I want to prepare a leg of lamb as though I am preparing a Kokarri Lamb Shank! Will it work?
Recently, I blogged about how the Kokarri Restaurant published a cookbook recently and included one of my favorite of their many fine culinary marvels… the Lamb Shank! I think I like it so much because it is prepared in a similar way to how I prepare my ribs… ‘simmered’ ( read ‘boiled’) in some sort of version of ‘pickling spices’ (various pepper seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon, dill, ginger among other things… I’d add Juniper berries!). The simmering ‘tenderizes the meat while adding the wonderful flavors of so many interesting herbs and spices.
I am checking which pot I want to use when I ‘simmer’ the shank…. this one looks just right!
BTW, I have lost over 30 lbs now… and all of this has been great therapy to losing weight. Psychologists have said that talking about food is actually beneficial to keeping you on tract… so planning out the holiday ‘feast’ monthes in advance is not bad… therapy!
Once you learn how to prepare grape leaves for the many dishes utilizing this relatively obscure ingredient, you will never go back to buying the bottled kind found in most stores! …. That is to say, IF you have your own grape vines.
There are many ways to prepare but they all involve soaking them in some sort of brine solution first… but if you don’t have your own vines, this may convince you to plant some!
When we are in San Francisco, our favorite place to savor the flavor of the city a a wonderful Greek Restaurant. If you are not familiar with Greek food it is a lot more than Baklava, Grape leaves and Ouzo. The Greek cuisine is all about lamb and pork and some of the delicious wines made from ancient grapes.
The most interesting aspect of this beautiful culinary experience is they have come out with a new cookbook! I have already ordered it and anxiously await to see how they do this and that… because when I was there the last time, they were very tight lipped about their ‘secrets.’ One meal I most enjoyed was a lamb shank where the meat was moist, flavorful and melted off the bone! This is the way to do lamb!
Pastitsio (Pah-stoo-chio) is a popular Greek dish designed to feed an entire village! However, this s not to distract from the fact that it is a culinary delight! Using the traditional Greek noodles and cheese (Kefalotiri), you are transferred back in time.
CLICK on the picture above to discover the recipe for our Pastitsio!
There are some Greek Pastitsio that you will find drowned in a tomato sauce, but in deference to the meat eating Spartans and men everywhere, I make mine with a lot more meat… a lot more meat!
The trouble with so many recipes today is : 1) the limited number of ingredients utilized and 2) the emphasis is rapid preparation.Frankly, I really don’t care how many ingredients something takes or how long it takes to prepare IF the final product is worth all the time, energy and expense.
There are any ways to prepare BBQ’d ribs and there are many ways to cook them. Some folks like to take ribs, slap some sauce on them, and throw them into a brick oven; however, when eating these, one has to assume you still have all your teeth as it can be a bit chewy. In defense of this method, you can feed a lot of people quickly and easily. A second common way to prepare ribs is to boil them first and this has a number of proponents as the meat easily peals from the bone; unfortunately, most of the flavor is lost in the boiling process and all you end up tasting is the sauce.
Now, if you want to be more adventurous and you would like to make the meat more flavorful, all you have to do is throw your favorite seasonings into the pot while boiling the ribs and the rest is magic.
There is one more thing you can do and that is to soak your ribs in your favorite cure. When the ribs are ready to be boiled I throw the entire mixture into the pot and boil away, replacing whatever extra liquid might be necessary. The liquid the ribs have been soaking in for a couple of months is…. beer.
Your Barbecue sauce should be something special and there are many fine recipes on line… look for those that use ample brown sugar and are more than just a tomato base. You’ve worked this hard on the meat, you might as well find a great sauce for it. You might be interested to know that a lot of folks have come up with their own ‘sauce’… like Teddy Roosevelt. You might like to try one of these.
That is the way of good ribs… lots of preparation and gone in a second!
You can tell it is the fall here in this part of California, the insect life is coming alive! In a couple more months we'll enjoy our ribs!
