Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [69]
INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup Grill-Roasted Garlic, mashed
1 grill-roasted red pepper or jarred red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
¾ cup malt vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
6 knockwurst
2 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into paper-thin ½-inch-wide strips
6 split hot dog rolls
DIRECTIONS:
Mash the roasted garlic into a paste using the back of a fork, and mix together with the diced roasted pepper, olive oil, and parsley in a small mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Mix the vinegar and sugar in a small skillet and boil over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes, stirring briefly near the end; set aside.
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, 400 to 450°F. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil.
Put the knockwurst in a small saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover, cover the pot, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and let rest for at least 8 minutes, or keep the hot dogs warm in the hot water over low heat for up to 30 minutes.
Shortly before serving, split the boiled knockwurst lengthwise almost in half. Open like a book and grill over a medium-high fire on their split side until grill-marked, about 1 minute. Turn, lay the cheddar cheese on the split side, cover the grill, and grill until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
Toast the cut sides of the hot dog rolls on the grill during the last minute of grilling.
Put a knockwurst in a hot dog roll and top each with 1 tablespoon of the roasted garlic and pepper mixture and about 2 teaspoons of the malt vinegar syrup.
Chapter 6
Lamb
Sheep were one of the first domesticated animals, and remain a primary livestock animal in many parts of the world. Unlike cattle, they can live on sparse ranges and rocky landscapes, and their natural tendency to flock makes them easy to herd. But it is the mild, earthy, faintly gamy flavor of baby sheep that has made lamb one of the most popular meats in the world, though not in the United States.
In the land of American meat eaters, lamb seems to be an acquired taste. Americans only eat about a pound of lamb per person per year, and most of that is eaten in ethnic communities. Middle Eastern, Indian, and Mediterranean populations value lamb over all other meats, and it is largely the flavors of those cuisines that we find reflected in lamb recipes.
From Spring Lamb to Mutton
Lamb quality is categorized by age and feed. Milk-fed lamb comes from animals that have not been weaned, usually six to eight weeks old, and is called baby lamb. The carcass is tiny, weighing less than 20 pounds, with a rack (rib section) that weighs less than 1 pound and a leg that is less than 2 pounds. True milk-fed lamb is rare in North America, where it is considered an uneconomical way to raise lamb, and where the tiny cuts are seen as skimpy. Along the Mediterranean coast of Europe, milk-fed lamb is highly prized, especially at Easter. (Unlike calves raised for milk-fed veal, milk-fed lambs are not tethered.)
Most of the lamb in North America is slaughtered between three and five months of age, and is known as spring lamb. Spring lamb is small enough to spit-roast whole or halved. A whole spring lamb will feed about 15 people.
Sheep are seasonal breeders, and follow a similar reproductive pattern to other herd animals. The ewes of an entire flock are impregnated in a short period of time by a single ram, selected either by dominance or by the rancher. For most breeds of sheep, breeding naturally happens in the early