Lambing it Up: My Lamb Video, Some Favorite Lamb Recipes, and a Contest

My family loves lamb. Just this spring I posted about how to buy lamb and then I put together a lovely lamb dinner menu. I’d say that I serve lamb three or four times a month in every form, from grilled chops to meatballs and burgers to braised shanks. We’re lucky here in Austin that we have many sources of lamb from the best producers in the world, from local favorite Loncito Cartwright to high quality Colorado lamb at Central Market, and Australian and New Zealand lamb in stores all over town. Needless to say, I was extremely excited when the folks from the Tri-Lamb Group – a collaborative initiative between United States, Australia, and New Zealand lamb producers – approached me to help them create a video about lamb and get the word out about this fantastic food. Put simply, lamb tastes great, is easy to cook, and is good for you. And I can honestly say I believed all of these things long before this partnership started and we created this video. Now, it’s all on record for the world to see. So please, take a few minutes to learn a bit more about the goodness of lamb, then continue reading the post for links to some of my favorite lamb recipes, and to learn more about a contest I’m hosting with the Tri-Lamb group that will end with three of my readers winning $25 gift cards.

The Summer Salad with Grilled Lamb and Quinoa recipe featured in the video is very simple to make and your family will enjoy it – mine did.

Lamb Recipes

Now that you’re rarin’ to go out and grab some lamb for your next dinner, take a look at these favorite lamb recipes that I’ve tested many times in my own kitchen and that I can promise are a great place to get started bringing more lamb into your food world.

  • Grilled Bread with Tuscan Style Lamb – this is great light meal for a summer night. You can use a lamb London broil instead of a leg of lamb.
  • Braised Lamb Shanks with Parsley-Mint Gremolata – this is a great winter dish and after you get it into the oven you can tend to other things.
  • Lamb Burger with Yogurt Sauce – lamb is a fun alternative to ground beef for burgers and gives you a whole new palette on which to play with burger seasonings and toppings.
  • Pistachio-Crusted Rack of Lamb – a rack of lamb is a beautiful dish for any holiday or special meal, and you might be surprised at how easy it is to make.
  • Aromatic Lamb Meatballs – I bake these in a 350 degree oven instead of frying them and they are great over spaghetti with brown butter.
  • Grilled Lamb Lollipops – this is fastest and easiest way I know to cook lamb. These are perfect party food because they come with a built-in handle.
  • Barley and Lamb Stew – I like this dish because it’s hearty and provides a great base for playing with flavor combinations. Add in onions and leeks, deglaze the pan with a nice red wine, or even toss in a few potatoes.

Contest: Share Your Lamb Recipe

I’m always on the hunt for new lamb recipes, and I’m hoping y’all can turn me on to a few. In partnership with the Tri-Lamb Group, I’ll be giving away $25 gift certificates to three readers. Simply submit your favorite original lamb recipe in the comments by noon CST on Tuesday, August 3, 2010. I’ll use a random number generator to select the three winners from all who submit recipes. I’ll notify winners via e-mail, so be sure to submit a valid e-mail address with your comment. I look forward to seeing what tasty lamb treats everyone has to offer.

Disclosure: The only compensation I received for my work with the Tri-Lamb Group was a fun-filled day of video production with their great team, a fridge full of lamb from the video shoot, and a nice dinner at a local restaurant. My partnership is otherwise based on my support for their good work and my love of lamb.

6 Comments

  1. I have several recipes on my blog with lamb from Twin Oaks Ranch, Loncito Cartwright’s farm in Dinero, Texas. My favorite is the simple and flavorful Lamb Chops served with a Parmesan Chive Butter. http://www.homewithmandy.com/2008/09/lamb-chops.html.

    The second post is a Lamb Rib experiment where I took recipes from Alton Brown, Ina Garten, Michael Chairello and used rubs from Parini Ranch in Abilene, and the Marriott San Antonio. I cooked four racks of lamb ribs side by side and the results were delicious! http://www.homewithmandy.com/2008/09/lamb-ribs-experiment-in-flavors.html

  2. Great job with the video, Natanya! You are a natural — way better than most of the contestants on the Next Food Network Star!

  3. Love the video – great work. Look forward to seeing more!

    Here’s the go-to lamb recipe that I’ve written – super simple and deceivingly good. It’s a recipe that I frequently share with people who ask me for recipes because you can start it the night before, let it marinate while you’re at work, and it takes less than 10 minutes to finish it that night for serving.

    Rosemary Lamb Chops
    Serves 4

    Ingredients:
    1 cup olive oil
    2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    5 large garlic cloves, minced
    2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
    4 teaspoons rosemary, de-stemmed and minced
    2 8-rib racks of lamb, trimmed, cut into 4 double chops
    1 teaspoon kosher salt
    1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

    Directions:
    1. Whisk the olive oil, the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, and rosemary in a sealable plastic container to blend. Make sure you select a sealable plastic container that is large enough to hold the double chops of lamb.
    2. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper.
    3. Add lamb to marinade and turn to coat.
    4. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to 1 day).
    5. Allow lamb to come to room temperature before cooking.
    6. Preheat broiler.
    7. Remove lamb chops from marinade and transfer to rimmed baking sheet.
    8. Broil lamb chops 4 minutes per side.
    9. Remove from broiler and rest the meat for 2 minutes before serving.

  4. I LOVE the video! Lots of useful information and well presented. The lamb looks amazing!

  5. jodipaul /

    Awesome job! Great video.

  6. You are a star! (And yes, I’m with Jodi, you are wayyyy better than most of the NFNS contestants this season). Can’t wait to try one of your recipes. I rarely use lamb and now, I can’t think of a single reason why I haven’t.

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