Lamb Presse with Mint Fluid Gel

Recipe by Daniel Hurley of Forchefs

Ingredients:

• 1 Lamb shoulder
• 2 lamb necks
• 1½ bunch of thyme
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 cinnamon quills
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery stick
• 1 onion
• Chicken or Beef stock – to cover
• 300ml Red wine
• 10 peppercorns
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds
• 1 bunch of mint
• 1g Agar per 100ml liquid
• Sugar – to taste
• 300ml water
• Eggs
• Milk
• Flour
• Bread Crumbs
• Small bunch of continental parsley
• Zest of 1 lemon

Method:

– Seal the lamb shoulder and necks in a hot pan with a little oil. Place into a deep container – make sure it will fit in your oven
– Cut the onion, carrot and celery into a rough cut. Add to the pan that you sealed the lamb in and colour slightly. Add to the tray with the lamb
– In a pot, heat the stock, red wine, bay leaves, peppercorns, ½ bunch of thyme, garlic, cinnamon and fennel seeds. Once this has come to the boil, pour over the lamb. Make sure the liquid just covers the meat – use some water or more stock if needed. Cover with foil and braise in the oven for about 3 hours on 160°C
– While the lamb is in the oven make your mint gel. Pick the mint and blanch in some boiling water for about 1 minute or until soft. Place in an ice bath to chill – you still want it to be green
– Once cold, strain and squeeze out excess water
– In a small pot make a syrup with the water and sugar – make sure not to stir it or it will crystallise
– Measure the liquid and weigh the agar accordingly – you can adjust all elements of this to suit taste and colour
– Put the liquid back into the pot and bring to the boil. Sprinkle in the agar and stir to incorporate. Add the mint and cook quickly, the mixture should start to thicken slightly
– Check if the lamb is soft. If so, take it out of the oven and let it cool slightly in the liquid
– Place the liquid into a pot and reduce it down to make the sauce – season to taste
– Get a bowl and begin to pull the meat off the necks and breaking down the shoulder – this should just fall apart. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chop and add parsley, rest of the thyme and the lemon zest and mix. Adjust to taste*
*Please note – do these steps whilst the meat is still quite warm, to help it all bind together.
– Spray a tray and line with baking paper. Add the mixture and spread across the tray. Place another layer of paper on top and place another tray that fits nicely over the lamb. Add a little weight on top and place in the fridge overnight or until the natural gelatine in the lamb sets. Remove from the tray and cut into portions
– With the eggs and milk, create an egg wash. Place the lamb in the flour, then the egg wash and finally coat in the bread crumbs
– Have a hot pan with clarified butter in it and seal the lamb until nice and golden. Finish in the oven if needed – please note that this will be soft
– Serve with roast vegetables for a different take on a Sunday roast