Lamb Ribs: Now + Lamb Breast - BBQ with a Baa

I posted on "Beyond Chicagoland" about some really great Moroccan spiced ribs made with pomegranate molasses and Meyer lemon at a restaurant in Denver.
I'd like to start experimenting and create something similar.
So...
1)Any recipe ideas? My plan is to toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, maybe some ?coriander, ?cumin, ?cayenne and roast then broil them, brushing then with pomegranate molasses towards the end. I'll probably put together some kind of compote with Meyer lemon.
2)Good places to get lamb ribs?
Thanks!

I assume you are meaning a rack of them
I generally do them up on a kettle grill
rubbed them with a thin coat of olive oil..then sprinkle with some kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, and oregano
I like to throw some dried grape vines on the coal or apple wood chunks
not morrocan..more greek style

Actually, it wasn't a rack of lamb...it was just the ribs...

HI,

I've often bought lamb riblets at Sunset Foods in Highland Park.

My Dad likes them broiled. I have brushed them with mustard, rolled in seasoned bread crumbs and baked.

REgards,

Perfect! I work in HP.
Thanks

one of the classic kashmiri dishes is tabak-maaz or kabergha, itrs part of every wazwaan and always at any wedding - probably one of my favorite dishes in the world.

Anyway, lamb ribs (with a good deal of the fat left on) are first browned in oil that has been tempered with black cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, and a clove or two, then ground fennel and ginger with a pinch of ground coriander and cumin are added to the oil. After which the ribs are simmered in milk traditionally (I usually pressure cook with just water) until they are fall of the bone tender.

Once the ribs are soft enough, some of the braising liquid is combined with besan (chickpea flour) to make a thin batter. The ribs are dipped and then shallow fried in ghee at low heat to get a crisp crust. It should be slightly crunchy on the outside with moist, well seasoned meat on the inside. When done well, absolutely delicious.

I am a chef here in chicago. I learned about lamb ribs back during culinary school while working at Al Forno in Providence RI. I currently have them on my menu at MIX which is located at 2843 n Halsted in Chicago. i have found them at Treasure Island. They are known as "DENVER" style lamb ribs.

Searing them first then brasing is the best method in my opinion. It is important to sear thewm so some of the fat maybe rendered.

because lamb is a much stronger flavored meat compared to pork you can be much more bold with your sauce then with pork ribs.

Look into Thai and Vietnamese style prok recipes for inspiration as well. I almost forgot about Indian curries as well.

one of the classic kashmiri dishes is tabak-maaz or kabergha, itrs part of every wazwaan

Wow, that's quite a mouthful (literally and figuratively)

They are known as "DENVER" style lamb ribs

Who knew Denver was the source of such a great culinary tradition...

Thanks for all the info--I will report back with my progress on the lamb rib front.

zim wrote:one of the classic kashmiri dishes is tabak-maaz or kabergha, itrs part of every wazwaan and always at any wedding - probably one of my favorite dishes in the world.

Anyway, lamb ribs (with a good deal of the fat left on) are first browned in oil that has been tempered with black cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, and a clove or two, then ground fennel and ginger with a pinch of ground coriander and cumin are added to the oil. After which the ribs are simmered in milk traditionally (I usually pressure cook with just water) until they are fall of the bone tender.

Once the ribs are soft enough, some of the braising liquid is combined with besan (chickpea flour) to make a thin batter. The ribs are dipped and then shallow fried in ghee at low heat to get a crisp crust. It should be slightly crunchy on the outside with moist, well seasoned meat on the inside. When done well, absolutely delicious.

This thread reminded me that I had drooled over Mark Bittman's recipe for tabak-maaz when it came out in the NYT last February. He omits Zim's final step (which I would be inclined to include, mostly because anything fried in chickpea flour batter is delicious). Here is an adaptation:

TWICE-COOKED LAMB (TABAK MAAZ)
Time: 60 minutes

Braising:
4 pounds lamb ribs from the breast or 2 to 3 pounds shoulder lamb chops
Salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch salt
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water

Finishing:
2 tablespoons butter or neutral oil like corn or grapeseed
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup water
Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish.

1. Put the ribs in a large skillet with the remaining braising ingredients; bring to a simmer and cook until just about tender (30 to 45 minutes). Add more water if the mixture is looking dry.

2. When the meat is fork tender, remove it. Cook down any remaining liquid, stirring, until just about dry. Remove the whole spices.

3. To finish, add the butter and the garlic to the pan over medium heat and return the meat to the skillet to brown. Remove the ribs and keep warm. Deglaze with 1/2 cup water and cook down until liquid is reduced by about half. Pour over meat, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Yield: 4 main course or 8 appetizer servings.

Fillay

fillay,

if you do try this at home, I would make sure to include among the whole spices a couple black cardamoms (badi elachi), they have a specific flavor, quite distinct from their greener cousins which in my view is integral to the dish.

