Culinary School: Beef Braises and Butchering a Lamb
The tale of a lamb that didn’t quite make it to freedom.
Another great week in culinary school and this week we butchered a lamb and focused on braising and grilling beef.
You guys, we butchered an entire lamb! And made meat products we can cook with, like : lamb shoulder, lamb legs, rack of ribs, tenderloin and more. We started off with a 75lbs dry-aged lamb carcass and ended up with a 40lbs of meat product and 30lbs of bones. That was so rad.
Core takeaways from butchering a lamb:
- Break big parts into smaller parts. e.g. The entire carcass is divided in threes to forequarter, midquarter and hindquarter. Hindquarter is divided into two legs and two shanks.
- Use a bone saw for bones and knife for meat. e.g. when separating the legs use a meat knife first to expose bone, saw the bone until you’re through it and then a meat knife to separate the leg completely.
- Cut as close to the bones as possible. Cutting close to bones means we’re not destroying valuable cuts of meat. e.g. I broke down a hindquarter into leg of lamb just by following pelvis bones.
- Presentation matters to butchers. Making attractive cuts that go in the front window of a butcher shop is different then cutting meat for a pot/pan. As a result butcher cuts are regional and change between regions, religions and cuisines.
We used our newly butchered lamb to make Braised Lamb Shoulder. The toughest cuts of meats need low & slow cooking to break down collagen to gelatin.
How to braise lamb shoulder: We placed the shoulder on a a bed of onions and marinaded it in a mix of balsamic vinaigrette, soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, anchovies, marjoram and garlic. We braised this dish in a 350°F oven for 1–1.5h until internal temp was 125°F. Cut against the grain, top in onions and serve.
Earlier that week we Braised Oxtail. The flavour and texture were so rich I kept thinking there’s cream in there despite having very little.
Braising oxtail: sear on all sides, remove meat and suatee vegetables (onions, carrots) until soft in the same pan. Add meat and braise on stovetop or in 325°F oven for 1–1.5h until meat is very tender. Remove meat and reduce braising liquid to desired consistency/amount (1cupish). Suatee and add in any additional aromatics (shallots, leeks, garlic, cream, sour cream, etc).
We also braised Beef Chuck (shoulder) and made Estouffade and Carbonade braises. Both recipes are super similar so here’s my quick How To Braise 101:
- Brown 2" chuck cubes on all sides. Dredge in flour for Estouffade.
- Make braising liquid. Remove meat and cook additional aromatics in the same pan. For Estouffade sautée onions & garlic, deglaze with wine & stock, add oregno & thyme. For carbonade make a roux with beef fat, add stock, beer, sugar, vinegar, sauteed onions and garlic.
- Add beef back in and braise. 300f°F-350°F for 1.5–3h until met is tender. Cartouche on top if you’re low on liquid.
- Add final aromatics. For Estouffade add chocolate.
- Reduce sauce. Remove the meat, reduce sauce to serving consistency and add meat back in. Garnish and serve.
This Grilled Zucchini gets an honourable mention. Cut zucchini lengthwise and grill with S&P on both sides until bendy (5–10m). Serve Zucchini in perfectly lined rows only to see grill marks don’t line up perfectly and discover you’ve developed some temporary culinary OCD. Throw some zucchini on top to make the chaos on the plate and in your soul look intentional. Cover your failure in balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, smoked soy sauce, olive oil and micro mint. Weep as you eat this perfectly seasoned grilled vegetable. #theStruggleIsReal #drama
“Serve Zucchini in perfectly lined rows only to see grill marks don’t line up perfectly and discover you’ve developed some temporary culinary OCD.” — Me
We also made pasta from scratch and served it in a Beurre Fondue. To make a Beurre Fondue just simmer water and slowly incorporate chunks of butter. Sautee pasta in it and serve.
We made a bunch of Salsas to go with our grilled flank steak fajitas. All salsas were either blended, pureed or combined as a medium dice. The difference is in the ingredients and final consistency.
Ingredients used in Salsas: toasted and rehydrated dried peppers, roasted tomatillos, grilled peppers, lightly grilled pineapples, roasted garlic, etc. Add liquid (e.g. water, lime juice) and herbs & aromatics (cilantro, onions, cumin, sugar, S&P).
We made some cookies and then put them in our faces. That was nice after all the beef braises. The ones on the left are Moroccan Walnut Cookies which are 75% (weight) made of chopped walnuts and are super tender.
Read more about my experiences in culinary school by reading about last week’s classes:
