Lamb, in the oven. Lamb neck: recipe

The characteristic smell prevents lamb from taking a confident place on our everyday table. Quite specific and persistent, it seems capable of ruining any dish. But, according to experienced cooks, you can fight it. Some housewives prefer to soak such meat before frying or stewing it. This is not the only way.

Homemade lamb preparation technique

1. Choose young lamb meat if you cannot stand the characteristic “aroma”. It is completely absent in animals of dairy “maturity”, that is, lambs up to 3 months of age. This product has many other advantages. For example, the fat of young lamb contains valuable nucleic acid, so this lamb in the oven in foil will be tasty and healthy. During baking, this fat spreads evenly throughout the carcass, literally sealing the juices inside. Because of this, there is no need to marinate or use any spices other than classic salt and pepper. The product also has a drawback. Firstly, its price is 2 times higher than lamb of a different age, and secondly, it cannot be used to cook, for example, lamb ribs in the oven, since the recipe usually requires the use of large lamb ribs. But the stewed lamb will turn out amazing.
2. If it is impossible to buy milk lamb, give preference to the meat of a young animal (up to 18 months). But it should also be processed: completely remove the fat, and if the smell is too pronounced, boil the meat or at least soak it, and only then bake it. It is better to cook the meat until half cooked. This is a good solution for dishes that do not require serving in a piece, for example, for lamb in a pot in the oven. But you shouldn’t hope that the smell will go away completely. It will become much less pronounced, but will still remain. The neck is well suited for stewing in a cauldron. You need to simmer over low heat. Lamb fillet stews quite quickly. It is also better to fry steaks after pre-processing the meat.
3. Always marinate non-dairy lamb meat. Professional chefs, when asked how to marinate lamb for the oven, recommend adding cumin to it. This oriental spice has a subtle but rich aroma that can cope with the smell of lamb. Other Caucasian spices are also suitable, for example, cilantro, parsley, hops-suneli, cumin. They should be mixed with oil (vegetable), garlic, pepper. In this marinade, the meat is sent to the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. Also, lamb dishes in the oven love tomatoes, which can be used both in the marinade and during the cooking process.
4. Lamb on the bone does not need to be baked until dry. Evidence of its readiness is the pink juice that is released when the carcass is punctured. Over-drying the meat on the bone will result in tough meat.

Lamb in the sleeve step by step

The most convenient solution for the first experiment with this meat is lamb baked in the oven in a sleeve or bag. Thanks to the casing, the carcass will not lose a drop of juice, it will cook much faster, and it will become soft. This technique can be used for roasting leg of lamb, tenderloin, that is, large pieces of carcass.

Use:

• ram - up to 1.5 kg;
• onion - 2 heads;
• garlic - 4 cloves;
• bay leaf, oregano, black peppercorns, basil;
• olive oil;
• hot pepper - 1 pod;
• wine vinegar - ½ teaspoon.

Preparation

1. Prepare the meat, stuff it with chopped garlic and bay leaves (break the leaves into crumbs). Rub with pepper and salt.
2. Make a flavorful mixture of olive oil, vinegar, herbs, hot peppers and peas, and rub it over the meat.
3. Chop the onion into rings and place in the sleeve. Place the meat on the onion “pillow”, shake and put in the refrigerator. This piece requires 4 hours to marinate and another 3 hours to bake. Oven temperature - 200°.

Quick and tasty recipes at home

We also offer other solutions on how to deliciously and quickly cook juicy lamb in the oven at home. You will love lamb with oven-baked potatoes and dried apricots. You can choose the meat according to your taste - both the neck and butt are suitable, although ham is more often chosen. It's easy to prepare, simple and takes almost no time.

Lamb baked in the oven with vegetables as in the photo

You will need:

• lamb meat - 500 g;
• potatoes - 5 tubers;
• carrots and onions - 1 head each;
• tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• vegetable oil and any spices;
• water - half a glass;
• salt and pepper.

Preparation

1. Sprinkle the meat in one piece with salt, pepper and selected spices.
2. Chop the vegetables coarsely.
3. Place the meat and vegetables in a mold, sprinkle with vegetable oil and pour in water.
4. Place the pan in a preheated oven at 200° and cover it with foil.
5. After 1.5 hours, remove the foil and let the dish brown.

