SMOKED TAMARIND LAMB RIBS n BITS
Succulent, juicy lamb ribs with a fusion of flavours from across the globe…
Welcome back to Unfiltered Flavours+! For issue #31 we’ve got this beautiful lamb number. Smoked lamb ribs, Tamarind chutney, sumac onions and a minty aji verde. These are flavours from all across the globe, on one plate.
The beautiful thing with food is that in my opinion food has no boarders unlike the real world. So that means, if you have the right finesse and touch you can really fuse different regions of the world together and make a lot of sense…
Flavours & Technique
The lamb ribs are smoked old school American bbq style, a nice rub, a mustard binder and a little bit of love. I added cumin to the lamb rub as its a spice that just compliments lamb so well. With lamb you either go simple or go hard!
The tamarind sauce really pays homage to classic Trini flavours! Amchar spice, coriander, cumin and of course that tangy Tamarind. When it comes to the amchar spice, you simply cannot skip this. It’s a pickling spice and in my opinion the sauce doesn’t work without it!
Lamb is extremely rich so the tang of the tamarind really compliments the richness of the lamb. The sumac onions really lean on Middle Eastern/Turkish flavours. Sumac is a spice thats tangy too, slightly acidic, a bit of a citrus hit and mellow sweetness because it derives from a dry berry (Rhus coriaria shrub). Traditionally sumac onions are made with parsley, but I’m just not the biggest fan of parsley and I think coriander in this case makes a little more sense and pairs well with their hints of coriander through the dish.
Lastly the Aji Verde is a Peruvian green sauce, mostly had with their chicken but let me tell you this sauce is in constant rotation in my kitchen. It’s herby, the coriander just makes it pop and you really can’t go wrong with a green sauce and lamb
I did this recipe twice, first time was good but it needed tweaking. Like I said earlier lamb is fatty and the mistake I made the first time round was not scoring the lamb or trimming it. Unlike lamb leg, lamb ribs are super fatty and so forgiving. I genuinely think unless you burn them to a crisp, it’s extremely hard to make them dry. So if you’re smoking these, you need to score the topside to ensure the fat actually renders properly. Otherwise you get this collection of fat on the surface that stops you from developing a bark on your meat
Lamb ribs are actually the breast of the lamb and this recipe calls for the whole joint, not the ribs that are already broken down. British butchers will usually sell this as “lamb breast”.
Cooking methods:
This is obviously a recipe that works best on a bbq/smoker. You need to ensure you’re using good quality coal and good oak wood chunks (not chips). The coal isn’t going to give you the ultimate Smokey taste, the oak wood is. I’ve also given a set of basic instructions to carry this recipe out in an oven. Keep in mind that it won’t turn out exactly the same because the cooking methods are extremely different, but it will still turn out pretty amazing as ultimately it’s about getting the flavours right
Ingredients & Method
Lamb ribs (I used a 1.8kg joint)
Mustard (optional)
Lamb rub:
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp salt
1.5 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp garlic granules
1 tbsp Cumin
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
Method:
For the lamb, you want to score the lamb on top. Ensure you’re scoring the fat and not going super deep. Trim off excess hard fat, especially the curved meatier top end of the ribs. You’ll find there’s a bit of fat that runs between the meat, diagonally trim that if needed as it won’t all render.
Notice the thick layer of fat that runs through...if you can, try and trim this down. Rub with a little mustard, just enough to make the surface of the meat tacky.
Then coat with the lamb rub. Ensure every nook and cranny is completely covered and really pat the seasoning in.
Place onto the smoker at 110°c (225f) for 2.5-3 hours and ensure you have a drip pan underneath to catch the fat drippings.
At the 1 hour mark you want to tilt your ribs if there’s any pooling of fat on top. This will ensure you get a good bit of bark. Then let this smoke for another hour/hour and a half.
At this point your meat will start to pull from the bones and should see that your bark is pretty much set. You want to spritz this with a 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water mixture.
Then bump up the temperature to 135°c (275f) and let this go for 1 more hour. Spritzing half way through the hour.
The timings will vary, these ribs take between 3-4 hours and you’re not going off temperature exactly and more so feel. You’ll be able to feel that the ribs are soft and tender. You’ll see that the meat has separated from the bone with tips of the bones completely exposed.
Oven method:
For the oven method, you want to follow up to step 3. Then you want to wrap and seal the ribs with foil and parchment paper (the foil should be the outer layer). Ensure that it’s sealed tight.
Place into the oven at 150°c for 2.5- 3 hours. Check for doneness at the 2.5 hour mark. If you find the meat has little give and can’t be pierced with a fork easily, then let it run for 30 mins.
Once your meat is softened, remove the top layer of foil and parchment paper. Carefully baste and bump up the temperature to 170°c and let this cook uncovered for 15-20 mins, this will ensure you get some colour to your meat
Sumac onions:
2-3 red onions
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp chopped coriander
2 tsp honey
Pinch of salt
Method:
For the sumac onions you want to thinly slice your red onions, it’s important that after you slice them you want to place them in ice bath for 20 mins. This helps to take away the sharpness and pungent raw taste
Once done, drain your onions and place them into a bowl along with your remaining ingredients. Let this marinate refrigerated m for at least an hour before using.