop the lamb into the hot fat. No lid. We want the moisture to cook off at this point so we can brown the floury meat crispy on all sides. Turn the meat now and then to put every surface into the red-hot pot bottom and brown it all thoroughly.
The aroma as you brown the meat is amazing. Pull the cork. Have a glass. Breathe deep.
Don’t get too precious in chopping the vegetables, this part isn’t art.
I like an onion, a red pepper, some fresh garlic. And a couple good tomatoes. This stew is sort of peasantlike, so rough chunks of onion and red pepper are fine. I leave the garlic cloves whole. Much of it will disintegrate anyway.
Is the meat browned?
Take it out to a plate, pour out the excess fat from the pot and then dump in the vegetables. Stir them all around. See those little browned bits stuck to the bottom?
Yum. The onion, garlic and red pepper will sauté in the heat and release a bit of moisture. Turn the flame down a little, we don’t want those bits to burn, and stir the vegetables around now and then gathering those browned bits. Soften and brown the edges of the vegetables. This takes only a few minutes. While you are waiting, strain your stock well and toss out the exhausted vegetables.
Now... just as the ragout vegetables are soft and things start to brown and begin to get a little too hot, dump in two liters or so of the hot stock. PSSSSSSSSSS……..Be careful. It’ll sizzle for a second, then slow everything down. Stir. Perfect. Adjust the heat to a gentle boil and stir it all around again.
Now it comes together. Put the bacon back in, also return the browned lamb and a couple chopped tomatoes. Dump in some red wine, too. A cup or two. And a big stalk of fresh rosemary. Add just enough liquid to cover the meat with stock and wine.
Put the lid on, and let it come to a good boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. We’ll taste it every hour or so but for now, we’re done for awhile.
Let the stock, vegetables, bacon and lamb simmer for hours. Really. Hours. This is the part that makes your loft smell amazing. Just stir it now and then. Three hours later, turn it off and let it stand. It’s not done yet but it’s time to de-fat the stock.
Fat brings flavor and mouthfeel but lamb is fairly greasy and lamb dishes really benefit from degreasing. Pour the stew through a colander collecting the broth in a big pot underneath, set the solids into the fridge and pour the broth into tall plastic containers. These also go into the fridge for a couple hours.
About 2 hours later, see what happens? The bacon and lamb fat rises and congeals into a greasy orange disk right on top. Take a big spoon and scrape it all off and toss it out. We’ll finish with a little butter later.
Now pour the fat-free stock back over the cooked vegetables and lamb and put it all back on low heat again. Add another liter of stock or more wine if it is looking low and let it simmer with the lid on for another couple of hours. About 2 more hours should do it. I cooked mine for about 6 total, not counting fridge time. The idea is that the meat is so tender it can be carved from the bone with a spoon and it cooks down to concentrate the flavors. It should be rich with rosemary. Taste it and adjust the seasonings, add salt or more pepper if you think it needs it.
Now we’ll finish it in the French style.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a thick saucepan and whisk in two or three tablespoons of flour till it bubbles, a classic “roux.” (roo) Keep whisking as the roux begins to tan over the heat…
... then add two or three or four big ladles of the hot stock and whisk it quickly to blend it smooth as silk, then pour that silky sauce back into the stew and stir it all in well. This butter is really the only fat in the dish. It will thicken the sauce to the consistency of gravy and finish it with a buttery texture and flavor for the mashed potatoes you are making.
You are making mashed potatoes, aren’t you?
