Lamb Necks

Came across some lamb necks at my local butcher (Rainshadow Meats in Seattle). I like to pick up random stuff, so I bought several and brought them home. Treated the same way I would a lamb shank - braised low and slow at 210 for 9 hrs in a red wine reduction, beef stock and light tomato paste base with onions, garlic, tomatoes, celery, etc.

Out of this world.

I found the meat to be much more tender than the shank and it tasted fantastic. I think I’m hooked.

Anyone else cooking with necks and, if so, any other ideas on recipes? At $7.99/lb for locally raised lamb, it’s a steal.

I get a Churro lamb neck every year from Barbara Mirakal. Last year I took a few year’s neck slices and braised them in a Spanish-style lamb stew. Onion, garlic, Spanish Smoked Paprika (both hot and agridulce), and rosemary were used for seasoning. The stew was braised for 3-4 hours at 350F. It was quite tasty served over brown rice.

Andrew,

I’ve been trying to find lamb necks locally since enjoying the Crispy Braised Lamb Neck with Borlotti Beans at Herbsaint in New Orleans a year ago. They gave the neck a quick dunk in the deep fryer after braising, hence “Crispy.”

I agree that it is more tender than shank; also richer and more unctuous. Fantastic.

Cheers,
Bob

Love the necks. Fortunately, I have a couple of sources in Chicago. The Herbsaint recipe sounds great, Bob

Lamb neck is the best car camping food ever. Braise it at home, cool it in the braising liquid, go camping, make a fire, dump the braising liquid into a pot to reduce, throw the meat on the fire to warm through and crisp the outside. It’s good at home too, but nothing beats gamey meat that tastes like campfire.

Our go-to for lamb neck is curry.

Any braised method is fine though.

I like braising w/Moroccan spices & currants. Pulled off the bone & served over couscous.

One of my fondest recurring memories from childhood is when my mom used to make “lamb and rice”. That’s what she called it. Lamb, onion, garlic, tomatoes, oregano (we’re Greek), water or stock and a big pinch of cinnamon mixed with browned neck slices and rice. She always made it with the necks, and though I’ve made it a hundred times with shoulder chops and shanks, it’s never as good as when I can find necks - which isn’t very often.

Thanks for the responses and food porn. One of these days, I’ll stop being lazy and set up a photobucket account so I can post to the meat threads. Until then, it’s Facebook only :stuck_out_tongue:

love lamb neck. A local place in downtown does a roasted lamb neck over polenta… omg

Neckbone with Rice (that it was pork neck went without saying) was and remains one of my favorite dishes. Browned neck, white rice, onions, black pepper, celery seed, water, all into the pressure cooker.