Lamb Rack and Shoulder Recipe - Great British Chefs

Best end and shoulder of salt marsh lamb, red pepper, pineapple, mint oil and cobnuts

Main
challenging
4
3 hours, plus 6 hours for the mint oil and lamb shoulder

PT3H

PT6H

Matt Gillan's lamb rack and shoulder recipe is testament to his innovative and unique style of cooking. Pineapple, lamb and cobnut may not spring to mind immediately as natural partners, but Matt's lightness of touch in using weird and wonderful combinations pulls the dish together to produce a thing of beauty.

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Ingredients

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Metric

Imperial

Shoulder of lamb

1 shoulder of lamb, small, bone-in
10g of smoked salt, Viking
100g of Maldon salt
20g of ras el hanout
vegetable oil

Best end of lamb

1 4-bone rack of English lamb, best end, French trimmed
50g of lamb fat, rendered
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme, small
salt
butter

Mint oil

2 bunches of mint, washed leaves only
300g of oil

Sauce

2kg lamb bones, chopped
500g of white wine
1000g of onion, finely sliced
1000ml of chicken stock
1000ml of veal stock
1 green pepper
1 bunch of fresh thyme
1 garlic clove
1 red pepper
vegetable oil

Pineapple

1/2 pineapple, peeled
100g of sugar
10g of salt
100g of white wine vinegar

Red pepper purée

6 red peppers, seeds and stalk removed
vegetable oil

Cobnuts

20 cobnuts, fresh
20g of oil
5g of ras el hanout
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp honey

To serve

nasturtium leaves

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Muslin cloth
Sous vide equipment
Thermomix
Chinois
Robot Coupe

Begin by preparing the mint oil. Blanch the mint leaves in a pan of boiling water for 1-2 minutes until they just start to soften. Drain well, refresh in iced water then drain again, squeezing out as much excess water as possible. Blend with the oil in a Robot Coupe for 10 minutes

2 bunches of mint, washed leaves only
300g of oil

Prepare a double-layered muslin bag, tip the mint oil into the bag and hang over a bowl to collect all of the strained oil - this process should take 4-6 hours

Meanwhile, prepare the lamb shoulder. Add the salts and ras el hanout to a bowl, mix to combine then rub the mix all over the shoulder. Preheat a barbecue or very large griddle pan until extremely hot and add the shoulder, searing on both sides until blackened

1 shoulder of lamb, small, bone-in
10g of smoked salt, Viking
100g of Maldon salt
20g of ras el hanout

Remove the shoulder and wrap tightly and thoroughly in cling film. Place on a perforated tray and into a steam oven or large steamer for 4 hours until the meat is soft and tender

Once ready, remove and discard the cling film. Cut away any gristle using a sharp knife and carefully slide the bones out. Remove the skin and fat and chop the skin into a small dice. Shred the meat, reincorporate with the fat and skin and roll into a 4cm diameter ballotine, approximately 20cm in length. Place in the fridge to set

For the sauce, heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot, then add the bones and cook until very well-coloured all over. Tip the bones and juices into a colander positioned over a bowl and deglaze the pan with the wine

vegetable oil
2kg lamb bones, chopped
500g of white wine

Add a dash of oil to a separate pan, place over a medium-high heat and add the onions. Cook until dark and golden. Tip the onions into a pressure cooker, along with the reserved browned bones, wine (from deglazing), veal and chicken stocks. Add the lid, cook over a medium heat for 2 hours then remove the pan from the heat. Allow the pressure cooker to equalise naturally

vegetable oil
1000g of onion, finely sliced
1000ml of chicken stock
1000ml of veal stock

Strain the contents of the pressure cooker through a chinois into a clean pan. Place over a medium-high heat and reduce by 2/3 until you are left with a very thin sauce. Finely chop the green pepper, thyme and garlic and add to the sauce

Leave to infuse for 1 minute, then strain through a chinois into a bowl. Pass the sauce through a sieve lined with double muslin into another bowl, then repeat this last process with clean muslin

To finish the sauce, blowtorch the red pepper until the skin is black and blistered. Wash off the burnt skin and remove the seeds, stalk and white flesh. Cut the remaining flesh into a brunoise (fine dice) and set aside until ready to serve

1 red pepper

Preheat the water bath to 85˚C

To prepare the pineapple, add the sugar, salt and vinegar to a pan and bring to the boil. Keep boiling until thick and sticky, forming a gastrique, and allow to cool. Combine the pineapple and the gastrique in a vac pac bag, seal tightly and cook in the water bath for 25 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the bag and slice into portions

100g of sugar
10g of salt
100g of white wine vinegar
1/2 pineapple, peeled

For the red pepper purée, roughly chop the peppers. Heat a small dash of oil in a heavy-based pan, add the chopped peppers and cook for 1 minute. Cover the pan tightly with cling film to make it airtight and cook on a low heat until the peppers are soft

6 red peppers, seeds and stalk removed
vegetable oil

Remove the cling film and tip the contents of the pan into a Thermomix. Blitz for 10 minutes, pass through a chinois and keep warm

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3.5

For the cobnuts, mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl (apart from the nuts), then add the nuts and toss to combine. Spread out on a lined baking tray and roast for 12 minutes

20 cobnuts, fresh
20g of oil
5g of ras el hanout
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp honey

Preheat the water bath to 58°C

To prepare the best end of lamb, carefully cover the exposed bones with foil to avoid discolouration. Place the whole rack into a large vac pac bag with the rendered lamb fat, garlic and thyme and seal tightly, ensuring you are careful not to let the bones pierce the bag. Cook in the water bath for 70 minutes

1 4-bone rack of English lamb, best end, French trimmed
50g of lamb fat, rendered
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme

Once cooked, remove the rack from the bag and season all over. Place a large pan over a medium heat and once hot, add the lamb fat-side down. Cook until the fat has rendered down and is caramelised and golden

salt

Turn the rack over, add a generous knob of butter and once foaming, baste the meat with the butter for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the meat to rest for 10 minutes in a warm place

butter

Remove the ballotine of shoulder from the fridge and carefully cut into 4cm cylinders. Add a dash of oil to a hot pan and sear the ballotines, colouring all over until dark and golden

vegetable oil

To serve, warm the sauce and add the reserved brunoise of red peppers. Carve the rack into individual chops and place a ballotine of shoulder into the centre of each plate. Rest the chop against it, with the bone pointing high

Dot the red pepper purée around the centre of the plates and add the pineapple and cobnuts. Spoon over the sauce, drizzle over some mint oil and add some nasturtium leaves to finish. Serve immediately

nasturtium leaves

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Matt Gillan

A protégé of Daniel Clifford, Gordon Ramsay and John Campbell, Matt Gillan is well versed in the hallmarks of high-end cuisine, yet he retains a dazzling streak of originality.