Features of the choice and preparation of lamb. TOP-7 of the most delicious step-by-step recipes: azu, leg in wine, shurpa, kharcho, pilaf, barbecue and baked lamb with vegetables. Video recipes.
Lamb dishes are found in abundance among the recipes of Central Asian cuisine, but Russian housewives are sometimes reluctant to cook them, fearing the unpleasant smell and toughness characteristic of this meat. Not worth it! If you choose the right starting product and follow the recipe, the lamb will come out juicy, tasty and aromatic!
Features of cooking lamb
It is believed that lamb has a very difficult character and does not immediately obey an inexperienced cook. There is some truth in this, but in reality everything is far from being as bad as it seems to beginners. Believe me, having mastered the simple rules of cooking lamb and a little practice, you will very quickly begin to regularly regale homemade excellent dishes that will easily surpass the more popular pork and beef dishes in our country. It's all about choosing, processing and preparing the right meat.
Unlike pork, lamb contains fewer calories and cholesterol, which is why it is often included in the diet of people with vascular problems. As for beef, mutton successfully competes with it in the content of iron, potassium and vitamin B12, which are important for the functioning of the heart and nervous system.
To avoid the appearance of an unpleasant odor and excessive stringiness, it is recommended to buy the meat of young lambs. It can be distinguished by its light shade and the presence of white, wax-like fat without a tint of yellowness. It is desirable that the fat is arranged in an even layer: this indicates that the animal was well looked after and properly fed.
Before buying, try lightly pressing on the meat with your finger. If it returns to its original shape, everything is fine. If there is a dent from the finger that is filled with blood, the meat is frozen.
All processing of lamb before cooking is to remove films and tendons from it. If you wish, you can cut out the fat, although many people prefer to leave it: for example, when frying, the presence of a fat layer will make the meat juicier.
If you want to get the most tender and tasty lamb, give it a couple of hours, or better lie down for a day in a marinade made from olive oil or unsweetened yogurt with spices and herbs. The meat becomes soft and takes on a whole bunch of new tastes and smells.
By the way, about smells. If you do not want to leave the famous "sweetheart" of lamb a chance, generously use garlic, ginger, caraway seeds, cinnamon and other spices at different stages of cooking. In addition, soaking the prepared piece in vodka helps a lot.
Note! Lamb meat cannot be cooked for a long time, extra minutes of heat treatment will make it dry. It is best if you do not keep the lamb in the pan for more than 15-20 minutes. Provided, of course, that we are not talking about cooking shurpa or pilaf - here you cannot do without long-term cooking.
TOP 7 recipes for delicious lamb dishes
Oh, what is not cooked from lamb! Soups and stews, kebabs and chops, pilaf, lagman, cutlets, sausages, pies, dolma … There is no counting. Therefore, we have compiled a selection of the best recipes for you. So what to cook with lamb?
Lamb azu in a cauldron
Perhaps the combination of lamb with ghee and potatoes does not look too dietary, but you can be sure that it will be very tasty! If possible, try to use a real cast-iron cauldron, the heat is distributed more evenly in it, and the dish turns out to be tastier.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 127 kcal.
- Servings - 6-7
- Cooking time - 2 hours
Ingredients:
- Lamb, pulp - 1 kg
- Meat broth - 500 ml
- Potatoes - 5-6 pcs.
- Pickled cucumbers - 4-5 pcs.
- Fresh tomatoes - 500 g
- Bulb onions - 2 pcs.
- Ghee - 100 g
- Greens - your choice
- Black pepper - to taste
- Coriander to taste
- Salt to taste
Step-by-step preparation of lamb basics in a cauldron:
- Heat the ghee in a cauldron.
- Cut the lamb into short strips and quickly, for a few minutes, fry in oil so that a golden brown crust forms on the surface, and all the juices are sealed inside.
- Transfer the lamb to a plate.
- Finely chop the onion and save in the remaining oil.
- Return the meat to the cauldron, salt, season with spices (you can use others besides those indicated in the recipe).
- Heat the broth and pour over the meat with onions and spices.
- The lamb will be stewed for 30-40 minutes, so you will have plenty of time to peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and fry in vegetable oil. Again, you need an appetizing crust; you do not need to bring the vegetable to readiness.
- Add the potatoes to the cauldron.
- Once soft, stir in the chopped pickles and tomatoes.
- Let the dish stand on the fire for 15-20 minutes, extinguish the flame and wait another 10 minutes.
- Finally, sprinkle the basics with chopped herbs.
