The Essential James Beard Cookbook (26 page)

2½ cups Chicken Stock (page XXX)

¼ cup finely chopped shallots

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the stuffing: Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat and sauté the shallots until they are limp, about 3 minutes. Add the rice, pistachios, and parsley. Toss well to mix. Season with the salt and pepper. Taste the stuffing and correct the seasoning, if necessary.

Stuff the pig rather loosely and sew the cavity up or skewer it securely. Arrange the pig on a rack in a large roasting pan and rub well with olive oil. Roast in a preheated 350°F oven, basting or brushing occasionally with olive oil, for about 3½ to 4 hours, or until an internal temperature of 150°F is reached (insert the meat thermometer into the thickest part of leg, not touching the bone). [
Editor: While 145°F is the accepted median temperature for roast pork, the leg does not get tender until it is a bit more well done.
]

To make the sauce: While the pig is roasting, cook the liver, heart, and kidneys in a saucepan with broth to cover over medium heat until just tender, about 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth, and finely chop the pork innards. Sauté the shallots in the butter in a large skillet until limp, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir well. Gradually stir in the reserved stock and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Add the cream and chopped innards, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over very low heat until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes more.

Transfer the pig to a carving board and garnish as you wish. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving. To carve, first remove and slice the small hams, then cut down the backbone and remove the head. Carve the rib and loin sections into chops. Serve some of each kind of meat with the stuffing and sauce.

VARATION

ROAST SUCKLING PIG WITH AIOLI:
In Spain, especially in Barcelona, roast suckling pig is served with Aioli (page XXX), which, of course, gives it an entirely new dimension, and I find I like it very much.

LAMB

Broiled Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Roast Leg of Lamb

Spoon Leg of Lamb

Braised Shoulder of Lamb with Ratatouille

Shish Kebab

Persian Lamb with Rhubarb

Lamb Couscous with Sauce Piquante

Lamb Shanks with Beans

Roast Rack of Lamb

Broiled Lamb Chops

Irish Stew

BROILED BUTTERFLIED LEG OF LAMB

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

This unusual way of cooking leg of lamb gives you absolutely delicious, juicy meat. Ask your butcher to trim the fell and most of the fat from the leg and to bone and butterfly it—cut it open and spread it flat—so that the meat is approximately the same thickness all across, about 2½ to 3 inches. It will resemble a thick steak with some fat on one side. Serve with a
Hollandaise Sauce
into which you have mixed finely chopped fresh mint or finely chopped anchovies to taste. Sautéed potatoes and a purée of green beans are good with this.

One 6- to 7-pound leg of lamb, trimmed, boned, and butterflied (about 5 pounds of boneless meat)

2 to 4 garlic cloves, cut into small slivers

Kosher and freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon dried rosemary or summer savory (optional)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Spread out the lamb, fat side down. Make tiny incisions in the meat with the point of a small sharp knife and insert the slivers of garlic. Season the meat well with salt and pepper and, if you wish, rub it with the rosemary or savory, crushed in a mortar and pestle or in the palm of your hand with your thumb.

Preheat the broiler. Lay the lamb on the oiled rack of the broiler pan with the fleshy side up, fat side down. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 15 to 18 minutes; depending on thickness (if some parts of the lamb are thicker than others, determine the cooking time by the thicker portions). Brush the surface with melted butter, turn the lamb with tongs, and broil, fat side up, for 16 minutes for rare or 20 minutes for medium-rare meat. Test about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time by removing the lamb from the broiler and inserting a meat thermometer in the thickest part—it should register 135°F for rare, 140°F for medium-rare. [
Editor: Over the years, these temperatures have adjusted to 130°F for rare, and 135°F for medium-rare.
]

Continue cooking until the meat reaches the desired temperature, then transfer it to a hot platter or carving board, fat side down, and allow to stand for 5 minutes before carving. Carve crosswise on the diagonal, into slices ¼ to ½ inch thick.

