Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [108]
preheat a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker, with the insert uncovered, on high for 20 minutes. Add the oil, onion, thyme, and red pepper flakes and stir until the onion is coated with the oil.
stir in the ketchup, broth, mustard, and sugar. Cover and cook on high while assembling the ham loaf.
soak the bread in the milk in a large bowl until the milk is absorbed. Add the ham, pork, shallots, thyme, eggs, ketchup, and mustard and stir until blended.
wet your hands with warm water and shape the loaf into a rectangle that is about 2½ to 3 inches tall and wide, so that it will fit into the slow cooker with space around the sides.
place the loaf on top of the sauce in the slow cooker and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours, until the internal temperature registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
transfer the loaf, using two wide spatulas, from the slow cooker to a cutting board. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Skim off any fat from the top of the sauce.
slice the loaf and serve with the sauce on the side.
serves 6
Chapter 7
Ewe’ll Love This!
Lamb sold in the United States is either imported from New Zealand or Australia or farm raised in the States. Both types are fine, but the most widely available is the farm raised. Most markets carry “choice” grade lamb, which is well marbled and tender and the best buy pound for pound.
Slow-cooked lamb is tender and falling-apart delicious. Whether it’s a leg of lamb, lamb shanks, or lamb shoulder for stew, lamb makes a great dinner in the slow cooker. Less-expensive shoulder meat and blade chops are transformed into delicious dinners with herbs, spices, and wine added to help flavor the meat. Lamb meat loaf is also terrific slow cooked and served with a complimentary sauce. Lamb curries and tagines cook to perfection in the slow cooker; all you need to add is steamed rice or couscous.
Leg
Boneless leg of lamb becomes moist and delicious after a long braise in the slow cooker. I like to stuff a leg of lamb with savory stuffing and braise it in an aromatic liquid so the meat is flavorful all the way through. Marinating the lamb first helps ramp up the flavor as well as tenderize the meat. For slow-cooker preparations, a boneless leg of lamb is a must, since a bone-in leg of lamb will not fit into even the largest slow cooker.
Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Mint Pesto
Remembering my father’s fondness for leg of lamb and the goopy mint jelly he had to have with it, I thought I might honor the pairing but update the presentation. This leg of lamb is slathered inside with a garlicky mint pesto (see savvy) and then braised in a delicious wine sauce. The result is a tender roast with a surprising swirl of bright green pesto in the center.
MINT PESTO
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
6 or 7 leaves fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large onions, cut into half rounds
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup beef broth
One 3- to 4-pound leg of lamb, boned and butterflied
put all the pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until the ingredients are a paste. Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
spread the onions over the bottom of the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Pour in the wine and beef broth. Lay the lamb, fat-side down, boned-side up on a cutting board or flat surface and spread all the pesto over the surface of the lamb.
roll up the meat, starting from the short end, and tie with kitchen string or silicone loops. Arrange on top of the onions in the slow-cooker insert. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the lamb is tender. Remove the lamb from the slow-cooker insert, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan and remove any fat from the surface. Boil the sauce until it is reduced by about one quarter, 10 to 15 minutes.