Coffee-Braised Spoon Lamb |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 0 Minutes |
Ready In: 0 Minutes Servings: 1 |
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Time: 6 1/4 hours. Spoon lamb gets its name from the texture of the meat when it's finished cooking: so tender, you can cut it with a spoon. This long, slow cooking technique benefits leg of lamb, typically a tough cut, and the acidity of the coffee offsets the richness of the meat. The sauce made from the drippings begs for polenta or potatoes. Ingredients:
6 garlic cloves, divided |
1 bone-in leg of lamb (about 7 lbs.), trimmed of outside fat |
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper |
1 large onion, quartered |
4 large carrots, cut into chunks |
2 shallots, peeled |
1 tomato, quartered |
1/4 cup olive oil |
1 cup dry red wine |
3 cups freshly brewed strong coffee, divided |
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley |
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Mince 2 garlic cloves and rub onto lamb, spreading evenly. Generously sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper. Put lamb on a V-shaped rack in a large roasting pan. Surround rack with onion, carrots, shallots, tomato, and remaining 4 garlic cloves. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables and lamb.
2. Roast 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and cook another 30 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to 250°. Transfer lamb to a plate and lift rack from pan. Set the roasting pan on a burner over high heat, add wine, and boil, using a wide metal spatula to stir and scrape caramelized vegetables from bottom of pan, until wine has reduced by half. Stir in 2 cups coffee. Remove from heat. Set lamb back in pan (without rack); spoon juices over it. Cover tightly with foil.
4. Return to oven and cook until lamb is tender and pulling away from the bone, about 5 hours, turning lamb once halfway through cooking.
5. Transfer lamb to a platter and cover with foil. Reheat remaining 1 cup coffee and pour with liquid and vegetables from pan into a blender, working in batches if needed. Pulse until smooth. Pour sauce through a strainer set over a bowl, using the back of a spoon or ladle to push it through if needed. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour half of sauce over lamb and serve the rest in a bowl. Sprinkle lamb with parsley.
6. Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
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