Many appreciate and love mutton recipes, because the meat turns out to be very tasty, rich and satisfying. This, of course, is very fatty food, so if you follow your figure, then you should refuse it. Lamb - a product that can rightly be attributed to international cuisine. After all, it is prepared with pleasure not only in the east, but also in the Balkans, in Scotland, Greece.
Lamb features
By the way, there are a lot of stereotypes about recipes from lamb that will not be amiss to dispel. For example, many people think that it is very fatty meat. In reality, it contains about two to three times less fat than pork, lamb and two and a half times less cholesterol than beef, so the calorie content of meat is relatively low - about 200 kcal per 100 grams of product.
At the same time, it contains many vitamins and minerals, and iron and even more than pork, 30%. In addition, in mutton, unlike the same pork or veal, there is no so-called “hormone of fear”, because animals do not realize their fate throughout life.
General recommendations
There are some general tips to help you deal with the mutton recipe if you decide to master it. It must be remembered that for minced meat they usually take the peritoneum, trim and scapula. For stewing and boiling, the peritoneum is suitable, as well as the drumstick, hip, brisket, shoulder blade, ribs and neck. Fried, as a rule, tenderloin, loin, ribs and shoulder blade.
It is known that lamb is a very odorous meat. In addition, it may have a very specific taste, which some will not like. Therefore, lamb dishes are recommended to be seasoned strongly, usually several seasonings are used at once.
It is recommended to use garlic, ginger, onions, caraway seeds, marjoram, all kinds of spicy sauces. Do not be suspicious and prejudiced about garlic. If you add it in moderation, the meat will get an unforgettable pleasant taste.
You can also get a good taste through pickling. Try not to skip this step in the cooking process.
Shurpa
Among the recipes with lamb there are a lot of first courses. For example, shurpa. This is a very hearty and aromatic soup based on meat. Be prepared that the soup will turn out to be very oily, so for it they don’t even specially fry vegetables, but only sauté them. In the broth, as a rule, there are tomatoes or tomato paste. Shurpa is served with pita bread, fresh herbs, oriental cakes.
This recipe from lamb, the photo of which you will find in this article, will take you about two hours. For six servings you will need the following ingredients:
- 1.5 kg of mutton on the bone;
- 3 liters of water;
- 3 potatoes;
- 2 carrots;
- 2 onions;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- a tablespoon of tomato paste;
- bell pepper;
- a teaspoon of fragrant oriental seasonings;
- salt to taste.
Cooking process
The recipe for lamb shurpa is as follows. Pieces of lamb on the bone must be lowered into boiling water, eventually descale and only after that add spices and peppers. Experienced chefs advise you to opt for red pepper, cumin, basil and cilantro. It is necessary to salt the broth quite a bit, and then cook under the lid for an hour and a half over medium heat.
When this time has passed, the meat can be removed from the broth, strain the liquid itself and put on the fire again. While the broth boils, cut the potatoes into large cubes, chop the carrots thinly, add the vegetables to the boiling broth for future shurpa.
Thinly cut bell peppers and onions, and send them to the soup, about five minutes after carrots and potatoes. For flavor and color add garlic and tomato paste, cook over medium heat until the potatoes are finally cooked.
After that, pieces of lamb are returned to the shurpa, which are previously cut from the bone, and excess fat is also removed. That's all, shurpa is ready. It is served naturally on the table hot.
Kharcho
Another oriental soup that cannot do without lamb is kharcho. It is believed that this is a dish of traditional Georgian cuisine, while it has long been loved in different parts of Russia. The mutton kharcho recipe is very easy to put into practice. The soup will come rich, spicy and fragrant.
To cook it, you will need:
- 500 grams of lamb;
- 4 tablespoons of rice;
- 3 onions;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 400 grams of tomato paste or fresh tomatoes;
- peppercorns, salt, bay leaf, herbs, vegetable oil - to taste.
