The meating place – Lamb, Veal, Pork, & Ham
It’s fitting that we’re discussing LAMB this week. A basic ingredient in many cuisines, lamb was for years the roast of choice of many American families for Easter dinner, including my own. A staple of colonial kitchens, lamb lost ground when the West opened and beef was introduced. The two species have incompatible grazing techniques and can’t share space. Beef is less labor intensive for a larger product yield, so it became king. Lamb suffered another setback after WWII with the expansion of suburbs at the expense of farm land. Then came the 1960s with the peace movement and the emergence of Animal Rights and “lamb” especially accompanied by “spring baby” became a menu No-No. Actually, growing American appetites and depletion of flocks had already made the slaughter of immature sheep impractical. By then, however, development of synthetic fibers, and the high cost of labor had taken their toll on sheep herding. For a decade or so New Zealand lamb was prominent in the markets. I often bought it to vary our family menus, but I haven’t seen that in over ten years. Now, lamb is mainly in the meat counter seasonally and then limited cuts, leg, loin chops and ground. More surprising to me is the fact that two of my flyers advertized lamb this week, but only leg and ground and they’re the same price! If you consult a meat chart, you will see there are about 40 cuts per animal.
I love lamb, but I grew up eating it. I recently realized that for those who didn’t it’s an acquired taste. I’ve also learned that many people, who have had lamb, didn’t have it properly prepared. Lamb must be well trimmed, because the fat will alter the flavor as it cooks, especially on the leg. Unlike other meats, lamb has an outer layer of fat called the Fell. The fell acts as a membrane toughening as it cooks sealing the fat in, giving the meat a strong taste and making carving difficult. Trimming chops is easy but to properly prepare a leg the fell must be peeled away with a knife, and then the underlying layer of fat removed. The amount left is a matter of personal choice. I remove as much as I can. After that it’s simply a matter of following a chosen recipe. A vinegar wash is a good way to mellow the flavor. I make a vinegar based mint sauce to baste with and use it for most of my lamb dishes. The recipe is below.
If you consult a lamb chart, you’ll see that treatment of the different cuts of lamb, follow the generalized outline given last week; the shoulder area is mainly for cooking in liquid, the loin holds the prime cuts for broiling and the hind quarters are for roasting. The round bone and the blade chops are comparable to the chuck steak and can be broiled or roasted rather than braised. For the single person or couple these cuts offer a nice change in the menu without the trouble or expense of cooking a leg. There are several names often associated with cuts of lamb; a Rack is enough loin chops, still connected to serve two; a Crown Roast is a loin with the bone cracked between the chops and tied in a circle; a Saddle is a double loin with the little chop fillets left in. These last two feed about 6 or more. Lamb breast, like veal, can be stuffed, but these cuts will probably require a specialty butcher. Lesser cuts are excellent for stews and casseroles. As stated at the start, lamb is featured in many cuisines and you really should explore some of the suggestions. Ground lamb makes wonderful patties, broiled with mint sauce, but it also makes great kabobs to try Indian or Greek recipes, and the roasts are favorites in Jewish cooking.
VEAL, unlike lamb, has no history in cuisines other than European. Never as popular in America as Europe, it’s another meat that has had PC issues over the past several decades and for the same reasons as “lamb.” The truth is that though we in the U.S. did take the calves before they began grazing, for many years the Europeans had another solution. Grazing changes the flavor and color of the meat from veal to beef, so the Europeans keep the calves on a milk diet until full grown. It yields more meat and dosen’t require pasture. Land isn’t plentiful there. This practice is now gaining hold in the U.S. for the same reasons and, of course, it has a larger profit margin, but the jury’s still out on veal becoming more popular here. One of the drawbacks is the increasing use of pork and poultry in traditional veal dishes, another is comparative price.
If the animal was young, veal can be butchered as lamb, with saddle, rack and crown roast available, but if larger it’s treated as beef with rib chops and sirloin steaks cut. Obviously, the larger animal will have firmer meat with a coarser grain, but all veal has a more delicate taste than other meats and absorbs flavors quickly. A sparing hand is needed with seasonings and a light hand with the cooking. That being said, veal is rarely served, or in fact cooked au natural. Even a plain broiled or grilled steak is the better for a squeeze of fresh lemon, and a roast is usually served with a seasoned sauce or a flavorful accompaniment such as currant jelly. Unlike a lamb breast, which needs only a bread stuffing, veal breast can be stuffed with bread but is better stuffed with other meats, often mild sausage or boiled ham and ground turkey, to give flavor. In short, take care in cooking with veal. It should never be combined with anything that will overpower its own delicate flavor. On the other hand, veal is unique in its ability to “marry” with other ingredients. Spices compliment it, herbs enhance it. It combines well with other meats, even fish, and most vegetables. As long as the fragile balance is maintained, anything goes.
There are whole books of veal recipes, but as Craig Claiborne pointed out in his Veal Cookery, the recipes tend to be very regional. Northern Europe does well with ground meat and dill, the South favors chops or scaloppini and vegetables or breading, the East likes stews and the West does wonders with organ meats in sauces. So point your kitchen compass in the direction that pleases your palate at the moment and explore the cooking information from that area. If you don’t want to experiment with veal, remember that chicken, turkey and pork are all good substitutes for most veal recipes. Stick to chicken for the lighter ones and use pork or turkey for the heftier. For example, roasts, steaks and chops are best replaced by similar cuts of pork. Scaloppine, depending on the density of flavor of the dish, can be replaced by boneless chicken breasts and tenders, or turkey or pork cutlets, often tagged “scaloppine”, but stews and casseroles, because of the cooking times, are best using chicken thighs or ground turkey. Baby Beef Liver is an option for calves’ liver, but, unfortunately, there are no really good substitutes for the other veal organ meats, such as sweetbreads.
