I wrote about my newly discovered pleasure of cooking pulled pork last week.
Transforming the raw shoulder to the melting, smoky, succulent shredded finished meat was a new endeavour; I still think it represents one of the most remarkable transformations in a piece of meat you could find. But there is the small hurdle of seven hours' cooking time: it's not often that I have a spare seven hours to dedicate to the cooking of a meal.
In summer, swift cooking is the order of the day. Indeed, there can be a perverse pride in smugly presenting a delicious meal to the delighted companions at your table, when you know it has been a breeze. When the temperatures are (hopefully) soaring outside, the last place you want to be for hours on end is inside your kitchen. This is when butterflying meat is a technique to fall back on.
A boned leg of lamb, fillet of beef or simply chicken breasts can all benefit from this easy butchery trick. Cutting halfway across the meat to create a flap which can be opened out on itself, like a book, creates a thinner, flatter area for heat to penetrate, halving the cooking time, while also making it faster for a marinade to penetrate. Its size also allows you to choose between cooking this indoors under a grill or out on the barbecue. This must be summer's answer to a Sunday roast.
Butterflied leg of lamb with garlic, anchovies and thyme
Recipes serve 6
Ingredients
1 leg of lamb, about 1.5 to 2kg
1 x 50g tin of anchovies, drained of the oil
1 tablespoon of chopped rosemary
1 dessertspoon of chopped thyme leaves
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
5 dessertspoons of olive oil
2-3 dessertspoons of balsamic vinegar
Method
1. You can ask the butcher to butterfly the leg of lamb for you but if you want to practice, here's what to do: Put the leg, meatier side down, on a large chopping board and use your fingers to locate the bone running the length of the meat.
Cut down along the length of the leg from the end where the bone tip is exposed, cutting through the meat to expose the length of the bone, then begin to cut the meat away from around the bone. As you do so, the meat will begin to open up. Scrape the meat away from the bone as closely as possible so meat is not left behind on the bone. Continue to work your knife around until you can lift the bone free. Open out the lamb and cut down through any thicker parts, to give an even thickness. Cut away excess fat and sinew. Lay a piece of cling film over the meat and bash the surface with a rolling pin to flatten it slightly. The meat should be an even thickness throughout. Place in a suitable dish or tray that will comfortably hold the meat. It is now ready for marinating
2. Place the garlic, anchovies, rosemary and thyme in the bowl of a pestle and mortar and pound for a few minutes, enough to form a paste, adding the olive oil half way through. Finally add the balsamic vinegar.
3. Spread this mixture over both faces of the lamb then cover before chilling in the fridge overnight. Before cooking, remove from the fridge for 45 minutes to start coming up to room temperature. You can season the meat very lightly with salt but remember that the anchovies will add enough saltiness.
4. Heat oven to 220c/Gas Mark 8 or light the barbecue. If you are cooking the meat on the barbecue, wait until the fire has died down and the coals are white and glowing. Lay the meat, skin-side down, onto the bars and cook for 15 minutes. Flip over and cook for a further 15 minutes for slightly pink lamb, or 5 minutes longer if you prefer it more done. Remove and leave to rest on a tray, covered with foil, for at least 15 minutes. To cook the lamb in the oven, place it on a large shallow baking tray, cook for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 180c/Gas Mark 4 and cook for a further 15 minutes. Leave to rest for 15 minutes. Once the meat has rested, slice it up and pour over any juices from the resting tray.
Butterflied chicken with lemon and herbs
Recipes serve 6
1 medium-sized free-range chicken
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 rounded dessertspoon each of rosemary, parsley and tarragon
Zest and juice of 1 lemon plus another lemon sliced into thin rounds, about 3mm thick
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to season
Method
1. To butterfly the chicken: place the whole bird breast side down on a large cutting board with the open cavity towards you. Using sharp kitchen shears, remove the backbone by cutting along either side of it down its full length. Turn chicken over and lay out flat. Press firmly on the breast to flatten the chicken. For added stability, run a metal skewer horizontally, entering through one thigh, going through both breast halves, and exiting through the other thigh, but you need to do that only after you have completed the next stage with inserting the herb oil.
2. Mix the garlic, lemon juice and zest, herbs and a dessertspoon of olive oil together in a bowl to form a paste. Rub most of this under the skin of the breast. Do this by lifting up the skin at the thick end of the breast and pushing in some of the mix as far in as you can with your fingers, spreading the rest over the outside of the skin. You can now secure the chicken as described in step one with the skewer if desired.
3. Arrange the sliced lemons on a baking tray and set the prepared chicken on top. This can be refrigerated overnight (or for at least an hour) and remove from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking.
4. To cook: this can be cooked on a barbecue over white hot coals for 12-15 minutes either side until fully cooked. Alternatively to cook in the oven: heat the oven to 220c/Gas Mark 8. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the skin then season well with salt then place in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes then turn down the temperature to 180c/Gas Mark 4. Baste with the juices then continue cooking for a further 30 minutes until the skin is deep golden brown and the juices run clear when you insert a skewer in the thickest part of the thigh. Remove from the oven to rest for 15 minutes before portioning.
Geoffrey Smeddle is the chef patron of The Peat Inn by St Andrews, Fife Ky15 5LH 01334 840206 www.thepeatinn.co.uk
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