Ahh, the ancient art of bi-avian murder using a single bludgeoning device.  My girlfriend’s parents were in town and I needed to make them a reasonably good dinner.  Coincidentally I have been hung up on the line of lamb fat that I found in the rack of lamb.  Since buying excellent cuts of meat is a great way to cover up inadequacy in the kitchen, I took the opportunity to impress the folks and investigate the mystery of the rack.

The plan was simple, make the whipped mashed potatoes, saute some mushrooms then add wine and wilt spinach, and barely cook a couple racks of lamb that were seasoned appropriately.  Simple, elegant, and tasty, allowing me to focus on my obsession.

The meal came together very well.  I cooked one rack a little less than the other so Dylan and I could enjoy ours with a heartbeat, and her family could just have a plain old rare rack.  The fam was duly impressed (or so the said), although I wish I had steak knives to make the meat on the rack a little more accessible.  I served the lamb in racks of 3, in hindsight I would have lollipop’d them.  The meat was tender enough to rip apart with the human incisors, but I think I was the only one indelicate enough to utilize my primal tools.  The only new dish to the lineup was the mushrooms and wilted spinach, a solid, if unremarkable side.  The tooth of spinach and the wholesome earthy taste make wilted spinach a comforting food any time in the fall or winter, the mushrooms and wine both add complexity to each bite to transform the dish from a pile of green mush to a bona fide side dish.

Sauteed spinach and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 6 oz of mushrooms (Hen of the woods, or other slightly bitter or mildly toxic mushrooms are ideal)
• 2 bunches of spinach
• 1 cup of white wine, acidic and slightly fruit forward worked well
• 3 tbls butter
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Procedure:

In a wok over medium heat melt the butter.  Rinse and slice the mushrooms into manageable pieces.  Saute the mushrooms until they plump and their moisture releases, about 8 minutes.  Add the wine and let simmer.  Rinse the spinach and cut the stems off to leave mostly leaves.  5 minutes before serving add the spinach and turn the heat to high.  Stir periodically so that all of the leaves get wilted.  Mix in salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

On to the Lamb Fat!  It exists!  However, of the two racks we picked up for this meal, only one had a tube of the fat I was looking for.

I wanted to let everyone try a piece of it, so I tried to separate the tube of fat out and put it on a little tray for people to eat.  Unfortunately it did not look very appetizing, and there was some sort of skin holding it in a tube.  That skin was not good, but the creamy morsels inside were.  I am sure the texture is variable based on how much cooking it gets, but the best piece I had this time was creamy like a spreadable goat cheese.  The texture of the attachment fibers and the skin was a little less pleasant, I should warn you.  The flavor was rich and creamy with all of those gamy notes that make lamb a joy.  Crystals of salt from the lingering rub piqued the tongue to make it more sensitive to the decadence of the lamb fat.

So where to go from here?  I still need to lock down methods to share this yum with everyone I know.  Things I need to figure out:

• When to extract the lamb fat.  Cooked, Uncooked?  Leave it in and just point it out to people?  Do I harvest the filling of the tube and discard the skin?
• Why do only some racks have this morsel?  Next time I will specify that I want that bit and see if the butcher can accommodate me.
• How should the lamb fat be served.  Hot just out of the oven?  Spread on something?  Heated and then cooled and served separately?

I’m just excited that I can now show pictures of the thing I’ve been talking about for months!

Notes:

• I think I need to make spinach soup to really get to know spinach.
• Steak knives for rare lamb.  Why do I not have steak knives?
• Saying “Lamb Fat” is not appetizing.  I need to think of a new term for it.  Suggestions?  Of course “Foie Gras” is just french for “Fat Liver”. Gras d’Agneau?
• Take one more look at that trench of goodness and tell me you would not hit that.
• I like lists

-Gabe