What can I make with lamb?
Lamb is the ingredient most weeknight dinners get built around, and it rewards a little technique more than a long ingredient list. Below are recipes from our library that use lamb, followed by the browning, temperature, and storage notes that make the difference between a good result and a grey one.
12 recipes with lamb
Kelem dolmasi
First boil the rice for eight minutes.
4
Chilli ginger lamb chops
step 1 Put the garlic in a bowl with the ginger, lemon juice, oil, spices and seasoning.
Turkish4
Turkish-style lamb
step 1 Heat grill to high.
Turkish4
Fårikål (Norwegian National Dish)
▢ Cut the lamb into large pieces.
Norway4
Imam bayildi with BBQ lamb & tzatziki
step 1 Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
Turkish4
Lamb Rogan josh
Put the onions in a food processor and whizz until very finely chopped.
India4
Chorba Hamra bel Frik (Algerian Lamb, Tomato, and Freekeh Soup)
Place freekeh in a small bowl and cover with cold water.
Algerian4
Lamb Tagine
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and carrot.
Moroccan4
McSinghs Scotch pie
Heat a large frying pan and toast the cumin seeds for a few minutes, then set aside.
British4
Tunisian Lamb Soup
Add the lamb to a casserole and cook over high heat.
Tunisian4
Irish stew
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
Irish4
Lamb and Lemon Souvlaki
Pound the garlic with sea salt in a pestle and mortar (or use a small food processor), until the garlic forms a paste.
Greek4
How to cook lamb so it stays tender
- 1Pat the lamb dry and salt it 15-40 minutes ahead. Dry surface means browning instead of steaming.
- 2Preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters, then add a thin film of oil. Crowding the pan is the number one reason lamb turns grey.
- 3Brown in a single layer without moving it for 2-3 minutes per side, then build the sauce in the same pan so the browned bits dissolve into it.
- 4Cook to temperature, not time: 160F for ground meat, 130-135F for a medium-rare cut, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
What goes well with lamb
Lamb is at its best with onion, garlic, tomato, potato, paprika and red wine. Any two or three of those, plus lamb, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing lamb
Keep raw lamb on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it within 1-2 days, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Cooked leftovers keep 3-4 days and reheat best with a splash of stock in a covered pan rather than in the microwave.
Substituting lamb
If you are out of lamb, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Lamb recipes: common questions
- What can I make with lamb and not much else?
- Plenty. With lamb plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest lamb recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute lamb?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover lamb?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover lamb without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should lamb be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.