ROAST LEG OF LAMB

MAKES 8 TO 12 SERVINGS

At one time, lamb was very unpopular in this country—all because it was usually overcooked. I don’t blame anyone turning against lamb that has been roasted until it is gray—brown, stringy, and unpalatable. Fortunately I grew up in a home where lamb was treated properly.

Lamb is perfect when it is from rare to pink. The French like it very rare. Most Americans prefer it pink. I’m on the side of the very rare, but I will settle for pink. I suggest you try it pink first and see how juicy and delicious it can be when it is not overcooked, and then gradually you may find you want it rare. I can assure you that once you have had properly cooked lamb, you’ll never again roast it to death.

A leg of lamb is covered with a tight, papery tissue called the fell, which should be removed before cooking. If the butcher has not already removed it, take a very sharp, pointed paring knife and loosen the fell from the fat and flesh, then cut or tear it off in chunks. It usually comes off easily. At the same time, remove a good deal of the fat from the lamb—this will improve the flavor considerably. Now you are ready to prepare the lamb for roasting.

One 5-to 8-pound leg of lamb, with the bones, fell and most fat removed

6 to 8 garlic cloves

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make 10 to 12 small incisions all over the top of the lamb with a small sharp paring knife, pushing the point in about 1 inch deep. Lightly crush the garlic cloves with the side of a heavy knife or cleaver, or with a meat pounder, to break the skins so they peel easily. Peel the garlic and cut the cloves into thin slivers. With your fingers, push the slivers of garlic into the incisions in the lamb. Then rub the roast all over with a little of the oil, massaging it in with your hands.

Crush the rosemary in the palm of one hand, pressing it down with your other thumb to break up the spiky little leaves. (Rosemary is an easy herb to grow in the garden or in a pot, and you’ll save money by drying your own.) Rub the crushed rosemary onto the lamb and then sprinkle it with freshly ground black pepper.

I find a broiling pan is perfect for roasting a leg of lamb. It allows the heat to circulate all around the meat so that it cooks more evenly and doesn’t need basting. Oil the rack of the pan lightly and put the roast on it. Just before you put the roast in the oven, sprinkle it with salt. Many people will tell you that this will draw out the juices, but it is my feeling that when meat is salted just before roasting, the seasoning penetrates better and aids the flavor, while the oven heat helps to seal the surface.

Put the roast in a preheated 350°F oven and forget about it for 1 hour. After an hour, test the internal temperature with a meat thermometer to see how it is progressing. Insert the thermometer into the meatiest part of the leg, being careful not to let it touch the bone. The desirable finished temperature for the lamb, rare, is 135°F. [
Editor: Today’s cooks would consider this medium-rare to medium. For rare meat, roast to 125°F.
] At the end of the first hour, the temperature should be between 90° and 100°F, depending on the thickness of the meat.

Mint Sauce for Lamb

Makes about ¼ cup

Wash, dry, and finely chop enough
fresh mint leaves
to make
¼
cup. Dissolve
2 teaspoons superfine sugar
in
2 tablespoons boiling water
and add to the mint leaves with
¼
teaspoon kosher salt
and
3 tablespoons cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
. Taste, and add more sugar or vinegar as needed. The sauce should be thick. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving for the flavors to mellow.

When the thermometer registers around 100°F, you know that you have perhaps 25 to 30 minutes to go. If it is only 90°F, you may need 35 to 40 minutes more. Return the roast to the oven, let it cook 15 to 20 minutes, then retest. When it has reached 135°F transfer the lamb to a carving board or a hot platter and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes in a warm place before carving. Lamb fat congeals at a low temperature, so always be sure to serve the lamb on hot plates and a hot platter.

SPOON LEG OF LAMB

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

One of the most famous of the lamb dishes in the French repertoire is
gigot de sept heures
, or boned leg of lamb slowly cooked for seven hours until it is so soft and tender it can almost be served with a spoon—from which comes its Anglicized name, Spoon Leg of Lamb. This is one case where leg of lamb is not served rare—far from it.

One 5- to 6-pound leg of lamb, boned and tied, (ask for the bones and have them sawed into 1- to 2-inch pieces)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 medium yellow onions, each stuck with 2 whole cloves

3 carrots, split lengthwise