Lamb with dried apricots

Use:

• lamb meat - 3 kg;
• lamb broth - 600 ml;
• apricots or dried apricots - 100 g;
• garlic - 3 cloves;
• rosemary (dried or sprigs);
• olive oil - 3 tbsp. spoons;
• flour - 1 tbsp. spoon.

Preparation

1. Grease the lamb carcass with oil. Using a deep knife, make deep cuts across the entire surface.
2. Mix garlic with dried apricots (finely chopped), with rosemary, stuff the meat with this mixture. Then rub it with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the pan in the oven and place the meat in it. Bake it for 2 hours. You should check readiness by piercing the meat. If you see pinkish juice, you can remove it from the oven.
4. Prepare the sauce: use the fat from the mold, combine a small part of it with flour, mix. Pour in the broth, boil, add rosemary and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour this sauce over the meat when serving.

Now you know how to cook lamb in the oven without smell and make it tasty. Our recipes for lamb in the oven will help decorate your table on holiday, and make everyday dinners delicious in a new way!

Lamb neck (neck) is the edible part of a ram (sheep) carcass. It is characterized by a high content of fatty tissue, which is why this type of lamb is eaten mainly in boiled and stewed form.

Calorie content

100 grams of lamb neck contains about 121 kcal.

Compound

The chemical composition of lamb neck is characterized by a high content of proteins, fats, vitamins (B3, B4, B5, B9, B12, K), macro- (potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus) and microelements (iron, manganese, copper, zinc, selenium).

How to cook

As noted earlier, lamb neck is eaten mainly in boiled and stewed form. The limitation in the choice of method of culinary processing of this type of lamb is due solely to the presence of a large amount of fat in this part of the animal carcass. In addition, the neck is subject to significant physical stress during the life of the animal, which causes increased rigidity of this meat. That is why it is used in the preparation mainly only of those dishes, the preparation process of which involves boiling or stewing for a long time. As a rule, soups, broths, jellied meats, stews, pilaf, chopped cutlets, as well as minced meat, which often includes not only spices, but also other types of meat, are prepared from lamb neck.

What goes with it?

Lamb neck goes well with most vegetables (potatoes, zucchini, cabbage, legumes, carrots), hot and sweet and sour sauces, some types of fruits (dates, apricots), a significant part of spices (cumin, thyme, oregano, marjoram), as well as low-alcohol drinks (semi-sweet, sweet wines).

How to choose

The main factor in choosing a lamb neck is the age of the animal. It must be young, since the meat obtained from it has a minimal content of fat, as well as rough muscle tissue. This significantly simplifies and speeds up the culinary process, and at the same time expands the list of dishes that can be prepared using this type of lamb. That is why when choosing a lamb neck you should pay attention to its color. This part of the carcass of young animals is painted in light (not bright) shades of red, and the fat lacks yellowness and friability. Another factor in choosing lamb neck is the aroma, which should not show any signs of mustiness or rottenness.

Storage

When fresh, lamb neck should be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within several days. You can preserve meat for a longer period if you freeze it. If the temperature is maintained (not higher than minus 18 degrees Celsius), it can be stored for up to six months. In this case, defrosting this type of lamb should occur gradually, i.e. at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The use of aggressive heat to accelerate this process negatively affects the organoleptic properties of this meat.

Beneficial features

Due to the high content of fatty tissue, lamb neck does not have as many beneficial properties as other types of lamb. However, the chemical composition of this meat also represents an impressive list of various biologically active substances, one way or another, positively affecting human health. In particular, eating lamb neck dishes stimulates the processes of metabolism, hematopoiesis and the formation of muscle and bone tissue, reduces nervous excitability, improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and has an immunostimulating, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing effect.

Restrictions on use

Individual intolerance, excess weight, liver and kidney diseases, arthritis, gout, as well as increased acidity of gastric juice, as well as diseases of the digestive system.

Do you know that fashion is not only about trousers and hats? Do you know that fashion can also be culinary? Only culinary fashion is a little less fleeting. Sometimes it takes years for a culinary idea to take hold of the masses. But when this idea gets stuck in our heads, it will sit there for decades and first stories will begin to circulate about the origin of this idea, then legends, and then even fairy tales.
Want to hear examples? Please! Just let me tell you not about something that has already set your teeth on edge and stuck between your teeth, but let me tell you an example of the action of culinary fashion just at a time when this action is still happening, so that you and I can watch this in the next few years performance together.
The main character in this performance is the neck.

