Thursday, January 27, 2011

I had no idea where this was going

Did you ever buy an ingredient with no idea of what to do with it?  I bought Lamb Arm Chops (bone-in), the other day, with no idea of how to prepare it.  I bought it to cook for my mother-in-law's impending visit, thinking it was a good idea at the time.  Then, I quickly realized it is probably not wise to prepare something that I've never  tried before in an attempt to impress her. : )

Well, I got to searching the web and stumbled across this recipe.  I didn't have all of the ingredients (no carrots-no big deal).  I decided to put my own spin on it and the meat ended up falling off the bone...so good.

Here is the low-down on what I did.  I started out by rough chopping a sweet onion, a few green onions, the white ends of 5 Leeks, 5 red potatoes (peeled) & 5 stalks of celery.  I sauteed these down in a little EVOO.  Once the onions started to caramelize, I transferred them to a large baking pan (since I don't have a handy Dutch Oven), then I salt & peppered the Lamb chops after rubbing them down in EVOO.  I cranked the heat in the skillet that I'd cooked the veg in and I seared the meat.  Next, I placed the chops on top of the vegetables.  I poured 32 oz. of Chicken stock into the skillet to loosen the little bits of meat from the searing.  I dissolved 2 tbsp. tomato paste into the stock and sprinkled a handful of Rosemary over the meat and vegetables.  Once the tomato paste was dissolved, I poured the liquid over the meat and vegetables.  I cooked this for two hours @ 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  I turned the meat every 30 minutes, never covering it.  The vegetables and meat were soooo good!

I served this with French bread.  Braising such an awkward cut of meat was a good idea.  I think if I grilled the Arm chops, it would have been a disaster.

Good luck in trying this wholesome meal and have a great weekend!

The Kitchen Witch

1 comment:

Mrs BC said...

Sounds yummy! So glad you cooked something delish for your MIL - phew, crisis averted! Shanks are great in a slow cooker, they are too tough to grill. I have never heard them called 'Lam Arms' before, but thats what I am calling them from now on. Boys are gonna love it!
Mrs BC
xx