Try this Lamb Shoulder in Pastry recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 0.0085125 g
- Cholesterol 191.52841635 mg
- Fat 54.508037926 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 38.8347025295 g
- Saturated Fat 25.658325985 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (298g)
- Sodium 250.440263216667 mg
- Sugar 0.0085125 g
- Trans Fat 4.38894597300001 g
- Calories 655 calories
Step-by-step
- Make the pastry and chill for at least 1 hour before using.
- See that the lamb is fairly free of fat, and securely tied: put in a roasting pan and rub with about a third of the butter.
- Put into a very hot oven, 450F for 20-30 minutes.
- Take out and allow to cool slightly.
- Mix the remaining butter with the herbs, salt and pepper.
- Roll out the pastry to a piece large enough to wrap around the joint.
- Carefully remove the string from the lamb, trying to retain the shape.
- Put it in the center of the pastry, dampen the edges, and draw the pastry up over the top: secure well by squeezing the pastry ends and edges together.
- Turn over so that the fold is underneath, and put on a baking sheet.
- Prick all over the top lightly with a fork, then brush with either the milk or beaten egg.
- Put into 400F oven and cook for about 1/2 hour, or until the pastry is nicely browned.
- Turn the sheet once during baking to make sure the browning is even.
- Serve, cut into fairly thick slices.
Swapping shortcrust pastry for a laminated puff dough dramatically alters the final bake, as the high butter content in puff pastry releases more steam and demands strict temperature management to prevent structural collapse. Preparing this encased meat requires precise execution to balance the internal roasting rate with the exterior crust browning.
- Trim excess surface fat from the three-pound lamb shoulder before the initial roast; leaving too much renderable fat creates excessive liquid inside the sealed pastry envelope, resulting in a soggy bottom crust.
- Execute the initial searing phase at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty to thirty minutes to develop surface flavor and jumpstart the rendering process.
- Allow the hot meat to cool slightly before wrapping; introducing steaming-hot lamb directly to cold dough melts the fat within the pastry structure before it enters the oven.
- Prick the top crust lightly with a fork to provide vent holes for trapped steam, preventing the pastry casing from ballooning and splitting open during the final thirty minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Rotate the baking sheet halfway through the secondary bake to compensate for uneven oven hot spots and achieve uniform golden coloration.
Maillard reactions between the roasted lamb proteins and the butter-herb paste create deeply savory savory compounds trapped inside the pastry micro-environment. Slicing the finished roast into thick portions preserves the moisture barriers established during the enclosed baking process.
