Lamb stew type recipes?

[santaman2000]

The Texan trailer BBQs probably meet with your style. Sure, the hot grill but a smoker on the side. Gives you the best of both styles of cooking.

Over here I noticed some amazing BBQs started appearing in local DIY stores. Very expensive ones with grill and smoker. There's also gas BBQs with gas rings on the side for pots I guess. The UK is catching up I think.

I had one similar to this a few years ago. Loved it. Basically you cloud grill on either side or slow smoke by putting the turkey, ribs, whatever in the upper (large) side and keep adding wood to the lower (small) side. Usually about 12 hours to smoke a turkey 18 pounds or bigger

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/...JhU5ewIgg1k4lAZ8W-o4yD0uGi4C8rEpYeSJNSP9GNA&s

 

[Robson Valley]

I've been using 17 different BBQ, most of them gassers, over the years.
At last count, 3 of them were deliberately chopped up as economical smoker BBQ.
Junk. Sure, I could have spent a fortune on a fancy one.
But, BBQ restaurant people show that it is not at all necessary.

You buy a simple 2-burner gasser in a yard sale.
KEY POINT = twiddle the gas valves. If they still turn smoothly, OK. If they are stiff/hard, walk away.
Replace the burner, maybe $20.00. Next, use bolt cutters to cut away 1/2 of the rock rack.

You want to be able to put a 6" cast iron fry pan of smoke wood right on the lit burner on that side, the "hot side".
Stack up the racks of ribs or chickens or lamb shanks on the "cool side." Got good dry herb & spice rubs?
Running on low, an oven thermometer should show the meat sitting at maybe 275F - 290F.

Put a disposable Al-foil fat dish under the meat with water or beer in it for moisture.
Great. Smoke for the first hour, no more or it goes sour like creosote.
Just leave it all alone. Chickens and ribs are all the same.
Big enough, yes, you can do potatoes and corn with smoke and low heat, too.

I might wrap all the meat in foil for the last hour so it does not dry out and cooks in its own juices.
This is not southern US traditional style quite at all.
But for cheap, it tenderizes the really cheap cuts of meat. Falling off the bone yummy.

Next up will be a meat rabbit. Apple or apricot glaze over a good dry herb and spice rub.
Rabbits are dry and I need to seal the surface. Either that or a "wet mop" with a kicked up apple cider.
Then I have a couple of cheapo beef hearts. Stuff one and wrap with bacon.
Smoker BBQ is a new leaf in your cooking.

 

[santaman2000]

Paul, again, this isn’t lamb but it looks good. If you wanted to substitute lamb it Should be easy enough although you might want to tweet the sauce to one more lamb friendly

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154379143998761

 

[Janne]

When I do a lamb dish, I always skim off the fat, be it from the roasting pan or casserole dish.

Nobody in our family likes the taste of it.

Today, we start preparing a Norwegian X -mas dish called Juleribbe.

Not the Xmas lamb dish Pinnekøtt as we do not have the cured mutton.

Juleribbe is a side of a pig, half belly half rib, one day salt and pepper cured, then slow roasted.

Sourkraur, red cabbage, boiled potatoes ( in skin), sprouts.

 

[Paul_B]

I had one similar to this a few years ago. Loved it. Basically you cloud grill on either side or slow smoke by putting the turkey, ribs, whatever in the upper (large) side and keep adding wood to the lower (small) side. Usually about 12 hours to smoke a turkey 18 pounds or bigger

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/...JhU5ewIgg1k4lAZ8W-o4yD0uGi4C8rEpYeSJNSP9GNA&s

Not exactly what I was thinking. The link below is closer. The one my colleague showed me a photo of was a bit shorter in length with a round section and a box at one end. It ran on a road legal trailer and they towed it behind their truck obviously. Texans, so big truck with gun rack in the back.
https://images.app.goo.gl/3midtxh3mVXp7k2x5

 

[santaman2000]

Not exactly what I was thinking. The link below is closer. The one my colleague showed me a photo of was a bit shorter in length with a round section and a box at one end. It ran on a road legal trailer and they towed it behind their truck obviously. Texans, so big truck with gun rack in the back.
https://images.app.goo.gl/3midtxh3mVXp7k2x5

Yes. That’s the type. The BBQ restaurants here and in Texas have them to tow to various venues and BBQ competitions. The Air Force Base has a couple in the recreation warehouse that the squadrons reserve for their annual picnics and such.

The one I posted was a small version for private, backyard use.

 

[Robson Valley]

Back east on the plains, the BBQ are for rent from the pork marketing board.
Built on a 18' boat trailer, the 12VDC motors turn a spit with 2 hogs (max).
You can cook at 60 mph on your way to the party.

