Stuffed & Braised Lamb Breast

We stumbled upon Carnivore Meats while we were conducting our Best Bacon in Victoria challenge and I’ve been a regular customer ever since. All of their meat is local, unlike other butchers which sometimes only offer a limited selection of local meats, so it takes out the guess work when trying to choose and support local product. Because Carnivore buys locally they also usually have to purchase the whole animal so even though they offer familiar cuts of steak, pork and lamb they often have some not-so-common cuts too that to most would be considered off cuts. I was in there the other day and I saw lamb breast on display. “Lamb breast?! What do you do with lamb breast??”. Ian, the owner, gave me some suggestions and challenged me to try a recipe or two. Challenge accepted!

Lamb breast comes as a set of slender rib bones with a thin layer of meat and fat on top. Aside from braising the whole breast the other common method of prep was to cut away the meat and roll it and braise it. This seemed the most interesting and curious method of prep so I thought I’d give it a try. This recipe is inspired by one I saw from Gordon Ramsey but I made it my own. I’ll definitely be trying more recipes in the future though with this cut of meat as it’s inexpensive, easy to prepare and oh so tasty.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

Lamb:

Lamb breast

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp chili dried chili flakes

1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (dried works too)

Zest of one lemon

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Sauce:

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 cup white wine

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup black or green olives, pitted and cut in half length wise

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 160ºC (320ºF)

With a sharp knife carefully remove the layer of meat from the ribs by making cuts between the meat and the ribs trying to keep the meat intact as a whole piece. If there are a few holes in the sheet of lamb meat it doesn’t matter.

Next cut off the majority of the fat on the meat. A little remaining fat will lend moisture and flavor to the meat.

Lay the sheet of lamb out and season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Then evenly distribute the crushed garlic, lemon zest, chili flakes and herbs on the top side of the meat.

If you’re picky about presentation you can at this point trim the meat so it makes a perfect rectangle but it’s not necessary. Carefully roll the meat by rolling the narrower part of the rectangle inwards.

Tie the roll up with butchers twine.

Heat up an oven proof skillet or pan on high (a pan with a lid is best). Add the oil. Then sear the roll for about 2 minutes on each side until it’s nicely browned.

Remove the roll and set aside.

Add the chopped onions and 1/2 tsp of chili flakes and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and stir.

Add white wine to the pan and deglaze any bits by stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan as you go. Let the wine simmer for about a minute.

Add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Let the mixture reduce and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the roll back into the pan with the tomato mixture. Cover with a lid and put into the oven for about 1 hr 15mins

Remove the pan from the oven and add the olives.

Finish in the oven for another 15 minutes.

To serve remove the butchers twine and slice the roll into about 3/4″ slices. Great served with roasted potatoes.