I should also note that the batter is really a very light coating, a whole different creature from most chickpea battered and deepfried items like pakora

thaiobsessed wrote:Actually, it wasn't a rack of lamb...it was just the ribs...

ok..i know what you mean..cook em the same way

Thaiobsessed,

My usual take on lamb ribs is to simply grill, often with Jerk wet rub, or bake the individual ribs in the oven. Actually, baked lamb ribs are a bit of a secret indulgence, as they are quite rich. (read fatty )

Dead simple, just mix flour with a good quality commercial curry powder, I get mine from the Spice House on Wells, with a little coarse salt. Dredge lamb ribs in mix, drizzle a little olive oil, bake at 400 until coating is quite crisp and lamb ribs are just this side of done.

Enjoy,
Gary

Are lamb ribs the same thing as lamb breast? Our local supermarket in San Antonio, TX used to sell a packed item called lamb breast (looked like the plastic packaging used to whole filet loins or briskets. When I asked the butcher, he just said they were really fatty and tasty if you can get 'em. They were dirt cheap though...

Are lamb ribs the same thing as lamb breast?

I don't think it's the same thing.

I meant to report back after all the great suggestions.
I followed Bobby z's advice and bought the ribs at Treasure Island.
Then I made a "Morrocan Spice Blend" (which I found at Epicurious.com) and used G Wiv's cooking method (dredged in flour with spice mixture blended in, olive oil drizzle, baked in oven). Hmmm, delicious. Sorry, we ate them too fast to take a picture. My next attempt is going to somehow incorporate pomegranate molasses (a la Something Else restaurant in Denver). I think I'm going to brush some on at the end and put the ribs under the broiler for a minute or two.

Someone else will no doubt chime in to correct or clarify this, but:

The breast is a primal cut of the lamb. It's often broken down into denver ribs, the foreshank, and riblets. If it's sold simply as "lamb breast" it might be any one of those, but, more likely, it's the entire breast primal.

A great version of brainsed lamb breast appears as an off menu item from time to time at Manny's. It's a big favorite of my Dad's and when he orders it, he will not speak a word until all that is left on his plate is a small pile of little bones.

SteveZ

Any idea what day that's available?

pdaane wrote:SteveZ

Any idea what day that's available?

No set day. They just seem to show up once in a while.

gleam wrote:Someone else will no doubt chime in to correct or clarify this, but:

The breast is a primal cut of the lamb. It's often broken down into denver ribs, the foreshank, and riblets. If it's sold simply as "lamb breast" it might be any one of those, but, more likely, it's the entire breast primal.

This is my understanding also. We smoked lamb spareribs the other night and they turned out great. We bought them from Mint Creek Farm at the Green City Market. lamb spareribs are basically the riblets (not cut apart individually). My wife and I made a spice rub with cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, turmeric, allspice, cardamom, fennel seeds, pepper, coriander, cumin, and salt. Then smoked it on the WSM for about 2 hours or so.

I bet someone on this thread can help me. Back in the day, I tood a sabbatical in Paris, during which I pretty much mostly starved, since I was on half salary, and Paris' prices were roughly double Kansas City's. Luckily, my flat had a paperback copy of Pellaprat's La cuisine bourgeous, in which I found many a recipe for low budgets, including a recipe for what, basically, is braised breast of lamb. You brown it, add some wine and broth, a turnip, some carrots, and let it bake for hours and hours. It's fabulous, of course. Unfortunately, I can't remember the recipe's name, and the American version of Pellaprat doesn't have the recipe in it (I just now looked). Now that y'awl have so wonderfully re-introduced me to lamb breast, I'd like to recover that recipe from the archeology of my culinary past. Any suggestions?

Geo

Man... after KennyZ's post of lamb breast at Galapago's... I've got a hankering to try it too.... I've been making beef ribs recently (it's quite ubiquitous out here in cattle country) and I HAVE missed beef ribs from my TX days, but now I want some lamb breast! I'm JUST making my way through the first chapters of "Low and Slow" though... wonder if I can substitute lamb instead of pork... (I know... I know... no deviations from the lessons until I've graduated...)

Jay K wrote:Man... after KennyZ's post of lamb breast at Galapago's... I've got a hankering to try it too.... I've been making beef ribs recently (it's quite ubiquitous out here in cattle country) and I HAVE missed beef ribs from my TX days, but now I want some lamb breast! I'm JUST making my way through the first chapters of "Low and Slow" though... wonder if I can substitute lamb instead of pork... (I know... I know... no deviations from the lessons until I've graduated...)

As you probably saw above, I smoked lamb ribs for about 2 hours. I'd check them after an hour and half and pull when you think they are ready. Since this was my first time smoking lamb ribs, I didn't want to mess around with the flavor too much, so I skipped the mustard slather and just put a rub on. In other words, your method for making baby back pork ribs is quite appropriate for lamb breast, though the cooking time may be slightly different (shorter in my case, but perhaps longer if you use larger ribs or a whole breast).