My Dad did this for a retirement bash on a big farm.
Rolled in with smoke flying. Backed up to the barn and dinner was on wheels.

I went to a lamb roast(?) north of Melbourne one weekend.
They had a motor spit turning two lambs over an open wood fire.
Together with baked potatoes and salad and whatever else, the taste was memorable.
I think the spit minders were hung over for 2 or 3 days.

I'm coming around to the idea that the bigger the pieces of lamb that you can cook, the better.
I have had East Indian lamb curry that kept me busy for a long time. Great.

 

[Paul_B]

Well I went to booths today and disappointed. Very little on the bone. Lamb shank and chops that were like little medallions they were so small. Lamb neck fillets were available. Beef was a little more with iirc 3 types of meat on the bone.

 

[Robson Valley]

Paul, you need a car and you need a freezer. Time to search out a country butcher and buy a lamb.
There isn't much in the way of meat that I buy in a grocery store. Not for nearly 20 years now.

 

[greenshooots]

ok since none of you have got it right here goes, stockpot meat in with 1 carrot, 1 onion, clove of garlic cover and cook meat, take out when cooked discard veg leave over night. skim off fat on stock in morning transfer half of stock to slow cooker add half of veg to slow cooker with seasoning to suit add thickener ie if pork dried peas if lamb pulses lentils etc other half goes on rapid boil for a few mins. slow cooker on high in morning till it starts bubbling and then down low will be ready to eat in evening, after evening meal top up with the rapid boil half and bring back to boil turn off switch on in morning on low will be ready for evening leftovers transffered to microwave dishes for following day enjoy

greenshoots

 

[Paul_B]

Paul, you need a car and you need a freezer. Time to search out a country butcher and buy a lamb.
There isn't much in the way of meat that I buy in a grocery store. Not for nearly 20 years now.

The beauty of Booths is that it is a country butcher, greengrocers, tea merchant, coffee roaster, etc. Started as a tea merchant in a market iirc in Preston or somewhere near it added coffee then groceries and eventually became a supermarket. But it kept its roots.

If you go to any booths supermarket you get the best of local produce. Often you can ask which farm the lamb came from or the potatoes. They'll make a big deal of working with xyz farm from Ormskirk and the ABC family who've been growing spuds on their farm for 5 generations. I also have to admit to knowing a few of the farms having grown up buying from their own farm shops. That was before farm shops and veg boxes became a big thing.

As to the meat, I've probably walked through some of the cumbrian farms the beef and salt marsh lamb often comes from.

Plus I've seen the invoices from the farms when I was an agency worker in there finance department.

All this means I'm surprised with how little meat on the bone today. Used to sell neck joints with bones and other cheap boned joints that's good for long, slow cooking.

 

[Janne]

Meat on the bone reminds today’s sensitive people that it actually came from an animal.

They do not like that, knowing the ‘protein’ breathed once.

Do not they sell chicken breast meat packed so people did not have to touch it? I read that earlier this year.

 

[Billy-o]

I miss a few things about the UK, but one of the big ones is lots of excellent quality lamb very cheap in the supermarkets immediately after Easter

 

[Janne]

Lamb ( US and NZ here) is ridiculously expensive.

The cheapest is a deboned rear thigh.

The trick we use is to use a lot of ‘filler’ ( root veg)

We do not need to eat so much meat!

 

[Robson Valley]

I don't feel like eating as much meat as I used to do, even just 5 years ago.
Two farms for lamb in my local district. Buy the whole beast. Cut, wrapped, labelled and frozen.
I was accustomed to buying sides of bison so a lamb seemed such a piddling little pile.

Certainly pushed me to learn useful recipes. Most of what I learned that I liked were all Greek.
That in turn led to Greek herb and spice seasonings and then to Greek preparations of vegetables.
Krinos does publish useful little cookbooks but no stew.

 

[Paul_B]

My parents had a huge chest freezer in the garage. Hate to think of the leccie Bill's just on that!

In it was the usual ice lollies, icecream, frozen peas, etc. Our added extra was a side of lamb or the whole lamb. A butcher's in the nearby town was a freezer specialist.

It sold usual cuts of meat but the signs outside gave the bulk prices. A lot cheaper and you could ask for particular cuts. All came wrapped individual packages then wrapped onto large polystyrene trays for carrying to the car. Worked out the cheapest way to get meat.

There's a butcher in the neighbouring village that's also a freezer specialist. Our freezer isn't big enough to bulk buy unfortunately.