What would you do with 4 pounds ground lamb with a use by date 2 days away?

Yayyy! You guys rock!

Some recipes for safe keeping

Crispy Chickpeas With Ground Meat

https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/09/homemade-merguez-with-herby-yogurt/

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/04/lamb-kofte-meatballs-with-harissa-recipe.html

4 Likes

That merguez with herby yogurt (which is a Julia Turshen recipe from Small Victories) is dynamite, but quite dependent on the harissa used - I increase the other seasonings if the harissa isn’t potent enough. Oh and the herby yogurt is excellent for all kinds of other things!

2 Likes

One more.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lamb-kofte-with-yogurt-sauce-and-muhammara-356770

This merguez recipe calls for grinding lamb shoulder with fat.

Serious Eats homemade Merguez recipe

I have 15 percent fat ground lamb. Does anyone know the right fat percentage for a juicy sausage? One with no casing?

Freezing in the 1 lb portions is what I’d do with most of it.

You could make sumac-spiced lamb patties/burgers or lamb hand pies.

I have made @shrinkrap’s NYT recipe for lamb meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce - but I made it with a roasted red pepper sauce.

Another is Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with minted yogurt sauce.

2 Likes

Kofta or seekh kebab would be my way to go. Both freeze well.

1 Like

Same thing. I first encountered it on a Greek cooking show eons ago, with a chef named Theonie (sp?) Mark. That’s what she called it. The name of the dish escaped me, and returned as her version, which I typed and entered before realizing there’s a more common name.

1 Like

That’s plenty of lamb. If you have decently fresh Indian spices, I think Keema is great and could be portioned for freezing (just don’t use potatoes for freezing). If the spices are not so fresh, I’d go for lamb chili, likewise good, or meatloaf.

This seems a worthy keema recipe:

3 Likes

Ahh! Just had some in Greece (Rhodes), but a bit too much pasta in that version.

2 Likes

Interesting! I’ll have to check the dates on my cumin and corriander seed, but I know I don’t have fresh Garam Masala. Have several other fresh “curry” blends, including a few from Africa.

Maybe I’ll order some and use it with some of the lamb that I freeze. I don’t suppose I should freeze it again… should I?

Probably should use what I have first. Speaking of using what I have, I’ve had some sumac, or maybe that mix you MAKE with sumac (edited to add zatar) , for more than six months. Still worth using?

Another Merguez sausage recipe.

New York times

Serious Eats says 30 percent fat.
(Or How to Make Juicy Homemade Sausage)

I have some duck fat, and some duck skin. Parking this here.

From egullet
Cheftalk
About fatback on Spruce Eats

1 Like

Re kheema & not making it unless you have fresh spices - I’ll respectfully disagree. If your spices are older, bloom them in the oil at the beginning or lightly toast them on the side.

I’m not advocating for stale spices, just in favor utilizing what you already have.

Re sumac / zaatar - smell it & taste it. My sumac is probably over a year old and still potent.

3 Likes

So long as I can quickly and distinctly smell a spice/dried herb when reopened, I’m likely to keep it. That said, I have learned over the years that freshness makes a difference. I’ll tend to cull spices and replace for special occasions or recipes (I wouldn’t use last year’s ground clove for this year’s fruitcake, for example). Whenever possible, I buy whole spices, which last longest.

Making an Africanized version of Keema sounds interesting!

With four pounds of lamb, I’d consider splitting into two recipes. Lots of great ideas here.

About freezing: you might check whether this lamb was already frozen. Refreezing is generally frowned upon for texture changes, but I think in some ground-meat preparations, it probably doesn’t matter and could even help. Like a genuine Bolognese sauce which simmers for hours and you want it to be practically dissolved.

3 Likes

If you’re familiar with South Asian cooking, then you’ll find it interesting to make comparisions with the recipes of the community from that heritage who lived in East Africa before they were, basically, ethnically cleansed from countries such as Uganda and Kenya. You’ll find differences in the spicing and, of course, some differences in, say, vegetables used. I’ve not cooked it but have eaten in a couple of restaurants owned by folk with that heritage and there are definitely differences with the standard “Indian” restaurant.

1 Like

Thanks for this. I’ve long noted the distinctive spice profiles from Africa and (consequent to slavery) Caribbean cuisines, as contrasted with mainstream American and Anglo-European places. A broader flavor spectrum, notably in the sweeter direction for savory dishes, like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg.

I hadn’t heard of the ethnic cleansing you refer to, so I’d like to learn up. British India is a study topic of mine, but my knowledge is thinner concerning African contexts.

It was racism, pure and simple. The South Asians were seen to be a successful middle class who faced a campaign of “Africa for the Africans” from dictators such as Uganda’s Idi Amin. The community were forced to flee, with only hand baggage (generally to the UK, as they held colonial British passports). Unquestionably, Uganda’s loss has been the UK’s gain.

As a starting point for you:

3 Likes

Gandhi’s activism began while he was living in Africa.

1 Like

That much I know. Oxford-educated lawyer and disrespected even on the train to assume his job in South Africa. And then the social organization. Important, fascinating period.