Divemaster
somebody shut me the fark up.
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2007
- Messages
- 8,427
- Reaction score
- 623
- Points
- 0
- Age
- 64
- Location
- North Side of Chicago Illinois
I did a bit of an experiment a couple of weeks ago but couldn’t find the cable required to download the pron… So now that I have one, here it is!
History:
It’s been more years than I would like to admit, but way back when we used to purchase lamb ribs for about $.05 a pound. No one else liked them and it was a cheap meal for my family. OK, race forward about 40 years and now I have the competition team and two of my primary members are first generation Greek and we (Ramona and I) are going over to one of their homes for New Years.
Now I’m always looking to expand my catalog of recipes, so I went to our local Treasure Island about two months ago and found that yes they do have lamb ribs (no longer at $.05/pound, now more like $3.65/pound) but there was a problem. They only get in one lamb a week. Now I’d been to Angelo’s parties and knew that I would need about eight to ten of these wonderful near appetizer sized slabs so I was going to have to wait to get them into my hands.
The Cook:
While I was waiting, I finally came up with a marinade. I wanted to keep them Mediterranean but also I wanted to add my own American twist. The marinade consisted of ‘Good Seasons Zesty Italian Dressing’ (made with Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil), fresh Lemon Juice, fresh Rosemary, fresh Oregano, fresh Garlic, Salt, and Pepper.
Once the ribs finally came in, I gave the first slab a shot. I removed the skin from the back of the ribs and slathered it down with the marinade. I then covered it and let it rest in the fridge for only 4 hours because I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to taste the lamb.
I figured that what better way to spend the time than with a bit of Saganaki (Greek cheese fried in Extra Virgin Olive Oil then flamed with Brandy and then fresh squeezed Lemon Juice)… Trust me guys, once you’ve had it you’ll think different about cheese sandwiches!
I then smoked the ribs using grape vines for about four and a half hours with the last half hour basting them with a BBQ sauce that I make that uses lemon juice in place of about half of the vinegar.
Lessons Learned:
There were just a couple of things I am doing differently for the party.
The first one is the trimming of the Lamb Ribs. I really didn’t do a lot of trimming and left the tips on. This was a mistake in that you couldn’t pick them up like a rib without the tip almost falling off. This also left more fat on the meat than I would have liked.
The second item is that I shouldn’t have worried about losing the flavor of the lamb. By the time it was all said and done, you couldn’t taste the marinade as much as I wanted, so I’m going to be marinating them for much longer.
The third item is that I should have cooked them a bit longer. I’m thinking about five to five and a half hours. They were tender, but I could tell that the extra 30-60 minutes would have been just right.
History:
It’s been more years than I would like to admit, but way back when we used to purchase lamb ribs for about $.05 a pound. No one else liked them and it was a cheap meal for my family. OK, race forward about 40 years and now I have the competition team and two of my primary members are first generation Greek and we (Ramona and I) are going over to one of their homes for New Years.
Now I’m always looking to expand my catalog of recipes, so I went to our local Treasure Island about two months ago and found that yes they do have lamb ribs (no longer at $.05/pound, now more like $3.65/pound) but there was a problem. They only get in one lamb a week. Now I’d been to Angelo’s parties and knew that I would need about eight to ten of these wonderful near appetizer sized slabs so I was going to have to wait to get them into my hands.
The Cook:
While I was waiting, I finally came up with a marinade. I wanted to keep them Mediterranean but also I wanted to add my own American twist. The marinade consisted of ‘Good Seasons Zesty Italian Dressing’ (made with Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil), fresh Lemon Juice, fresh Rosemary, fresh Oregano, fresh Garlic, Salt, and Pepper.
Once the ribs finally came in, I gave the first slab a shot. I removed the skin from the back of the ribs and slathered it down with the marinade. I then covered it and let it rest in the fridge for only 4 hours because I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to taste the lamb.
I figured that what better way to spend the time than with a bit of Saganaki (Greek cheese fried in Extra Virgin Olive Oil then flamed with Brandy and then fresh squeezed Lemon Juice)… Trust me guys, once you’ve had it you’ll think different about cheese sandwiches!
I then smoked the ribs using grape vines for about four and a half hours with the last half hour basting them with a BBQ sauce that I make that uses lemon juice in place of about half of the vinegar.
Lessons Learned:
There were just a couple of things I am doing differently for the party.
The first one is the trimming of the Lamb Ribs. I really didn’t do a lot of trimming and left the tips on. This was a mistake in that you couldn’t pick them up like a rib without the tip almost falling off. This also left more fat on the meat than I would have liked.
The second item is that I shouldn’t have worried about losing the flavor of the lamb. By the time it was all said and done, you couldn’t taste the marinade as much as I wanted, so I’m going to be marinating them for much longer.
The third item is that I should have cooked them a bit longer. I’m thinking about five to five and a half hours. They were tender, but I could tell that the extra 30-60 minutes would have been just right.
