Lamb Neck Fillet Cooking:
Lamb neck fillet is one of my favourite cuts of lamb because of it’s depth of flavour and unique taste. I find that this can be cooked either quickly and served pink or slow cooked by braising and it’s equally as delicious, for this recipe I’m cooking it pink and cooking it quite quickly but once it’s cooked it’s very important to rest it for at least as long as you cook it for. Coat the lamb neck fillet with a little sunflower oil and a good pinch of sea salt and leave for 10 minutes before cooking so the salt gets enough time to season the lamb properly, and then place on a hot BBQ or a hot heavy skillet pan and allow to colour for a couple of minutes then turn it over for another couple of minutes. Once the lamb is coloured on all sides keep moving it and rolling it around the grill or the skillet to evenly get the heat through the lamb, you’ll feel the lamb start to become firmer in texture and when you squeeze it, it will have some spring back, this will normally take around 6-8 minutes of cooking. Once you get to this stage, remove the lamb from the pan or off the grill and onto a warm plate to rest for about 10 minutes, this will finish the cooking and also allow the lamb to become tender and soft once carved.
Onions Braised in Beer:
Cut the onions into halves horizontally and caramelise on one side of the onions in a skillet pan on a high heat. Then add the beer, vinegar and mirin and on top of that place a nice piece of lamb fat. The lamb fat I use is the fat that comes from around the lambs’ kidneys so it’s nice and white and firm. Colour the onions in the skillet pan on a high heat, braise the onions in the oven at 160°C for 45 minutes. Let the onions cool down in the skillet, so the onions are still in the beer and fat. Once chilled remove the onions and cut in half ready to serve.
Miso Onion Puree:
Add the finely sliced onions and a pinch of sea salt to a heavy bottomed saucepan. Put a lid or cling film on top of the pan to keep the steam in and cook the onions nice and quickly on a medium heat. Remove the lid only to give them a quick stir to keep them from sticking on the bottom. Cook until the onions are very soft and become translucent. Blend into a purée and season with the sugar and vinegar but firstly add them together and allow to dissolve this will make it easier to use. You should be using the miso as a seasoning not a dominant flavour. It should be very strong in onion first and foremost with a subtle finish of miso. Pass the purée through a fine sieve and bottle for plating.
Asparagus:
Trim the “woody” bottoms off the asparagus and peel the bottom half of the skin off because this could be tough and take away from the beautiful sweetness of the asparagus. Once peeled and prepped, oil the asparagus with a little sunflower oil and sea salt and then put onto the BBQ or griddle pan. Cook on a high heat until they start to caramelise and brown slightly, once they are at this stage remove them from the heat and brush with a little butter while still in the pan or on the grill and lift them out and straight onto a plate to serve.
Lamb Dressing:
Place the lamb mince into a heavy bottom small saucepan and place onto a medium heat, with adding the lamb to a cold pan it will render down as it heats up and release all it’s lovely tasty fat and this will be what cooks the lamb mince into a lovely golden colour. Make sure to stir this often and give it plenty of time to become golden and full of flavour. This is key in the dressing, once the lamb has a deep colour on it (allow 20 minutes) add the soy sauce to the pan and remove from the heat. Allow this to sit for another 20 minutes or so to take on the lamb flavour and then strain off the lamb mince through a sieve and discard. The bit you want for this is that infused soy sauce that has now become a lamb sauce, add the mirin to this to make it a little sweeter and pop it in the fridge for a minute for the excess fat to set and can then be removed from the top of the sauce with a spoon and discarded. When ready to serve your lamb, heat the sauce until warm too but not hot, more a dressing than a hot sauce.