Note! Some people prefer to put the lamb in the oven, preheated to 150 ° C, immediately after adding the cucumbers and tomatoes, and leave it there for 10-15 minutes so that the basics are properly cooked.
Leg of lamb in wine
This dish is able to decorate any festive table, despite the fact that very little effort is required for cooking. And how tasty and tender it turns out! As if not homemade lamb, just cooked in your oven, but a real restaurant meal!
Ingredients:
- Leg of lamb - 1 pc.
- Dry white wine - 500 ml
- Water - 100 ml
- Olive oil - 250 ml
- Garlic - 10-11 cloves
- Rosemary to taste
- Black pepper - to taste
- Salt to taste
Step by step preparation of leg of lamb in wine:
- Preheat oven to 220 ° C.
- Wash the lamb's leg, dry it with a towel and make 10-11 shallow cuts with a sharp knife.
- Chop the rosemary sprigs.
- Peel the garlic.
- Place a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary in each cut.
- Pour the butter into a baking sheet, place the leg of lamb on it and bake for 40-45 minutes, turning it from time to time to achieve an even golden hue.
- Mix water and wine and pour into a baking sheet.
- Roast the lamb in the oven for another 2 hours, continuing to turn it over every 20-30 minutes.
- Salt and pepper the meat half an hour before cooking. Remove garlic and rosemary before serving.
Note! In this recipe, lamb is presented in the form of a leg, but this is far from the only option. Likewise, you can bake, for example, a shoulder, loin or ham.
Baked lamb with vegetables in the sleeve
Unlike the duet of lamb and potatoes, which may seem a bit heavy to some, vegetables - courgettes, eggplants, bell peppers - make up an ideal side dish for this type of meat. With them, the dish turns out to be soft, light enough and very juicy.
Ingredients:
- Lamb pulp - 1 kg
- Eggplant - 250 g
- Zucchini - 250 g
- Tomatoes - 200 g
- Bulgarian pepper - 150 g
- Onions - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 3-4 cloves
- Olive oil to taste
- Black pepper - to taste
- Thyme to taste
- Salt to taste
Step by step cooking of baked lamb with vegetables in the sleeve:
- Prepare your vegetables. Wash, peel, remove the core of the bell pepper along with the seeds and chop everything arbitrarily.
- Sprinkle the vegetable mixture with salt and pepper, then place in a roasting sleeve.
- Peel the garlic and pass through a press. Mix with a spoonful or two of olive oil, add thyme, salt and pepper.
- Rub the marinade over the meat and place on a vegetable pad.
- Bake at 180 ° C for 1.5 hours.
Note! Instead of the vegetables listed in the recipe, you can take any others to your taste.
Lamb shurpa
The classic lamb shurpa is cooked for several hours in a large cauldron, and this is done without fail over a fire. Experts assure that it is in such conditions that it is possible to achieve a special, unique taste of this hearty, rich food. But we will go a less complicated way and try to cook lamb shurpa at home. If you follow the recipe strictly, it will turn out just as well!
Ingredients:
- Lamb, better on the bone and with fat for greater richness - 500 g
- Water - 2-3 l
- Onion - 2 pcs.
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Potatoes - 5-6 pcs.
- Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
- Hot pepper - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 5-6 cloves
- Butter to taste
- Greens to taste
- Spices to taste
- Salt to taste
Step-by-step preparation of lamb shurpa:
- Chop the meat. If you want to follow the rules, make the pieces larger, although this is a matter of taste.
- Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a cauldron or deep frying pan. Can be replaced with ghee, vegetable or ideally fat tail fat.
- Add your favorite spices (ginger, cumin, coriander, hops-suneli, thyme) to the oil, followed by the meat.
- While the lamb begins to slowly fry, peel and chop one onion and grate the carrots on a coarse grater.
- Add vegetables to meat, reduce heat and leave to simmer, stirring occasionally with a spatula.
- Peel and chop the garlic, remove the seeds from the pepper and cut into circles, and the tomatoes into quarters. Add to the cauldron.
- Bring the water to a boil. Pour the meat with vegetables so that the liquid only covers them, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the meat is tender.
- Peel the potatoes, cut into medium-sized cubes and send them to the shurpa along with the last whole onion.
- Top up with boiling water and cook the soup for 15 minutes over low heat. Then turn off the stove and let the shurpa brew for another 10-15 minutes.
Note! The classic lamb shurpa recipe does not provide for the addition of dry red wine, but many people prefer to pour a little spicy liquid into the cauldron during the stewing process to add a slight sourness to the dish.