Oh and the neck! What a neck! – a man in a cap admired from the back row of the football stands. In front of him sat a huge fat man who had come to cheer for his favorite football team from a distant village. He and his comrades were driving, apparently in an open truck, straight from the field.
- What, fat neck? - answered the collective farmer. - I am the foreman! Mi, foreman, in our village, we go to the teahouse every day, eat pilaf, eat barbecue every day, that’s why my neck is so healthy!
- You need to wash your neck! Understood? – the man in the cap finished the dialogue to the laughter of the other fans.
I don’t know how this joke would have ended if it weren’t for the referee’s whistle announcing the start of the match.

So, a fat neck is, of course, wonderful. Especially if it's pork neck. Pork neck is a coveted cut for anyone who wants to cook barbecue. And the neck of lamb - no matter how fat and plump it was - remained in the role of Cinderella for a long time. Butchers in Uzbekistan did not know who to sell it to and therefore chopped it into small pieces to sell later as appendages. Or they sold it to those who don’t know much about meat.
Bizarrely shaped vertebrae, a mass of connective tissue around, tough muscles that have worked well during life, as well as veins and films and such good layers of fat - this is what a neck from a three-year-old fat-tailed ram is. All this joy weighs about three kilograms, but who will be happy with such meat? What is it good for? Well, if only in shurpa, it will take a very long time to cook, but all the same, you will have to add something decent!
Listen to me, as I told you, this is how it happened! This was the case a few years ago, when I lived in Uzbekistan. And now this is no longer the case. Now they talk about the neck with sparkling eyes; buyers lean towards the butcher’s ear, persuading: “Tomorrow you leave my neck, I’ll come in the morning!” Fine? Agreed? Do not forget!".
What's happened? How did Cinderella become the queen of the meat counter? What kind of fairy named Fashion performed this miracle?

Even on the eve of my departure, neighbor Yahya came, told, said, licking his lips:
- Stalik, you know, now a new dish has appeared. It's called "Sultana".
- Yes? How is it prepared?
- Like basma! You just need to constantly shake the cauldron and cook it over high heat. Do you want my wife’s brother to cook “Sultanma” very well, he will come from Margilan and cook it? A?
- Ay, come on, Yahya! Then whatever! – I waved it off, but remembered:
- And, probably, it would be good to cook this Sultana not in a cauldron, but in a cast-iron wok. I just have one with comfortable handles and a glass lid, you can see everything there and it’s convenient to shake.
Yahya was then upset that his plan to try a new dish was ruined. A few years passed and it was my turn to be upset. I was upset after I found out that in Uzbekistan, lamb neck has become in short supply precisely because the same Sultana is prepared from it.
Can you imagine what Basma is? I wrote about this wonderful dish in my first book. It’s all very simple - any kind of meat is placed in a cold cauldron, chopped vegetables are laid out on top of it in layers, everything is tightly closed and put on low heat for an hour or longer. Yes, it turns out very tasty! But it’s not the meat that turns out delicious, it’s the vegetables that turn out delicious, and the wonderful broth is formed from vegetable and meat juices, the whole aroma is preserved, and in general it’s a good, very simple dish. And the meat in Basma is, well, meat and meat, ordinary stewed meat, without a pronounced taste.
And here - look how - the neck turns out delicious, just the neck! Well, yes, there are probably a lot of vegetables around the neck and a big fire, and shaking constantly. Why shake it? Well, probably whatever doesn’t burn, since the fire is big. If you shake skillfully, then even under a closed lid in a cauldron you can turn the contents, preventing it from burning, like the Chinese turn food in a wok. Why is there a big fire? Probably so that the neck gets caught, so that it gets fried in places. Yes, these juices from the vegetables will be released and, due to the high temperature, will be baked onto the meat, creating a crust of unique taste on it.
Ay, striped devils! Hey, you got me excited! Eh, why did I refuse Yahya then?! Is all I can do now is wait for a trip to Uzbekistan in order to try Sultanama? Well, yes, where can I now get a lamb neck like my Margilan butchers in Moscow? This is the neck, this is the neck. And here, from twenty-kilogram lambs, is that a neck, or what? Yes, even take two necks, and it will come out less than one neck from a Margilan ram. No, nothing will come of it. You won't be able to cook Sultanama here. Let’s better prepare something else from the neck that is at hand, but let’s keep Sultanma in mind, let’s remember her, clicking our tongues and slapping ourselves on the forehead with our hands.

