M L
THE BUTCHERS CUT
MONGOLIAN CRISPY LAMB by John Muff
This is a corker of a dish ! There is a bit of faffing involved but it ' s really worth the effort . The key to success is to ensure the meat is marinaded long enough . And don ’ t be tempted to cook the meat too quickly on the first cook . This is very much a low and slow dish until you are ready to actually finish and serve . It really is a great dish to do in advance of a dinner party or occasion .
In terms of cuts of meat , I have always done this with breast of lamb . My favourite and one of those sadly underrated cuts of meat . You could also do this with the best end chops , that would be awesome !
INGREDIENTS
• Good sized breast of lamb
• Very finely diced white onion
• Thumb sized piece of ginger finely diced
• 6 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped finely
• Bunch of coriander ( finely dice the stalks and leave the leafy bits until the end )
• Toasted & finely ground szechuan peppercorn
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp madras
• 1 tbsp chilli flakes
• 2 star anise
• 2 tbsp honey
• Shaoxing wine
• 300ml light soy
• Ground nut oil or sesame oil
• Panko breadcrumbs
METHOD
For the marinade :
• Preheat a pan , add a little vegetable oil , then the ginger . Soften for a minute or so then add the garlic and chopped coriander stalks . Continue to stir so things don ’ t brown - you are looking to soften not crisp .
• Next add the whole diced onion and sweat this off until really translucent and it ' s beginning to colour . At this stage add in a couple of swigs of shaoxing wine and cook that off a bit . You can now turn off the heat and just use the residual heat to toast your spices . So add the cumin , madras , and chilli flakes . Mix these together well to combine the flavours . Lastly add the light soy and about 100ml of water , star anise , szechuan peppercorn , honey and a good slug of the groundnut oil . Mix this all in and then taste the marinade . You could at this point adjust to you taste . Maybe a bit more sweetness or more chilli ? Whatever you think .
For the lamb :
• Place the lamb on a nice flat tray with high enough sides to contain all the marinade . Make sure the lamb is completely covered and pop it in the fridge overnight .
• Pre heat your oven to 140 o c . Cover your marinating lamb with a layer of greaseproof paper then wrap really tightly with foil . Place in the middle of the oven and bake for two hours . Carefully bring it out and check that the meat is nice and soft . Cover and let it cool down . Once cold put in your fridge to really get it chilled . When this is done you will find the lamb has firmed up again there is a layer of fat on the top of the marinade / cooking juices . Lift the lamb out and place on a cutting board , remove the fat from the cooking liquid . Discard the fat and keep the liquid .
• Slice the lamb breast into decent sized slices just big enough they won ’ t fall apart to easily . Dip each piece in egg wash and then into the panko . Try and get a good even coating . Keep to one side on a tray , don ’ t knock them around or pile them up as you want your crumb to stick really well . You could at this stage fridge them and use within three days of freeze for a couple of months .
• All that is left to do is deep fry and serve with rice or noodles . Reduce the cooking liquid and use as a sauce .
• Finish with some shredded coriander .
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