Jenny had a little lamb

December 3, 2014 9:58 AM

On a whim I purchased 1 lb of lamb stew meat and have no idea what to do with it.

I have no plans to make stew and doubt that this tiny amount would go very far anyway. My gut says that it will most likely be flavoring for something like beans. Please share any ideas or suggestions on what to do with 4 small bone-in lamb pieces.

posted by JennyJupiter to Food & Drink (27 answers total)

Rogan josh? The recipe calls for two pounds, but you could make a half-batch or just go ahead and have a bit higher sauce to meat ratio. Maybe throw in some chickpeas or lentils or beans to bulk it out a bit.
posted by Diablevert at 10:05 AM on December 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

I have made this

effortless and delicious!
posted by bobdow at 10:10 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Vindaloo or just basic lamb stew. Yum.
posted by slipthought at 10:12 AM on December 3, 2014

It makes good chili.
posted by Nothing at 10:13 AM on December 3, 2014

Google is giving me a few too many hits, and I don't have the print out, but look at lamb tangine with couscous .. Cooked in a crockpot, uses dried apricots. You'll lick the bowl clean.
posted by k5.user at 10:13 AM on December 3, 2014

You could do a fine, if small, batch of plain ol' Irish stew that way. All you'll need to go with it is an onion or two, a couple potatoes, and two or three carrots. Chop the onion and saute that in butter; while that's doing, then peel and slice the potatoes, and peel the carrots and chop into biggish chunks. When the onion's sauteed, brown the lamb pieces, then layer them in the pot with the potato slices and carrot chunks. Add maybe a couple sprigs of thyme, add just enough water to cover and let simmer away on low heat for an hour or two.

If you want to do Scotch broth instead, lose the potato, add some celery, a little extra water and some pearl barley.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:17 AM on December 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

Oh, and a pound is just fine for Irish stew; you'll probably get about four servings that way.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:18 AM on December 3, 2014 [3 favorites]

Mr. Ruhroh and I made the most delicious morroccan lamb and lentil stew the other night and it was enough food to last for multiple dinners. you can also type "lamb stew" into Tastespotting.com to search for delicious recipies!
posted by ruhroh at 10:19 AM on December 3, 2014

I've been reading the Sherlock Holmes stories lately, and according to them, curried mutton is very useful for covering the taste of opium.
posted by Naberius at 10:35 AM on December 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

Do not waste this on a chili or stew.

Slow cook with red wine.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 10:41 AM on December 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

Oh man one of my favorite things to do with lamb is do it all Moroccanish tagine-like. You can follow a basic recipe online for ingredients/flavors, but I like to include apricots, prunes, carrots, peas, and chunks of potato as my veg, so it's almost like a pot roast with better flavors. I eat it with turmeric rice. Man, now I need to go buy lamb.
posted by phunniemee at 10:42 AM on December 3, 2014

Lamb is fantastically delicious with white beans. You could make a lamb cassoulet with white beans baked with tomatoes and a little rosemary, and add some thick-cut bacon and garlic sausage, too, if you want.
posted by Lycaste at 10:44 AM on December 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ooh seconding the cassoulet! that's a good way to make a little of some kind of meat go a long way.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:48 AM on December 3, 2014

Lamb and artichoke stew. The Frugal Gourmet. (Before he was ...)
posted by Gungho at 11:05 AM on December 3, 2014

I just made this lamb ragù this weekend using 1 lb of lamb and 1 lb of stew beef; it turned out really well.
posted by The Michael The at 11:11 AM on December 3, 2014

I have made this curry with 1 lb. of leftover lamb. It was wonderfully tender and absolutely delicious.
posted by PearlRose at 11:19 AM on December 3, 2014

Now, I'd do a couple of skewers. Marinate the lamb with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Put on skewers with tomatoes, mushrooms and onion. Grill lightly and serve over rice.

It's a nice meal for 3-4 people.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:29 AM on December 3, 2014

Lamb and Fennel Bolognese
posted by Quisp Lover at 12:10 PM on December 3, 2014

Seconding Ruthless Bunny, but I'd definitely add lemon.
posted by sarajane at 12:11 PM on December 3, 2014

I totally agree with everyone who points to Morocco for inspiration, and that is what I would normally do. But just this Sunday, while we were eating Moroccan food, my teen asked: do you remember when you cooked Irish stew with cabbage for Gran? And I do, and I'd have thought all teens would remember this with horror and disgust. But it was quite nice and now we are going to try to recreate the recipe. I can't find it online, and I don't remember where Gran had it from. But basically, the lamb was sliced thin and layered with cabbage, onion and maybe potato sliced thin as well. Salt, pepper and bayleaf in the layers. A cup of boullion over the whole thing and into the oven for a long time.
Does anyone know this recipe? Maybe it is not entirely as described, I can have forgotten stuff.
posted by mumimor at 12:27 PM on December 3, 2014

Lamb makes for fantastic slow-cooked curries. Plus your house will smell amazing. Make a raita to go with, but add mint to it. Some rice and dinner is served.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:29 PM on December 3, 2014

Best answer: I made this last weekend and it was delicious Simple lamb stew. I halved it and it was perfect for dinner for two!
posted by lyssabee at 2:10 PM on December 3, 2014

Lamb Julienne with Crispy Dumplings. It's startlingly good... I have made it for dinner parties and every single person has asked for the recipe.
posted by ananci at 4:07 PM on December 3, 2014

Calling attention to the fact that the OP says this is bone-in lamb, so things like the lamb bolognese - which sounds amazing and which I have bookmarked - calls for ground lamb, and thus may be a bit of a difficulty.

I did just find this recipe for a Basque style lamb stew....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:05 PM on December 3, 2014

Stay simple: Jamaican style curry. Brown lamb cubes, add onion and garlic, after five minutes add thyme , more garlic, and curry powder - regular old yellow canned curry powder. Add a couple chopped tomatoes, a bit of water to keep it moist but not soupy, and turn the heat down to let it stew - covered - for an hour or more until it is soft. Serve with rice and a side of beans.
posted by zaelic at 5:42 PM on December 3, 2014

Saag is delicious with lamb...if you double Manjula's recipe and replace the paneer with your lamb (that you brown in a pan), it's great.
posted by Kreiger at 5:58 PM on December 3, 2014

Response by poster: All of your suggestions were great, and I'm going to keep them tucked away for my next impulse buy. I ended up making lyssabee's stew and it was pretty yummy. Thanks!
posted by JennyJupiter at 9:44 AM on January 11, 2015