A Lesson in Butchery and Cooking

Slow Cooked Lamb Bolognese
Paccheri Pasta, Homemade Ricotta

FA and I had the pleasure of attending a class offered at the Chefs’ Summer Cooking Series @ Terranea Resort where we were invited in to the Mar’ Sel restaurant kitchen for a step-by-step lamb butchering demonstration by the talented and engaging Chef Michael Fiorelli. After the lesson we, along with 8 other guests, were seated in the beautiful dining room overlooking the Pacific Ocean to feast on a fabulous luncheon highlighting lamb.

A Lesson in Butchery and Cooking

Chef Michael Fiorelli starts with a premium Lamb Carcass –  the head, feet, skin and viscera have been removed.

Butchering Tips:

• Tools: Boning Knife and Steel, Saw, Cleaver, Mallet
• Knives must be very sharp
• Cut the meat with a knife, not cleaver or saw
• Cut the bones with cleaver and/or saw
• Use a rubber mallet to hit the cleaver to help drive it through the bone
• Buy a hacksaw from hardware store, no need to spend extra
• Let the knife do the work, following the bones
• Place damp towels under cutting board to help keep it steady
• Blue inspection stamps on raw meat are of food-grade vegetable dye and need not be removed
• Use all parts of the carcass either as meat, ground for sausage, or for stock: Shoulder, Neck, Shank, Rack, Breast, Loin, Leg, Trimmings and Bones

 After-the-Lesson
Lamb Luncheon @ Mar’ Sel

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Housemade English Muffins

Tomato Basil Salad

Grilled Lamb Loin
with Farro, Wild Arugula, Crushed Olives, Preserved Lemon, Feta

Slow Cooked Lamb Bolognese
with Paccheri Pasta, Homemade Ricotta, Basil Garnish

Caramel & Chocolate Pudding, Cacao Nibs, Maldon Salt

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Graham Beck Brut Rosé NV Western Cape, South Africa
Hanzell Sebella Chardonnay 2010 Sonoma Valley, California
John Duval Plexus Shiraz/Grenache/Mourvedre 2009 Barrosa Valley, Australia

Chef Michael Fiorelli’s Slow Cooked Lamb Bolognese Recipe

• 2 lbs. lamb shoulder, trimmed and diced
• 1 small white onion
• 1 medium carrot, peeled
• 1 stalk celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 pint mushrooms
• 1 c. tomato paste (or one small can)
• 2 c. red wine
• 1/2 c. parsley, chopped
• 28 oz. can plum tomatoes in juice
• 4 oz. unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated
• salt & pepper
• chile flakes

Rough chop carrot, onion, celery, and mushroom. Pulse in a food processor until coarsely ground. Brown meat in a large heavy bottomed roasting pan. With a slotted spoon, remove meat from pan then add vegetables. Sauté until cooked through. Add tomato paste and cook for approximately 5 minutes over low heat until paste begins to darken but be careful not to burn. Add wine and reduce to 1/4 cup or until almost dry. Add meat back to pan and add canned tomatoes. Simmer on low until lamb is tender and falling apart, about 4 hours. Add parsley and butter and parmesan. Season with salt, pepper, and chile flakes. Serve over paccheri pasta. Top with fresh ricotta and basil leaves.

A delicious & informative afteroon…Thanks so much, Chef!