This is a good, wonderful cauldron. Made in Ukraine, which is surprising. Well done, Ukrainian brothers! Excellent cast iron, excellent geometry, the handles of the cauldron are comfortable. Oh, and how the lid fits - a good, heavy, cast-iron lid, it won’t just pop off, and it won’t let off steam. But, most importantly, the size of the cauldron is correct. The smallest I've seen is 11 liters. That's right! That's good! There’s no need to cook little by little in the cauldron, cook so that there is enough for everyone and you can invite your neighbors!

Well, let’s, after praying to God for a while, let’s get started.
We will cut a couple of necks from young lambs in half. There will be four pieces in total. Well, yes, there’s just enough food for four!
Onion. No, brother, not just one bow, many bows! Do you want it to be our way, tasty, Uzbek? Come on, take a knife, cut a lot of onions!

What else should I add to taste the meat? And here are carrots, carrots go well with onions and meat, and also bell peppers, a little tomato for sourness, for juice, herbs, garlic, capsicum!

That's it, close the lid.
Shake? Don't shake? How else will it turn out, but you have to see it with your own eyes at least once. No! We'll go the other way!
Let the meat cook until almost done. It’s not that it separates from the bones and falls off on its own, but that it becomes ready and the veins begin to swell. Of course, let the meat absorb the flavors and smells of its vegetable surroundings.
And then... let's take lavashana - layers of dried fruit puree. Let's soak it to the consistency of jam and add crushed walnuts to it. Take the half-cooked meat out of the cauldron, coat it with the resulting paste and put it in the oven to bake. Let the meat absorb the pleasant fruity sourness, let the fatty nut prevent it from drying out, let this wonderful taste become a crown for the neck - the new queen of our kitchen! Yes, let the neck be fully cooked, so that when serving you can simply remove the vertebrae, suck them, and serve the meat...
Stop, stop, stop. What are you going to do with those vegetables from the cauldron? So what if they had already been preparing for an hour and a half. Who convinced you that this made them worse? Let's boil and drain the rice in a colander and place this rice on top of the vegetables, let it all cook together. Tell me, what’s wrong with this vegetable pilaf if you put neck pieces on top of it?

Heh! Sultana, you say? Wait, you will also have a sultana, but for now, eat this, and tell me honestly - how could anyone not like it?
Bon appetit my dears! Eat before it gets cold, lick your fingers!

Lamb is an original, healthy meat that is well absorbed by the human body. You can make many dishes with it; it is subjected to a wide variety of heat treatment methods: stewed, fried, boiled, baked, smoked. The specificity of this meat is that not every cook can cook it juicy and tender; not everyone can get rid of the specific aroma, which not everyone likes.

Indeed, not everyone loves lamb, but those who are “hooked” on it know that there is no meat more aromatic and tastier. Tender, juicy, appetizing lamb, baked in the oven, beckons with all its appearance, attracts with aromas that highlight the advantages of this meat.

In the East, lamb is the most popular meat; everyone eats it there for any occasion. Lamb that is no more than 3 years old is valued, as well as dairy lambs. In our area, the choice is small, but you can still cook delicious lamb, you need to know some secrets, we’ll talk about them at the end of the article.

Our chefs cook lamb in the oven in foil, lamb in the sleeve in the oven, lamb in pots in the oven, i.e., basically baked. Baked lamb dishes are much healthier than fried ones. Delicious lamb in the oven is obtained if it is slightly simmered, boiled, stewed or fried before baking. However, more often it is baked raw, without prior heat treatment and marinated with spices. Another feature of this meat is that it is convenient and effective to cook with it as a side dish at the same time. Lamb with potatoes in the oven or lamb with vegetables in the oven is an excellent main dish for the holiday table. Lamb in foil, baked in the oven, will decorate any celebration, conquer the hearts and stomachs of even its opponents, if done correctly and with soul.

