Lamb with QuincesRe: [Sca-cooks] Menu help! Pretty please.

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> Took about a pound of lamb loin chop (it was what I could get) and cut it
> up, removing the bones. The lamb looked and smelled fine at that point.
> We then put that lamb in a pot with a little water (maybe a quarter-inch)
> and about half-teaspoon of coriander seed, a teaspoon of oil, a sprinkling
> of pepper and salt, and a quarter-teaspoon of ground coriander, plus 4-5
> threads of saffron.
>
> We cooked the lamb until it seemed to be cooked through. It smelled odd.
> Very mutton-y.

OK, sounds to me like you have a couple of things going on here.

First, lamb loin chops are very tender and good, but not particularly if you
boil them. They're truly at their best broiled, grilled, or possibly pan
fried, but they are rather stronger flavored than other cuts. If the lamb
you had had a lot of fat on it (and loin lamb chops frequently do) that,
right there could account for a lot of the muttony taste. Secondly, I don't
know why, but Americans seem to think that lamb should be cooked to
well-done. As far as I'm concerned, you might just as well boil up an old
piece of shoe leather- it'll taste better, and likely be easier to chew ;-)
Lamb is at its best at rare to medium rare.

Instead of the loin chops, try to find some very lean lamb- easiest to find
is a leg- lately, they've been selling those boneless New Zealand legs at
Sam's and other low cost/high volume stores- that might be a better piece
for you to try.

Go light on the coriander- it's not, IMO, the best flavor match for lamb,
but just a hint would be fine.

When you cook it, don't try to cook the bejayzus out of it- just get it
heated through, and add the quince, and let it simmer until the quince is
tender..

If you're not used to lamb, it might still be a bit strong for you, but it
looks to me that on your initial try, you did everything you could to make
it stronger. Possibly adding real verjuice instead of lemon juice and/ or
vinegar- possibly a dab of real cider vinegar- might be a better choice.

Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....