Mongolian Lamb Tacos
Eager to try some recipes from Tim Hayward’s excellent new book “The DIY Cook” I invited some friends round at the weekend to watch the rugby. One of the recipes I really liked the look of was the Mongolian Lamb; slow cooked, marinated breast of lamb with pancakes, cucumber and spring onions. However fate intervened, I couldn’t pick up any pancakes ( hence the tacos) and as it was such a fantastic day we decided to have a BBQ instead so I adapted the recipe a little.
The recipe calls for a little preparation in that the lamb breast needs to be marinated overnight prior to cooking. The marinade is made of equal quantities of Chinese five spice and salt (I used a couple of teaspoons), garlic, chilli, star anise, and equal amounts of soy sauce and rice wine.
I always use a ziplock bag to marinate meat as it ensures a good contact between the meat and liquid. After a night in the marinade I placed the lamb in a roasting tin with the marinade and topped up with enough water to nearl cover the meat. Then it was into the oven at 140c for four hours. When it emerged it was so tender all the bones slipped out with ease.
Then it was into the fridge to cool down ready for the next stage. I also reduced the cooking liquid down to a syrupy consistency so I could use it as a baste in the final stage. At this stage the recipe calls for the lamb to be shredded and then basted and put into a hot oven, however I adapted the recipe for the BBQ.
As the lamb was already meltingly tender it was simply a case of placing over some hot coals to crisp a little whilst basting with the reduced cooking liquid. At the same time I warmed the tacos.
While the lamb was cooking I prepared a simple chopped salsa of spring onion, cucumber and chilli from my friend Dan’s garden (suprisingly feiry as it turned out, but delicious). Then I shredded the lamb, delicioiusly crispy but still very tender, and made the tacos, topping off with hoisin sauce, sriracha and a little corriander.
I’m biased, but the lamb was absoutely fantastic I’d thoroughly recommend it and the DIY Cook by Tim Hayward.
One comment on “Mongolian Lamb Tacos”
Leave a Reply
Foodies 100
Rowanwood Kitchen 
Looks great… and I admire your resourcefulness using tacos instead of pancakes. x
LikeLike