Pork has not only maintained, but actually gained popularity over the centuries, most especially in the past few decades. Part of that is due to the discovery that pork doesn’t have to be overcooked to eliminate the danger of trichinosis. It just has to reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees, well below the optimum finish temperature of 160-165 degrees. Part is due to the publicity campaign citing pork as “The other white meat..”which featured new cuts like the scaloppine, and traditional, but largely ignored ones like the tenderloin used in novel ways usually in dishes famous for veal, chicken and turkey. However, I think a larger part is due to the fact that no other animal offers such a variety of cuts, most of which do double duty because of pork’s affinity for being smoked, yet still remains affordable.
When discussing pork, it’s interesting to note that every bit of meat on the animal can be prepared for human consumption. Apart from the butcher cuts, products like head cheese and souse could be found in the deli counter until a few years ago. Pigs’ feet and scrapple are still displayed in the meat counter, and sausage has gone international in the number of types found in any market. Let’s not mention hot dogs or sandwich meats! On top of that, nearly all of the different cuts are smoked to render ham, bacon, and Deli or canned meats like Spam. It’s like having two animals in one.
For pork, my favorite buys are the bone-in top loin roast and the whole loin. They are very lean, tender, the most reasonable cuts when on featured sale and can be used in several ways. I often have the butcher crack the bone between the ribs to separate the chops, either single or double width for stuffing, or to make a crown roast. I cut the whole loin into appropriate sized sections to serve as roasts at dinners I’m planning in the following months, or even slice it for use as boneless chops. Of course, I freeze what I’m not using right away. Occasionally, I buy country style ribs. I have cooked racks of ribs but I’m lazy. The country style preps easily, and cooks quickly and are meatier, without the bone weight of other rib cuts. For boiled or stewed recipes like Kraut, where a little fat sweetens the flavor, I buy round bone, or blade chops. For recipes check blog posts for Jan 25th and Feb 16th 2012.
Ham, another Easter favorite, is a different matter. I buy them on sale, and always have at least two in the refrigerator. I like the bone-in hams . I think they have a better flavor and stay more moist. Nor do I mind cooking a whole one for just two people because there seems no end to what I can do with the leftovers right down to and including the bone, and the meat keeps so well. I discussed my affinity for ham in past posts, and provided several recipes which use it. See Feb 9th and April 5th 2012 postings.
In my menu cook book Dinners With Joy*, I list one pork or ham recipe per week, but I stress, for those on restrictive diets, that there are alternative meats that don’t alter the taste of the dishes. For pork the answers are listed above. I offer substitutes for veal, so reverse the advice and use veal, chicken or turkey for pork as recommended. Ham substitutes are centered on turkey, since that’s the only one of the alternates that is smoked. In addition to the smoked turkey breasts and legs found in the meat counter, Delis carry a loaf that is round, as opposed to the turkey ham one that is square. Both will do but the round is more presentable to serve treated as a baked ham with scoring, cloves and basting glaze ( my recipe is below). Allowing 4-5 oz. per portion, have the counterperson cut you a suitable sized piece. Turkey ham is better for sandwiches and casseroles. Thinly sliced and pan broiled, it can replace bacon crumbles better then turkey bacon, which I recently found cooks best in the oven with a bit of oil, rather than in a pan. It doesn’t burn so fast. Slices of either of the two Deli rolls can also replace ham steaks and smoked chops, as well as Canadian bacon, depending on the thickness of the slices.
Talking about these meats, and the alternate choices available, emphasizes the real fun of learning to cook. It’s just about possible to duplicate any dish and satisfy any craving, if you’re willing to lean a few basic methods and follow instructions.
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HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!
*Now available on Amazon and Kindle
Mint Sauce:
Per bunch of fresh mint- I use spearmint; Cut off the thickest part of the stems and any root tendrils. Wash the leaves well. Place in a stockpot and just cover with apple cider vinegar. Bring to a simmer and add sugar to a sweet-sour taste. Don’t over sweeten. You may use sugar substitute. Cook until stems are soft—about 5-8 mins. Cool and blend or process until mint is almost a powder. Pour into glass bottles. Leave to cool completely and screw on tops. I use well cleaned 8oz.salad dressing bottles. Store in a dark place at room temperature. Keeps for months.
I rub this over the leg of lamb before roasting and may add a bit to pan drippings to baste. I make gravy of the pan drippings and 2 beef plus 1 chicken bouillon envelopes and 2 cups water mixed with ¼ cup mint sauce, pan drippings and about 5 Tbs. flour or 2 ½ Tbs.cornstarch.
For broiled lamb chops, or lamb patties, I pour a light covering of mint sauce over them before cooking.
I also use the sauce for flavoring in Sheppard’s Pie, and over fresh fruit etc.
Ham Glaze:
4 parts molasses
1 part apple cider vinegar
Mix together well. Allow the scoring on the ham to open in the oven—about 15 mins. apply a light coating of the glaze. Repeat 2 to 3 times during roasting with increasing amounts of glaze, saving the heaviest basting for last. If decorating with fruit, place it on top of the meat just before the last basting.
Serve meat with the drippings or add them to a sauce. I make a sauce from any fruit juice from the decorations, 1 ½ cup apple juice, ¼ cup raisons, the pan drippings and a generous Tablespoon of cornstarch.
