Page 21 - The Hunt - Spring 2020

By Roger Morris | Photographs by Jim Graham
Lambing Season
March may come in like a lion, but it should go out with a lamb—chop or shank.
Around this time last year, I was in Colorado attending the annual Taste of Vail festival
ias a judge for the American Lamb Cookoff (see this month’s Traveler section). It was a blind tasting of 23 regional chefs’ creations, and every few minutes,
a volunteer would rush through the door with a freshly prepared lamb dish. Outside, a crowd of several hundred festival goers roamed among restaurant booths tasting smaller samples and marking their favorites.
Sheep farming is big business in Colorado. Rancher Julie Hansmire—who runs a flock of several hundred bleaters for wool and meat—was among the judges. And much of the lamb enjoyed in the Brandywine Valley comes from that area.
Everyone has their preferences, but there’s no doubt spring—and especially Easter—is a time to savor fresh lamb, whether you’re in Vail or Tallyville, Del. It’s also
a good time to experiment with different cuts, though racks are a perennial favorite. “I’d eat Colorado rack of lamb any day. I’m surprised lamb isn’t more popular,” says Jason Barrowcliff, executive chef at Brandywine Prime in Chadds Ford, Pa., who likes to “seal off ” his racks with some bread crumbs, mustard and rosemary before cooking.
Lamb sourced from different regions can vary in flavor. “Colorado lamb tends to be a little older, and
the lambs are finished on grain, while New Zealand lamb tends to be younger and finished on grass,” says Barrowcliff.
As a result, Colorado lamb chops tend to be larger and have more complex flavors, while those from New Zealand are smaller and sweeter. Often served as lollipop chops, the latter are popular as a passed hors d’oeuvre at parties. Such options are the best known and most often ordered, with diners and cooks rarely straying from a chop or rack.
But other cuts are equally worthy. Lamb loin chops are considerably larger, with a T-bone cut that cooks faster than beef. After stripping the fat, they’re often marinated, tempering the lightly gamey flavor. For a
Lamb chops from Colorado tend to be larger and have more complex flavors, while their New Zealand counterparts are smaller and sweeter.
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FOOD & DRINK