Lamb kharcho
There are dozens of variations in the preparation of thick, spicy, excellent warming in the cold Georgian soup, and each of them is good in its own way. And no matter how much they say that real kharcho can only be made from beef, the fact remains: lamb soup comes out no worse!
Ingredients:
- Lamb, loin or ribs - 0.5 kg
- Rice - 200 g
- Carrots - 2 pcs.
- Onions - 2 pcs.
- Garlic - 2-3 cloves
- Tomato paste - 4-5 tablespoons
- Vegetable oil to taste
- Greens - your choice
- Black pepper - to taste
- Bay leaf - 2-3 pcs.
- Salt to taste
Step-by-step preparation of lamb kharcho:
- Slice the meat. If using ribs, separate them.
- Pour 2 liters of water over the lamb, put on medium heat and wait for the liquid to boil properly. Don't forget to remove the foam!
- Reduce heat and add one peeled but whole carrot and one onion to the lamb.
- Boil the broth for about 1.5 hours, continuing to skim the foam.
- The remaining onions and carrots need to be peeled, chopped as convenient for you, and sautéed in vegetable oil.
- Once the onions are clear, add the tomato paste to the roast.
- After 3-5 minutes, remove whole carrots and onions from the pan.
- Add stir-fry, washed rice, pepper, bay leaf, and salt.
- Cook the soup, stirring occasionally, for another 15-20 minutes, and then let it sit for the same amount of time under the lid.
- Do not forget to add chopped greens to the almost finished soup.
Note! Often the lamb kharcho recipe contains the classic Georgian tkemali sauce, which is introduced into the pan together or instead of tomato paste - 2-3 tbsp.
Uzbek pilaf with lamb
Without a real fragrant and crumbly Uzbek pilaf, not a single selection of lamb recipes will be complete! It is so tasty that even the absence of a cauldron, fat tail fat and barberry in your kitchen will not spoil the finished meal, although, of course, you should try to ensure that all of the above is at hand at the right time.
Ingredients:
- Lamb - 1 kg
- Sheep fat or vegetable oil - 200 g
- Rice Devzira - 800 g
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Onion - 1 pc.
- Garlic - 2-3 heads
- Hot pepper - 2 pods
- Zira - to taste
- Coriander to taste
- Dried barberry - to taste
- Salt to taste
Step-by-step cooking of Uzbek pilaf with lamb:
- Soak the rice for 2 hours, pouring 2 liters of hot water with 2 tablespoons dissolved in it. salt.
- Cut the lamb, independently determining the size of the pieces. Someone likes large, someone smaller, it's a matter of taste.
- Peel and chop the carrots for Korean carrots or cut into thinner strips.
- Slice half the onion to make half rings.
- In a cauldron or high frying pan, melt the fat tail fat (can be replaced with butter). Remove the skin.
- Toss a whole half of the onion in the fat and let it cook through well.
- Remove the browned onion from the cauldron, put chopped onion in its place and cook until pleasant golden brown.
- Add the lamb pieces.
- After 5 minutes, add carrots to the meat, season with spices, barberry and salt.
- Pour in all 2 liters of water and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, reducing heat to low.
- Add unpeeled garlic and pepper.
- Rinse the rice after 30 minutes. Put it in a cauldron with a spatula, gently stirring and leveling. The liquid should cover the whole rice, if it is not enough, pour in a little more water, cover the pilaf with a lid and simmer until tender.
- When the rice becomes soft and crumbly, use the handle of a long spoon to make holes in the resulting mass, reaching the bottom each time. This is necessary so that the excess liquid can evaporate.
- Remove the finished pilaf from heat and leave to infuse under the lid for 40 minutes.
Note! Uzbek pilaf is called the most delicious of all currently existing options. This is definitely an excuse to add it to your list of your favorite homemade lamb recipes!
Lamb shashlik
Lamb shashlik is a time-tested classic. With the first warm days approaching, this recipe will definitely come in handy!
Ingredients:
- Lamb pulp - 1 kg
- Tomatoes - 2 pcs.
- Onions - 2 pcs.
- Basil - 100 g
- Coriander to taste
- Black pepper - to taste
- Salt to taste
Step-by-step cooking of lamb kebab:
- Cut the meat into small pieces.
- Peel the onion, cut into quarters and toss into the blender bowl along with the coarsely chopped tomatoes and basil. Grind until smooth.
- Season with salt, coriander and pepper.
- Pour the meat with the resulting liquid spicy gruel and leave to marinate on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- Skewer the lamb pieces and grill over the coals, turning regularly over heat. Each serving will take about 15-20 minutes.