Cooking Kharcho
Thoroughly wash and chop meat. We cut the lamb carefully into small pieces, necessarily across the fibers, put it into a pan with a capacity of at least two liters and put it on fire, so we start cooking the broth. As soon as the water begins to boil, it is necessary to immediately remove the foam, after which the fire is reduced so that the broth only gurgles slightly. It should cook for about an hour and a half. At the same time, do not cover it with a lid.
About 30 minutes before the end of cooking the broth, it is customary to put parsley in it and salt to taste.
Now it is important to prepare a delicious roast, which is an important part of the kharcho. While kharcho is boiled, peel and finely chop onions. We put the frying pan on the fire, pouring vegetable oil into it in advance. When it is heated, you can spread the onion and fry until a characteristic golden color. After that, add a couple of spoonfuls of broth and stew the onion over the slowest fire.
We take on the tomatoes. Note that the choice between tomatoes and tomato paste is recommended to be done depending on the time of year. If it is possible to use fresh tomatoes, you must definitely use it. Wash them thoroughly, pour over boiling water so that the water completely covers the vegetables. So peeling tomatoes will be much easier to remove. We cut the tomatoes into cubes and put them in a frying pan to the onion with the broth. Stew for another ten minutes with the lid closed.
By that time, usually the meat has time to cook. Take a ready-made frying and add to the soup. When the broth begins to boil, we put rice, and after it boils again, we reduce the heat to a minimum. Five minutes later, put the spices in the broth. Be sure to stock up on this case with bay leaves, allspice and basil. They will give your kharcho a special flavor.
Just a few minutes before the end of cooking, put in the kharcho crushed garlic, as well as finely chopped greens, such as dill, parsley and cilantro. After that, Kharcho should insist for at least another hour under the lid. It is recommended to serve it with bread or pita bread on the table. As you can see, the recipe for lamb soup is quite simple.
By the way, chopped walnuts are often put in this dish along with rice, which gives the kharcho a special piquancy.
Classic recipe
You must definitely master the classic mutton recipe if you want to know the true taste of this meat. It is also called "Mongolian mutton." This is a stew that requires soy sauce and dry red wine. In Mongolia, it is considered a national dish.
For a recipe for cooking mutton in this way you will need:
- 300 grams of lamb;
- 3 tablespoons of sesame oil;
- half a glass of red dry wine;
- half a glass of soy sauce;
- onion;
- large head of garlic;
- a third of a teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
For this dish, it is recommended to take the lamb pulp. Add spices, focusing on your own taste, you can increase or decrease their number. Serve on the table is recommended in hot form, after sprinkling with sesame seeds.
First, lamb should be slightly fried over high heat to form a crust. Then we remove the meat and fry the finely chopped garlic and onions in the same oil. Return the meat to the pan, add soy sauce, red wine and nutmeg. These are mandatory ingredients, without them you will get a completely different dish. Close the lid and simmer until the meat is soft. It usually takes about half an hour.
Serve on the table with any side dish, sprinkled with herbs.
Lamb in the oven
The recipe for lamb in the oven is quite simple, and the dish is very healthy and tasty. To prepare it, you need the following components:
- 500 grams of young ram meat;
- 5 medium sized potatoes;
- carrot;
- onion;
- 3 tomatoes;
- vegetable oil;
- spices of your choice;
- half a glass of clean drinking water;
- ground black pepper and salt to taste.
How to cook meat in the oven?
We emphasize right away that the recipe for cooking this meat in the oven is as simple as possible, so even a novice housewife will cope with it. You will surely amaze everyone around with your culinary talents if you strictly follow the instructions given in this article.
The meat should ideally be a single piece. Sprinkle it lightly with black pepper, salt, and the spices you choose. In this matter, focus solely on your own taste.
Vegetables for this dish should be cut large enough. We put the meat together with vegetables in a form, lightly sprinkle with vegetable oil and pour in clean drinking water. We preheat the oven to a temperature of 200 degrees, put in it a form covered with foil.
The meat should be cooked for about an hour and a half, after which the foil can be removed, and the lamb left in the oven for a short time so that it is browned.