Beautiful Breast of Lamb with Honey Parsley Vinegar Sauce Hey My Eyes are Up Here!

You know I love lamb, as evidenced by the various chops, shanks, legs, and shoulders Ive featured in the past. These are among the most popular meat recipes on the blog, so it seems many share my love. Here we have a brand new cut to celebrate, the lamb breast.

This is not common in your regular supermarkets. Theres an inverse relationship between the size of the parking lot, and the chances youll find breast of lamb in the meat case. However, a visit to a real butcher (look for lots of tats and facial hair) should be rewarded with some slabs of this bony, fatty, but richly flavored meat.

Since I hadnt cooked this in ages, I decided to play it safe, and use a time-tested Mediterranean-inspired spice rub, and it could not have worked more perfectly. The exotic spices made the rich meat seem even more decadent, all of which was nicely balanced by the vinegar sauces astringency.

A bright green chimichurri sauce on a well-marbled piece of meat is one of the best things ever, and this dish definitely borrows from that playbook. Its not like youd want to eat a spoon of the condiment right out of the bowl, but slathered over the glistening meat, its a thing of beauty.

I hope that if you are a fan of lamb, and you havent tried lamb breast yet, that you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pieces lamb breast, about 3 1/2 pounds

For the spice rub:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs seasoning (dried rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano blend)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

For the sauce: (note - this is all "to taste")

1/2 cup packed chopped Italian parsley

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/3 cup white wine vinegar, more as needed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 or 2 teaspoon honey

juice from 1 lemon

pinch of salt

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4th of July Special Cherry Bomb Chicken – Because There Are No Grape Bombs

I was playing around with a new brine idea for grilled chicken, and decided that since I was using cherry tomatoes and explosive habanero peppers, Id do a little 4th of July firecracker-themed word play and call this "Cherry Bomb Chicken."

Unfortunately, the sweetest, ripest cherry tomatoes at the market that day were grape tomatoes, which makes the name somewhat dubious. Never one to worry about letting facts get in the way of a good story, I decided to double down.

Now Im claiming that not only does "cherry" refer to the tomatoes, it also refers to the old phase, "thats cherry," which is how us old folks used to say something was, "the bomb." As far as a technique for ensuring your holiday chicken is ultra-moist and flavorful, this is both "cherry" and "the bomb."

I had a quail dish once in which the birds where marinated in a tomato-water brine, before being grilled. I remembered it was really good, and thats what inspired this relatively odd treatment. Thanks to the magic of brining, this really will almost guarantee a juicy, tasty piece of chicken – and the method allows for countless customizations.

By the way, dont be tempted to leave it in the brine longer; 4-6 hours is ideal. You want the meat brined, not cured. This will also work for pork chops if thats more your thing. I hope you give this a try soon, and that you all have a fantastic 4th of July weekend! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Brine:

1 quart cold water

1/3 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 pint cherry tomatoes

3 habanero peppers

1/2 teaspoon allspice

4 cloves garlic

Oil Rub:

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 4 lb. quartered chicken plus wings

2 tbsp red pepper jelly (or sub bbq sauce, or teriyaki sauce)

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