Ingredient

Lamb

Lamb divides more cleanly than any other meat into cuts that want fierce, brief heat and cuts that want hours. Getting that division right is most of cooking it well, because a shoulder treated like a chop is inedible and vice versa.

Fast and slow

Fast — loin chops, cutlets, rack, leg steaks, fillet

High heat, briefly, served pink. Lean and tender, and they toughen if pushed.

Slow — shoulder, shank, neck, breast

Hours at a low temperature. Full of connective tissue that needs time to become gelatine.

Either — leg

Roast pink and fast for a classic roast, or cook it for seven hours until it falls apart. Both work; the middle does not.

Mince

Fast, and it wants strong seasoning — cumin, coriander, mint, chilli.

The rule

A muscle that worked hard needs time. A muscle that did not needs speed.

Why lamb tastes of lamb

The distinctive flavour lives almost entirely in the fat, in a group of branched-chain fatty acids that other meats do not have in the same quantity. That is why lean lamb tastes much milder, and why trimming the fat off reduces the character considerably.

It also means the flavour intensifies with the age of the animal. Spring lamb is delicate; hogget and mutton are progressively stronger and are worth seeking out if you like it. Mutton also has far more connective tissue and needs the slow treatment.

The corollary is that if the fat is not rendered properly, the dish will taste greasy and strongly of lamb in an unpleasant way. Render it hard — start chops fat-edge down in the pan, and skim braises after cooling.

Cooking each well

• Chops and cutlets — render the fat edge first by holding them upright in the pan, then sear each side hard. Two to three minutes a side, then rest.
• Rack — score the fat, sear it all over, then roast at 200°C for fifteen to twenty minutes and rest for ten.
• Leg, roasted pink — high heat to start, then moderate. Stud with garlic and rosemary and rest it properly.
• Shoulder, slow — 150°C or lower for four to six hours, covered for most of it, until it pulls apart with a spoon.
• Shanks — browned then braised in liquid for two to three hours.
• Whatever the cut — skim the fat. Lamb renders a great deal of it and a braise is much better for having it removed.

What goes with it

• Rosemary, thyme, mint and oregano — the classic herbs, and mint sauce exists because acid cuts the fat.
• Garlic and anchovy, which sounds odd and is one of the best things you can do to a leg of lamb.
• Cumin, coriander, sumac and chilli — the Middle Eastern and North African treatments, which suit it as well as the European ones.
• Yoghurt, both as a marinade and alongside.
• Beans, lentils, aubergine, tomato and preserved lemon.
• Sharp things generally. Lamb is rich and wants acid.

Common questions