James Beard Spoon Lamb Gigot De Sept Heures Recipes

JAMES BEARD'S

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Rub lamb with salt and pepper and place on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Surround with the bones, onions,carrots and 4 to 5 garlic cloves.
• Pour the olive oil over the bones and vegetables.
• Roast at 400°F for 30 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 350°F and roast for 30 minutes.
• Reduce heat to 200°F.
• Transfer lamb to baking pan or casserole dish.
• Add remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper, tomatoes and bones and vegetables from the roasting pan.
• Rinse roasting pan with the red wine and pour wine over lamb.
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast in a 200°F oven for 6 hours.
• Transfer lamb to a platter and remove the strings.
• Discard bones and bay leaf.
• Remove the cloves from the onions and puree or blend all the vegetables.
• Combine with the pan juices.
• Serve meat and sauce with cooked white beans seasoned with salt and pepper garlic and basil.

GIGOT DE SEPT HEURES (FRENCH SEVEN HOUR ROAST LAMB)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 F/ 150°C.
• Make small incisions in the lamb and put a sliver of garlic inside each incision.
• Rub the lamb well with the olive oil and season all over with the salt and pepper.
• Place it in a Dutch oven and add the sliced onions, whole carrots, whole garlic cloves, bouquet garni and wine.
• Put the lid on the Dutch oven.
• In a medium bowl combine the flour and water to form a rough dough, mixing well with a wooden spoon. (Don't worry you don't have to eat it).
• Use the dough like grout to create a seal that connects the lid to the Dutch oven.
• Place in the oven and cook for 7 hours.
• Remove from the oven and break the seal.
• Serve.

GIGOT DE SEPT HEURES (7HR LEG OF LAMB)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F
• Make many small incisions in lamb, place slivers of garlic in each incision.
• Rub lamb well with olive oil, season with salt & pepper. (At this point I would brown the lamb on all sides-but that's not necessary.)
• Place it in Dutch oven and add onions, carrots, bouquet garni, garlic, wine. Put lid on Dutch oven.
• Combine flour and water, make a 'caulk' and use it to seal the lid to the dutch oven.
• Place it in the 300 degree oven and cook for 7 hours. Yes, 7 hours. (no peeking--leave it alone.).
• Remove the Dutch oven and break the seal. You don't have to eat the cooked flour paste.

GIGOT A LA CUILLèRE - FRENCH SLOW COOKED SPOON LAMB

Steps:

• TRADITIONAL OVEN METHOD.
• Preheat the oven to 120 degrees C or 248 F, gas mark 1/2. Season the leg of lamb with salt and pepper to taste.
• Put the casserole or roasting tin on the hob and brown the lamb thoroughly on all sides (it is important to do this now as the meat will not brown in the oven). If the lamb sticks add a little oil to the casserole. Use the cooker extractor fan to disperse any smoke. Drain away any fat that has gathered in the bottom of the pan.
• Add the vegetables to the casserole along with the white wine and stock. Season and bring to the boil.
• Put on the lid or cover tightly with tin foil and place in the pre heated oven. Bake for 7 hours, turning twice during this time. The meat will be cooked after 5 hours and offer no resistance to the knife.
• The meat requires no resting time when cooked in this way. Transfer the meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Strain the meat juices into a jug and pour or blot away the fat with kitchen paper. Pour the juices into a pan and boil vigorously until reduced by a quarter.
• Adjust the seasoning and add the Armagnac or Madeira. Garnish the lamb with the sprigs of thyme and serve with the sauce. Use a spoon to carve and serve the lamb - a la cuillere as the French call it. It will be tender, succulent and delicious !
• CROCK-POT COOKING METHOD.
• Carry out steps 3 and 4 as shown above; then place into the crock-pot and cook on high for 2 hours and then on low for about 6 hours, or until the lamb is cooked as instructed above - soft and spoonable!
• Serve as before.