Cook healthy and tasty lamb in the oven, you will find recipes on our website. And be sure to use photographs of ready-made lamb dishes in the oven, the photo will make your choice informed and correct. Therefore, one of the pieces of advice from experienced chefs: cook the lamb in the oven whose recipes with photos suited you best in all respects. For example, if you liked the recipe for lamb with potatoes in the oven, study it not only from the text of the recipe, but also from the photographs of the finished dish.

How to cook lamb in the oven according to all the rules? Here are some tips from knowledgeable chefs:

Choose young meat. Dairy lamb meat does not have the specific smell inherent in old animals, and is also very beneficial for the body;

In the absence of such meat, use meat no older than 18 months. To eliminate the specific smell, the meat needs to be boiled a little before baking;

Lamb is baked with a wide variety of products, from vegetables to dried fruits and fruits;

Suitable for baking is a leg of lamb or parts thereof, tenderloin or shoulder;

Herbs and spices go very well with lamb, for example, marjoram, thyme, oregano;

Lamb is baked in the oven at a temperature of 220-280 degrees for an hour; a crispy crust on the surface of the meat will indicate its readiness;

When baking along with lamb, prepare a vegetable side dish - the products are mutually enriched with aromas, making it even tastier;

This dish should always be prepared just before serving; it is not advisable to store long-baked lamb, because its qualities deteriorate sharply over time;

To prevent the lamb from drying out, cover it with foil or bake it in a sleeve. You can open the meat 15 minutes before the end of baking to allow it to brown a little.

There are a huge number of recipes with meat ingredients. Lamb neck, for example, comes out great in the oven. This type of meat is mistakenly considered specific. However, a lot depends on the recipe and method of preparation. In addition, lamb is a dietary meat. It has less cholesterol than beef and especially pork. It also holds the record for the amount of vitamins, for example, group B. It also contains a huge amount of minerals: iron, zinc, potassium. For this reason, it is worth including lamb dishes in your diet.

Lamb with vegetables: tasty and aromatic

Recipes for preparing lamb neck are varied. The following products are used in this recipe:

• five potato tubers;
• 500 grams of pulp;
• onion head;
• one carrot;
• three tomatoes;
• odorless vegetable oil;
• half a glass of water;
• spices, salt and pepper.

It is believed that a spice such as cumin goes well with lamb meat. It neutralizes the unpleasant odor of this type of meat for many. For this reason, recipes for lamb neck and other parts of the animal are often accompanied by this spice.

How to cook lamb?

This dish is very easy to prepare. Due to deliberate simplicity, tender meat and beautiful vegetables are obtained. First, take the meat, wash and dry it. Rub with salt and all spices. Postponed.

Vegetables are peeled and cut into arbitrary pieces. They try to ensure that they are harmoniously combined with each other in size. It is also better to peel the tomatoes so that they boil and become a wonderful sauce. Place vegetables in a baking dish and place meat on them. Sprinkle everything with vegetable oil. Water is poured into the mold. Cover everything with foil.

The oven is heated to 200 degrees. How to determine the readiness of lamb neck? The oven recipe assumes that tasty meat is obtained when pinkish juice comes out of the piece. That is, the lamb does not need to be dried. At this temperature, the dish cooks for about 1.5 hours. Afterwards, remove the foil and send the dish to brown.

Delicious dish in tomato with rosemary

This lamb neck recipe requires the following ingredients:

• 1.5 kilograms of lamb;
• salt and pepper;
• a pair of onions;
• tomato paste to taste;
• a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary;
• a pinch of dried coriander;
• a little dried basil.

This dish is prepared in a cauldron. Then the lamb comes out tender and juicy. To begin, rub the meat with salt and pepper. Lightly fry the onion in a frying pan with vegetable oil. They put it in a cauldron. Place the lamb on top and pour water over it to cover the piece. You can also cut the meat into large pieces for convenience. Add tomato paste and spices. The cauldron is covered with something and left untouched for about two hours. Rice or any other cereal can be an excellent side dish.

Lamb is an unusual meat. Some people don't like its specific smell. But they simply don’t know that they need to choose young meat and skillfully combine it with different spices, for example, cumin does this perfectly. In this case, you will always get a tender dish. Lamb neck recipes allow you to enjoy meat that is interesting in taste and tender in softness.