I've used an Owensboro rub for lamb shoulder, no reason it wouldn't work for lamb ribs.

Geo

LTH,

Smoked a lamb breast on the Big Green Egg and, if I do say so myself, it was terrific. Surprisingly meaty, slightly fatty, very flavorful. Though the name is lamb breast for all intents and purposes the cut was the same as a full rack of spare ribs, chine, aka tips, breast meat flap and ribs, and I treated it the same as spare ribs, vinegar wash/mustard slather, rub and into the smoker with lump and hickory at a steady 250-degrees.

Ducks in a row



Trim flap, demembrane



Lamb breast on BGE, cruising altitude 250-degrees



Three hours into the cook and done



Last 15-minutes I glazed the lamb breast with peach juice and made a peach BBQ sauce.* Peach, which I used as I happened to have an open container in the fridge. Lately I've been drinking peach juice mixed with Nateczowianka carbonated mineral water, made a lovely lightly sweet fruity counterpoint for the mildly spicy rich lamb.

On the plate





Lamb breast, aka lamb spare ribs, are going into my smoking repertoire, can't beat the price, the entire lamb breast was $4.33 at Fresh Farms in Niles, and three hours on the smoker yielded a tender flavorful, meaty treat.

Enjoy,
Gary

*Peach juice, BBQ rub, brown sugar, vinegar, fresh grated tangerine peel, simmer to thicken. Whisk in bit of butter to finish

Looks great, Gary! And you've settled what I'm going to do with the lamb "breast" I bought from the Russian/Georgian butcher. It looks like you split off the flap and rolled it. Is that right? Mine is awfully thin, but damn near a foot square. I'd like to maximize its eating potential.

Geo

Geo wrote:It looks like you split off the flap and rolled it. Is that right? Mine is awfully thin, but damn near a foot square.

Geo,

Good eye, that is exactly what I did, and it surprised in its tenderness. The rolled flap was done well before the rest of the lamb breast and made a tasty cooks treat.

Enjoy,
Gary

LTH,

I am being slowly seduced by Lamb Breast on the smoker, full flavored fat flecked charm impossible to resist. Lamb breast, as I mention upthread, is the same cut as a full rack of spare ribs from Mr. Pig, though typically sold cut into pieces. Whole uncut lamb breast, aka lamb spare ribs, work best in the low slow environment of the smoker, a request to the butcher will likely yield whole uncut lamb breast.*

Lamb Breast (two in package) from Fresh Farms, Niles



I treat lamb breast the same as pork ribs, vinegar rinse, sluice with water, cheap yellow mustard, dry rub and on to the smoker. For the pictured cook I used a mix of garlic/onion powder, fresh cracked black pepper, oregano, kosher salt and half-sharp paprika (the good stuff from The Spice House).

Lamb Breast ready for the smoker



When the lamb breast was just about done, it took in the neighborhood of 3-hours, I brushed with a mix of olive oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice, salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Lamb Breast Mop







Three hours on the smoker with lump charcoal and apple wood



Not having any squishy white bread on hand, what's BBQ without white bread, I baked a couple of loaves from a recipe by my mother in-law Dorothy. A wonderful everyday loaf.



As an aside, I knew the Big Green Egg was well insulated, but this picture of my Big Green Egg at 250 with unmelted snow still on the cooker speaks volumes. And, yes, the snow soon melted off.

Big Green Egg @ 250-degrees



Enjoy,
Gary

*(NAMP 209

Looks lovely Gary!

I've never smoked a lamb breast, but duh! shoulda thought of it. Hard to find in KC tho'. I'll have to ask at the Ukranian butcher shop next Fall when I get back.

I've smoked lamb shanks many times, and have done a pulled lamb shoulder several times; it seems to me that lamb takes to smoke at least as well as pork, maybe even better, esp. if it's a bit fatter and older. Great idea about the breast!

Geo
PS. Your mop looks interesting. I've had some success with my shanks using anOwensboro mop. Biggest difference to yours would be the 'Wooster' sauce, I'd think.
PPS. Can not *believe* the insulation on your Egg. Simply amazing, that temperature differential!

Lamb ribs are one of my favorite indulgences. They were on sale last week at Fresh Farms, and at $1.69/lb I found no reason to resist. These were well trimmed ribs, and only ribs, although the packages were labeled 'breast'.

At the suggestion of some friends, I decided to try zatar from Penzey's in addition to olive oil and S&P as a rub. I found it pleasant, but I missed the addition of my usual seasonings on lamb, garlic & rosemary. IMO smoke from apple wood compliments lamb perfectly, and the lamb flavor was robust and . . . well . . . enough words . . . just have a look . . .

Off to the races



After 2 1/4 hours @ 250° I elevated the temp to 375° for 45 minutes to develop crispy bits


A short stack of utter delight

DRC1379 wrote:A short stack of utter delight

Looks fantastic, really nice. Last picture even elicited an involuntary wow!