Marinating Lamb for use in sandwiches makes all the difference
A while ago I wrote about the challenges of marination and tenderizing meats. The tougher the meat, the more important this process is for producing a result that everyone might enjoy. Lamb has always been one of my favorite dishes… but not Laura’s. I always wondered why? Not long ago, I realized that she hadn’t tried it since she was young and was served a very chewy piece. So, I decided to produced a nice lamb sandwich to reintroduce her to this wonderful meat.
The marination process is important and I thought I’d throw the kitchen sink at this task by using Kiwi fruit, pineapple and Papaya! Can we have some now? I love a sweet marinade with a bit of a bite, so here is what I used:
Part of the challenge for making a great lamb sandwich is in slicing the lamb thinly prior to marination ( most people know that a thick piece of meat seldom allows the marination to reach the center of the section of meat). Many cooks will say that after the marination, take the lamb to the grill!!! Interestingly enough, placing your marinated lamb on a ‘George Foreman” grill gives great temperature control and perfect results.
… and Laura changed her mind, she loved her Lamb sandwich. Next, whole lamb on a spit!
Here I am drinking a nice beer made from yeast that originated 45 million years ago. CLICK on the picture above to read more
There is a little known secret hereabouts and it is about a wonderful new beer. As many people who know me are aware, I don’t have the opportunity to have a beer as much as I would like to, but the other night introduced me to something special.
Laura and I had the opportunity to dine at Gennaro’s in San Luis Obispo ( yeah, I know there is one by the same name in New York) and it was a fun evening. Their Cuban Pork , mashed plantains and vegetables was delicious. One of the gentlemen there was a professor named Raoul Cano who has many accomplishments related to research into ancient DNA. I believe he was even a consultant on the movie “Jurassic Park”.
However, we are more interested in the Eocene Epoch a time in which the yeast — we are most interested in — originated. The Beer had a nice flavor with just a hint of lemon, and I enjoyed a second for purely scientific purposes. Each sip was better than the last.
I hope this new brewery does well… this is definitely something to be shared with friends!
To be fair, the internet, email and rudimentary websites had only been around a few years (4) when Catie Couric was attempting to describe the internet; however, she should have known more, much much more . Back in San Luis Obispo, we had only been accessing our email from home starting in early 1992. And does anyone remember Prodigy? Prodigy was one of the early web service provider that opened the door for many others. Soon, the more adventurous were learning basic computer languages then HTML and finally building their own sites.
Our daughter Karen had started her first website in 1995 as an unofficial Val Kilmer fan site which evolved though her athletic, academic and professional experiences. In high school, it was a great way for college coaches to see what she was doing without breaking any of those vaunted NCAA rules!
Going back a little farther, I also remember in the very early 80’s that a computer ‘upgrade’ required knowledge and use of a soldering iron. Do you remember the first innovative 5 1/4 floppy, and daisy wheel printers? The ‘typewritter’ was on the way out! Imagine my surprise when computer alterations and up grades became plug and play! We are very spoiled today with advances in technology and the abundance of information.
However, the NBC video brings home a tragic truth about how far behind many formerly great institutions have dropped since their once great leadership roles. It’s not only the traditional media that has fallen woefully behind, but also many academic institutions in responding to and understanding new media applications and the changing realities and expectations governing our world.
Although I will resist making any comments like “NBC News saw a huge increase in it’s audience with the vintage leaked footage on Youtube“…. it reminds me how really long ago that I had any reason to watch ABC, CBS or NBC…. and I am really not alone. The target audience of these stations is getting older and older. It’s not just demographic changes but lack of content that is killing the old ways.
BTW, I would like to thank the poor NBC employee who was fired over the leak and I wish them well… however, any PR professional worth anything could have given them advice on how to handle this better and … maybe …make it a plus… but NBC is very old school and they have forgotten that the world has changed, offering information to the public has become competitive and what you do privately ( as in firing employees) will be seen by all quicker than you can say YouTube.
When Laura and I were married at the old age of 20, our budget was very tight and we bought meat in bulk and often the most economical. As an athlete I needed the protein, so any cut of meat would serve the purpose but it would be nice if it was tender and flavorful. Cheap and flavorful, was that really asking too much? My grandmother was fond of tenderizers and marinades, so armed with this knowledge, we always were able to turn a tough piece of meat into something nice, juicy and tender.
Lamb dishes are fondly viewed in different parts of the world. We are very fond of Mutton Stew and Greek Moussaka! I am very interested in making a Lamb curried dish…. so many to choose!
Matching he right tenderizer for the right piece of meat makes all the difference!
As a young couple, the meat we bought was very tough and consequently we spent most of our time using Enzyme tenderizers , like Adolf’s. However, almost any ‘chemical’ tenderizer will work given enough time. The enzyme tenderizers turn tough meats like game, lamb, mutton and goat into something marvelous.
Two types of enzyme tenderizers. Adolf's is made from the skin of Papaya and McCormicks comes from pineapple.
Here are three popular fruits used for chemical tenderizing:
PAPAYA: the active ingredient is Papain and comes from the green skin of the plant. You can use Adolf’s meat tenderizer or make your own from a Papaya! It has been said that the indigenous of Pre-Columbian Mexico discovered that meat could be tenderized if it was first wrapped in the leaves of the Papaya plant.
PINEAPPLE: contains Bromelain that can be found in many parts of the Pineapple. You can buy McCormick’s or make it yourself. However, you have to use a fresh pineapple as the process of canning pineapple destroys much of the enzymes. Enzymes are heat sensitive.
KIWI FRUIT: contains Actinidin. This is a more expensive, but fun, tenderizer.
Mechanical Tenderizing:
As the name implies, Mechanical tenderizing is simply beating a piece of meat with one of many of the tools designed for this task. Usually, the hammer-like tool will be surrounded with a variety of spikes with the largest for the toughest cuts. Also available are needle like tools that help to increase the depth that the chemical tenderizers and marinade can reach.
Low Temperature:
The real key to cooking tough meat is to cook for a long time at a low temperature. Tough meats need to be covered as not to dry out and many perfect stews are made in this manner.
IS THE MEAT REALLY TOUGH… DO IT ALL!
Mutton is usually something that requires both a chemical and a mechanical tenderizing… even if you are going to grill it!
