Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (196 page)
SERVES 12 TO 14, WITH LEFTOVERS
You can bypass the 90-minute soaking time, but the heating time will increase to 18 to 20 minutes per pound for a cold ham. If there is a tear or hole in the ham’s inner covering, wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap before soaking it in hot water. Instead of using the plastic oven bag, the ham may be placed cut side down in the roasting pan and covered tightly with foil, but you will need to add 3 to 4 minutes per pound to the heating time. If using an oven bag, be sure to cut slits in the bag so it does not burst. We’ve included two optional glazes.
1 | (7- to 10-pound) spiral-sliced bone-in half ham |
1 | large plastic oven bag |
1 | recipe glaze (recipes follow) |
1.
Leaving ham’s inner plastic or foil covering intact, place ham in large container and cover with hot tap water; set aside for 45 minutes. Drain and cover again with hot tap water; set aside for another 45 minutes.
2.
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Unwrap ham; remove and discard plastic disk covering bone. Place ham in oven bag. Gather top of bag tightly so bag fits snugly around ham, tie bag, and trim excess plastic. Set ham cut side down in large roasting pan and cut 4 slits in top of bag with paring knife.
3.
Bake ham until center registers 100 degrees, 1 to 1¹⁄
2
hours (about 10 minutes per pound).
4.
Remove ham from oven and increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cut open oven bag and roll back sides to expose ham. Brush ham with one-third of glaze and return to oven until glaze becomes sticky, about 10 minutes (if glaze is too thick to brush, return to heat to loosen).
5.
Remove ham from oven, transfer to carving board, and brush entire ham with one-third of glaze. Let ham rest, tented loosely with aluminum foil, for 15 minutes. While ham rests, heat remaining one-third of glaze with 4 to 6 tablespoons of ham juices until it forms thick but fluid sauce. Carve and serve ham, passing sauce at table.
MAKES 1 CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
SPIRAL-SLICED HAM
¹⁄ | cup ruby port |
1 | cup packed dark brown sugar |
¹⁄ | cup cherry preserves |
1 | teaspoon pepper |
Simmer port in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes; set aside.
MAKES 1 CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
SPIRAL-SLICED HAM
³⁄ | cup maple syrup |
¹⁄ | cup orange marmalade |
2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1 | tablespoon Dijon mustard |
1 | teaspoon pepper |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 10 minutes; set aside.
MAKES
1¹⁄
2
CUPS, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE
SPIRAL-SLICED HAM
1 | cup packed dark brown sugar |
³⁄ | cup apple jelly |
3 | tablespoons apple butter |
1 | tablespoon grated fresh ginger |
Pinch ground cloves |
Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture is thick, syrupy, and reduced to 1¹⁄
2
cups, 5 to 10 minutes; set aside.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
If you’re going to spend the money on rack of lamb, you want to be sure you cook it right—as with other simple dishes, there’s no disguising imperfection. We wanted to develop a foolproof recipe for roasted rack of lamb, with perfectly pink and juicy meat encased in an intensely brown, crisp shell. To prepare the racks, we frenched them (cleaned the rib bones of meat and fat), and also discovered that we needed to remove a second layer of internal fat (along with a thin strip of meat) to avoid a greasy finished dish. After testing various oven temperatures, we decided that searing the racks first on the stovetop and then finishing them in a 425-degree oven was best. As a bonus, we were able to use the resulting pan drippings to make a simple yet flavorful pan sauce.
See “TRIMMING AND FRENCHING RACKS OF LAMB” illustrations that follow recipe.
See “BROWNING RACKS OF LAMB” illustrations that follow recipe.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Have your butcher french the racks for you; inevitably, the ribs will need some cleaning up, but at least the bulk of the work will be done. Should you choose to make an accompanying pan sauce (recipes follow), have all the ingredients ready before browning the lamb and begin the sauce just as the lamb goes into the oven. This way, the sauce will be ready with the meat.
2 | (1¹⁄ |
Salt and pepper | |
2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
1 | recipe pan sauce (optional) (recipes follow) |
1.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees.
2.
Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Place racks of lamb in skillet, meat side down in the center of the pan, with ribs facing outwards; cook until well browned and nice crust has formed on surface, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, stand racks up in skillet, leaning them against each other to brown bottoms; cook until bottom sides have browned, about 2 minutes longer.
3.
Transfer lamb to preheated baking sheet. (Begin pan sauce, if making.) Roast until center of each rack registers about 130 to 135 degrees (for medium), 12 to 15 minutes. Tent loosely with aluminum foil and let rest about 10 minutes. Carve, slicing between each rib into individual chops, and season with salt and pepper to taste or serve with an accompanying sauce.
MAKES ABOUT
³⁄
4
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE SIMPLE ROASTED RACK OF LAMB
2 | shallots, minced |
1 | cup dry red wine |
2¹⁄ | teaspoons minced fresh rosemary |
1 | cup low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | tablespoons unsalted butter, softened |
Salt and pepper |
Pour off all but 1¹⁄
2
tablespoons fat from skillet used to brown lamb; place skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add red wine and rosemary, scrape bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits, and increase heat to medium-high and simmer until dark and syrupy, about 7 minutes. Add broth; simmer until reduced to about ³⁄
4
cup, about 5 minutes longer. Off heat, swirl in butter, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with lamb.
MAKES ABOUT
³⁄
4
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE SIMPLE ROASTED RACK OF LAMB
2 | shallots, minced |
2 | teaspoons sugar |
1 | teaspoon ground cumin |
¹⁄ | teaspoon pepper |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cardamom |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
3 | tablespoons red wine vinegar |
¹⁄ | cup orange juice |
1¹⁄ | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
1 | tablespoon minced fresh cilantro |
Salt |
Pour off all but 1¹⁄
2
tablespoons fat from skillet used to brown lamb; place skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in sugar, cumin, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and cayenne; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add orange juice, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until very thick and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add broth and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to about ³⁄
4
cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in cilantro, season with salt to taste, and serve with lamb.
MAKES ABOUT
¹⁄
2
CUP, ENOUGH FOR 1 RECIPE SIMPLE ROASTED RACK OF LAMB
The sauce should be made before you begin cooking the lamb so the sugar has time to dissolve while the lamb cooks.
¹⁄ | cup chopped fresh mint |
¹⁄ | cup red wine vinegar |
1 | tablespoon sugar |
Salt |
Stir mint, vinegar, and sugar together in bowl. Let stand about 20 minutes to allow sugar to dissolve. Season with salt to taste and serve with lamb.
BUYING LAMB
When you’re buying lamb, the biggest determinant of flavor is origin. Domestic lamb is distinguished by its larger size and milder flavor, and lamb imported from Australia and New Zealand features a far gamier taste. The reason for this difference in taste boils down to diet—and the chemistry of lamb fat. Imported lamb has been pasture-fed on mixed grasses, whereas lambs raised in the United States begin on a diet of grass but finish with grain. This change of diet has a direct impact on the composition of the animal’s fat, reducing the concentration of certain fats that give the lamb its characteristic “lamb-y” flavor—and ultimately leading to sweeter-tasting meat.
1.
If the rack has a fat cap, peel back thick outer layer of fat from racks, along with thin flap of meat underneath it. Use boning knife to cut any tissue connecting fat cap to rack.
2.
Using sharp boning or paring knife, trim remaining thin layer of fat that covers loin, leaving strip of fat that separates the loin and small eye of meat directly above it.
3.
Make straight cut along top side of bones, an inch up from small eye of meat.
4.
Remove any fat above this line and scrape any remaining meat or fat from exposed bones.