- [Presenter] This episode is sponsored by the Botanist gin.
The botanist is distilled from a unique combination
of botanicals hand, forged on the Island of Ila
off the coast of Scotland.
The gin perfectly encapsulates the flavors
and essence of wild Ila.
It's beautifully complex and smooth.
Among the many botanicals that define the Botanist,
flavor are three distinct kinds of wild mint.
Today, I'm keeping things classic with a Botanist martini
to really let the spirits flavors shine.
One, that's going to beautifully compliment lamb chops
with a mint chimichurri.
Let's get down to basics.
(upbeat music)
So like I mentioned of the Botanist 22
unique, hand forged botanicals
three are different kinds of wild mint.
A perfect pairing for both lamb chops
and a classic gin martini.
First up, if all you have is big ice,
go ahead and smash it to make some little ice,
dump the little ice into a glass mixing glass.
Add three ounces of the Botanist gin
and one ounce of dry vermouth.
We're then going to stir vigorously
until the glass becomes frosty
and then strain using both a cocktail strainer
and a fine mesh strainer.
Garnish it with a single floating mint leaf
and you got yourself one classy cocktail
to accompany our classy dinner.
Now that I've got something to sip on while I cook
we may begin to cook.
So let's start by talking about
the most widely available cuts of lamb.
First up, we have the individual loin chop.
In steak terms, this is sort of like the ribeye of the lamb.
Then we've got the smaller and more expensive loin chop.
This is more reminiscent of a T-bone steak.
On one side of the bone is a tiny little tenderloin
and on the other side is a New York strip like
cut from the loin.
Then the most economical option, the lamb shoulder chop.
This isn't as pretty of a cut, it's got a bone
and a whole bunch of connective tissue in it,
but it's still good eating
and can be served pan fried or broiled just like its peers.
And lastly, the very fanciest of all the boys,
the French rib roast.
Which as you can see is just the whole bunch of rib chops
all stuck together.
Its presentation has made all the more elegant
by its exposed bones, which as you can see
the butcher didn't do a great job of cleaning
so we're gonna have to tidy those up a bit.
Using a small paring knife or an appropriately named
bird's beak knife like this one,
we're gonna scrape all the excess meat
and send you in silver skin off each bone.
Until they are as clean as a kid's bop album.
And that's the basic cuts.
Now, something to keep in mind
is a lot of people don't like the gamey flavor of lamb.
If one of those people is you
there are a couple of things you can do
to avoid those grassy metallic undertones.
One solution that makes a lot of sense,
once you hear it out loud is to not buy lamb
that has been grass fed.
Usually this is lamb from New Zealand or Australia.
Another step to take is to remove as much fat as possible
as this is where most of those gamey flavors reside.
Now onto the actual cooking.
You can pretty much prepare rib chops, loin shops,
and shoulder chops the same way.
So, because I am most excited about the loin chops
those are the ones that I shall demonstrate.
Just like any steak, we're gonna season liberally
with both kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
and let them stand at room for 30 minutes before cooking.
You can then grill, broil or pan sear these bad boys.
Really any cooking method that hits them
with a lot of heat very quickly.
I'm gonna drop mine into a thoroughly preheated
cast iron pan with a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Flip once a deep golden brown sear has been achieved.
Make sure that all sides have been blessed with a kiss heat.
And when it comes to lamb pretty much the rare
that you can tolerate it, the better.
Lamb starts to get very tough
and it's gamey flavors accentuated
anywhere past 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
I usually cook to 110 or 115.
So that's the basic method for preparing
pretty much any kind of chop.
But what if you want to impress a family member,
loved one, or cartoon nemesis with a roast rack of lamb.
We're gonna start very much the same
by generously seasoning, all facets of the roast
with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
We're gonna take a page out of Gordon Ramsey's book
and season on a plate so that we can rub it around
in any excess spice.
And optionally you can cut it in half
if you want to present it as two separate servings.
Maybe interlock the bones so it looks like something
out of a medieval romance it's novel.
But save that for plating
first, we have to head over to the stove top.
But the only thing we're doing differently here
is that we're going to pan roast rather than just pan sear.
Especially when dealing with a whole rack,
it's very difficult to get that good color on the outside
and reach the fabled internal temperature
of 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
So we're gonna get as good a series as we can
on all sides before placing them
on their racks and finishing in the oven.
This might take a few minutes so it's a good time
to sip on your Botanist martini.
If you have a camera in your kitchen
make sure you ham it up as much as possible.
That is until you notice that your lamb is starting to burn
and it's time to spring into action
and get it into a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven.
It might smell good, but be aware of oil spatter.
However your prepare it lamb,
it generally ends up getting sauced or herbed.
So we're gonna finally chop up some fresh mint
and parsley to make a sort of mint chimichurri.
But we're gonna keep it kind of rustic and chunky
so maybe more like a mint gremolata.
The addition of mints we'll add a fresh menthol quality
to brighten up in contrast the richness of the lamb.
And pairing it with our cocktail
we'll put our dinner in mint condition.
Sorry. Then to add a little brightness,
we're gonna grate in the zest of one lemon,
to add some garlic in this,
we're going to crush in one clove of garlic
and to help everybody get to know each other,
a little drizzle of extra Virgin olive oil.
And of course kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
I'm also gonna add a little sprinkle of red chili flake
for some optional heat.
Tiny ways to combine and our lamb is ready
to get gussied up.
You can serve this on the side or sprinkle over top
and around the plate for an elegant presentation.
Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil
and then it's time to dig in.
First I'm gonna get a cross section going here
to see if I cooked it right.
Yes, that is an appropriate to medium rare.
And I could eat this with a fork and knife
but I like to enjoy my lamb lollipops styles
which kind of makes me feel like a giant
and in the end, isn't it that why we cook?
All right. Finally use a fork and knife
like a grownup or whatever.
Thank you again to the Botanist gin
for sponsoring today's episode.
The unique combination of hand forged botanicals
and the Botanist compliments almost any flavor profile
making it an ideal pairing for nearly any recipe.
Botanist martinis are delicious on their own
but alongside this lamb with mint gremolata
the whole experience is really something special.
Try the flavors and essence of wild Ila yourself.
Order a bottle of the Botanist on Drizly.
The link is in the video description.
Cheers.