Cholesterol-Reducing Lamb Shoulder

I’m told that until very recently, the ovine division of the CSIRO was focused on a top secret project designed to clone a sheep-like organism with numerous legs propelled by a minimum cluster of functioning organs. The historical demand for just legs was such that the industry’s marketing wing determined all other bits of the sheep were ostensibly obsolete.

As anyone over the age of about thirty four is fond of recalling, lamb shanks used to be thrown to the dogs. And despite a brief flirtation with a crumbed and fried brain, there’s been little culinary demand for the other bits of sheep excluding numerous interpretations of the lamb chop. And then at some point in the last decade, the previously neglected lamb shoulder emerged from the mist-shrouded recipe swamplands.

It seems the shoulder was previously only rarely cooked with bone-in and snuggled beneath its blanket of fat. It was usually boned and rolled, or bundled up in various forequarter contortions. In my childhood and most of my youth, I certainly only ever recall exposure to the leg.

Page 60 of my 1977 edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly Original Cookbook (first published 1970) alphabetises twenty seven different cuts of lamb, including saddle, shank, side, and stewing chops, but contains no reference to ‘shoulder’. My CWA (NSW) Cook Book has twenty one lamb recipes (including Lamb Cutlets & Spaghetti) but only one (Shoulder of Mutton with Kidney Stuffing), specifically identifies the shoulder as a food source. Then, someone (re)awoke to how much flavour bones add, how good fat tastes, and the amazing benefit of slow cooking.

  

I can’t precisely recall when the shoulder first lumbered into my kitchen, but I’m confident it was post-millennium. The shoulder is the front bit of the sheep at the top of the fore-legs and under the neck, while the leg you eat so often comes from the two rear appendages. Some older lamb "roast" recipes I did locate, suggested using either shoulder or leg. This strategy seems plain wrong, as the two are so markedly different in fat content, amount of bone, and muscle fibre variation. Surely they should be treated quite differently.

Now it seems we’re loving flaps, breasts, ribs and belly. In these bits and pieces the flavour's even more concentrated thanks to the ratio of bone and fat to meat. One of the most memorable things I've eaten this year was a quivering lamb belly at my sister's 40th at The Stokehouse in St Kilda; as were the succulent lamb ribs marinated in beer and miso I recently sucked from the bone at Gardels Bar in Surry Hills.

This chef-led descent into a region of the carcass identified by Meat & Livestock Australia as “Party Ribs”, is causing my palate to celebrate, but it is less than encouraging for those of us with cholesterol readings higher than Don Bradman’s batting average. And then, this crucial piece of data from the Journal of Nutrition landed in my inbox. According to an investigation by Sheila West of Penn State University,  adding spices including turmeric and cinnamon to a “high-fat meal” can reduce triglyceride response (ie bad cholesterol) by nearly 30% relative to the same meal without the spices.

While  less than impressed with Sheila's sample size (six overweight men), and the fact her research was bankrolled by The McCormick Science Institute (ie. the S&P listed $US6.5 billion McCormick spice people.....), I nonetheless dropped everything and went directly to a festering corner kitchen cupboard, which for the purposes of this story, I’ll call a ‘pantry’. Elbowing aside the baked bean tins and mountains of oats, I pinned down a spice-filled Tupperware container I’m now certain houses all the medicine I require for a healthy heart and long life. Olivia and I then jumped in the car, and after one disturbing report from a butcher that he “wouldn’t have any until Thursday”, we located a fine lamb shoulder specimen at Wareemba Meats, on Great North Rd Five Dock.

With Olivia's help, I set about lowering my cholesterol with the following recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Lamb Shoulder including shank – approx 2 kg (have butcher cut into 2 pieces to fit in pot)

½ cup plain flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 brown onion, diced

4 whole peeled garlic cloves, bruised on a chopping board with a flattened knife

1 cup dry white wine

1 tin of cherry tomatoes

3 fresh bay leaves (or 2 dried ones)

2 strips from an orange (use a potato peeler and avoid too much of the “white”)

1 pinch of saffron (15-20 threads)

1 cinnamon stick (or 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1) Pour 1 cup of boiling water over saffron threads and cover with cling film. (This must be done first to allow the saffron to steep whilst preparing the rest).

2) Pre-heat oven to 120C and place orange peel in the oven for 5 minutes until dehydrated. Remove orange peel and increase oven to 150C.

3) Tip flour, salt and pepper into a plastic bag (and cinnamon powder if not using a quill). Place this bag inside another, and then individually place each piece of shoulder into the bag and shake until lightly coated all over. Brush off any excess flour.

4) Heat pot over high heat. Add olive oil and brown both sides of the shoulder pieces in batches.

5) Turn down flame to low. Add more oil if absorbed by meat, tip in garlic and onion and cook gently for 3-4 minutes.

6) Increase heat to medium and add in celery and carrot and cook for further 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

7) Pour in the wine and deglaze for 1-2 minutes.

8) Add the meat back to the pot, then pour over the cherry tomatoes.

9) Add the bay leaves, dried orange peel, cinnamon stick and the saffron mixture. Pour more water into the cup to collect any remaining saffron colour and filaments and add this into the pot. There should be sufficient liquid to almost cover the meat. Add more water if required.

10 ) Bring to a gentle bubble, place a piece of foil over the meat and juice to prevent excessive moisture loss, secure the lid and place pot in the preheated oven at 150C for 2 to 2 1/2  hours.

11) Remove from the oven without disturbing the lid and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes to allow fat to rise to the surface.

12) Remove the lid and the foil and drape pieces of paper towel or tissue gently onto the surface of the liquid to absorb the fat, then discard. Continue until most fat appears absorbed.

13) Remove the meat from the bones using tongs and a knife, and shred or carve into desired-sized pieces. Remove any excess fat globules. Discard the bones and add the pieces of meat back into the pot.

14) Gently re-heat on the stove top and add the sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper. Adjust all according to taste.

15) Serve with anything capable of absorbing the magnificent juices, such as mash or cous cous. Accompany with greens and red wine.

This cholesterol-defeating recipe can be prepared the day before and placed in the fridge after the cooling step. Scoop the solidified fat from the surface and discard. Gently re-heat the remaining nice bits in the oven.  The meat will slither from the bone when prodded with a spoon.

Do you have memories of much shoulder-eating last century, or was it all chops and roast leg? I’d be interested to get your comments. And many thanks to my Uncle Geoff for providing the magnificent image of his extremely fat lambs.