Stuffed Breast of Lamb
Stuffed Breast of Lamb, filled with feta, red pepper and mint, turns an underused cut of meat into a delicious treat. I think it’s about time economical and tasty breast of lamb starting appearing on more tables. And this magnificent slow roasted dish might just do it.
BREAST OF LAMB
Breast of lamb is an inexpensive, flavoursome meat but one we just don’t see enough of in my opinion. Admittedly, it’s quite a fatty cut, but it’s only the lamb equivalent of pork belly and that’s incredibly popular. Why breast of lamb doesn’t enjoy the same status I just don’t know.
Breast of lamb often ends up in mince, but I think it can stand up on its own.
When I was a child, with nine mouths to feed, mum regularly roasted economical breast of lamb. However, she did tend to blast the life out of it using high heat. Consequently, although the fat was nicely rendered and the outside gorgeously crispy, the meat was a bit dry and chewy.
What I’ve since learnt is that slow, gentle heat will render the fat and keep the meat soft. Then, at the end of cooking, you whack the heat up to get crispy skin.
While I still love simply roasted breast of lamb, I want to show you a different dish here. I think Stuffed Breast of Lamb shows that this cut can also be elevated to something pretty impressive.
THE LAMB
For this recipe, I used the breast that came in a box of Shropshire breed lamb from Troutsdale Farm. Shropshires are the oldest breed of pedigree sheep and produce excellent, rich flavoured meat. At Troutsdale they’re grass fed and raised slowly and naturally, resulting in lamb that’s full of flavour and excellent to cook with.
My box contained half a mature lamb, sometimes called hogget, and Troutsdale will have it butchered into whatever cuts you want. Tempted as I was to have the lamb breast made into mince along with the hocks, I eventually decided to keep it in tact for slow roasting.
CLICK HERE TO READ MY POST ALL ABOUT TROUTSDALE FARM
UNTIE, STUFF, RE-TIE
My breast of lamb came already boned, rolled and tied. That meant I had to untie and unroll it (simple) before stuffing then re-rolling and re-tying (not quite so simple).
Never having done this before, it wasn’t the easiest of jobs. However, it’s not that difficult either and I did manage to keep almost all of the stuffing inside the rolled piece of lamb.
If you’re not experienced in tying up meat then, like me, you’ll probably need someone to kindly put their finger on your string while you double knot it.
The stuffing, full of robust flavours to match the lamb, is dead simple to make. After softening in a little olive oil, finely chopped onions and garlic are mixed with breadcrumbs, crumbled feta, roasted red peppers (for convenience, I use jarred ones) plus some seasoning and mint – fresh, dried or a combination.
You then spread the stuffing over the flattened out meat. You’ll need to roll the lamb up as tight as you can and tie it up securely with string. I used quite a lot of string, and the result wasn’t as neat as I’d like. But it wasn’t too bad for a first attempt and anyway, did the job.
However, if you’re a butcher, or just happen to be very good at tying up meat, then you might want to scroll past the next image. While I’m quite proud of my Stuffed Breast of Lamb, you might want to cry. Or laugh.
BROWNING & ROASTING STUFFED BREAST OF LAMB
When you’re ready to cook the Stuffed Breast of Lamb, pop your oven on to preheat then brown the meat in a little olive oil on top of the stove.
Then it’s just a case of putting in the oven with a lid. I used a large, oval Le Creuset casserole but you can put in a roasting tin and cover well with foil if you don’t have a suitable lidded dish.
The meat should take around two and a half hours to get nicely soft at 170c, or 150C in a fan oven. Part way through the cooking, I removed some of the rendered fat and used it to make roast potatoes.
If you want your Stuffed Breast of Lamb to have a crispy skin then turn the oven up and give it 5 – 10 minutes more, without the lid or foil. When the meat’s cooked to your liking, remove it from the casserole or tin, wrap in foil and leave to rest.
By the way; yes, I do know this photo looks like a big, headless caterpillar. But don’t let that put you off.
MAKING A SAUCE
While the meat is resting you can make an easy, delicious sauce to go with it. The cooking juices, along with any bits of stuffing that have fallen into the roasting dish and caramelized, makes a rich, meaty sauce with hints of sweet red pepper and tangy feta.
The only other ingredients you’ll need are a little flour to thicken the juices and some stock. I used chicken stock. To make sure the sauce was smooth, after bubbling away for 10 minutes, I used a stick blender to whizz it all together.
SERVING YOUR STUFFED BREAST OF LAMB
All that’s left to do then is unwrap your rested meat and slice as thickly or as thinly as you like.
I think this may be one of the best lamb dishes I’ve had for quite a while. The combination of rich, soft meat with its crispy skin and herby, tangy stuffing was a thoroughly enjoyable one.
Add to that a cloak of silky sauce and you have a real winner.
The potatoes roasted in some of the fat liberated from the lamb as it cooked were sublime. Minted homegrown runner beans, plus baby broad beans, served alongside brought freshness. Together with the Stuffed Breast of Lamb, this made a memorable, satisfying Sunday dinner.
Move over, belly of pork. Breast of lamb is back.
Stuffed Breast of Lamb
Ingredients
For the stuffing:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 30 g breadcrumbs
- 100 g roasted red pepper roughly chopped
- 100 g feta cheese crumbled
- 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves or 2 tsp dried mint
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the lamb:
- 1 - 1.5 kg breast of lamb
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the sauce:
- 0.5 tbsp plain flour
- 500 ml chicken or lamb stock
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan
For the stuffing:
-
Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and saute the onion and garlic until soft and starting to brown (8 - 10 minutes).
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In a bowl, combine the cooked onions and garlic with the rest of the stuffing ingredients. Season with a little salt and some black pepper.
For the lamb:
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If your breast of lamb is rolled and tied, cut off the strings and unroll it. Season both sides with salt and pepper then leave skin side down.
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Note: you'll probably need another pair of hands to help with this stage.
Spread the stuffing all over the opened up lamb, then re-roll (starting from a short side) as tightly as you can. Re-tie with string.
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In a large pot or frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the stuffed and tied lamb and brown all over.
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Transfer the lamb and any juices from the pan to a large lidded casserole or roasting tin. Put the lid on or cover tightly with foil if you have no lid.
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Slow roast in the oven for 2.5 hours or until the lamb is very tender.
Tip: if you want to make roast potatoes to accompany the lamb, remove some of the fat from the roasting dish partway through the cooking.
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To crisp the skin, turn the oven up to high and cook for a further 10 minutes.
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Remove the lamb, wrap in foil and rest for a minimum of 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
For the sauce:
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While the lamb is resting, take the cooking juices plus any of the stuffing that's fallen out and put into a saucepan, including about 1 tbsp of the fat.
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Heat over low to moderate heat, then add the flour and stir well, making sure you scrape up any bits of stuffing. Cook for 5 minutes.
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Gradually add the stock, stirring well after each addition. Allow to thicken, bubble and reduce (approx 8-10 minutes).
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Use a stick blender to whizz to a smooth sauce. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from Delicious magazine and TheGreekFood.com
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