In Like a Lamb...

In a few weeks, Kentucky’s most lavish party season, Derby time, begins.

Hosts and hostesses who plan extravagant parties booked their caterers a year ago, but the menu planning has just begun. They start with traditional Kentucky fare and then fill in with personal favorites.
Most buffet tables will have country ham and biscuits, corn pudding, cheese grits, fresh asparagus, fried chicken, beef tenderloin and leg of lamb.

Kentucky-raised lamb takes center stage on menus served to clubhouse guests at Churchill Downs on Derby Day. Executive chef Gil Logan said he prefers the superior taste and freshness of locally raised livestock.

Lamb is an important Kentucky product. The state has 1,800 sheep producers and 32,000 head of sheep.
Weaver and photographer Dobree Adams and her husband, poet and publisher Jonathan Greene, raised a rare breed of sheep, Lincoln longwools, on a Kentucky River farm north of Frankfort for 20 years.

She exhibited her prize-winning sheep and sold wool to spinners, breeding stock to shepherds, and lambs for the table. She continues to spin, dye and weave lustrous Lincoln wool for her hand-woven rugs and tapestries.

“The most delicious lamb we ever ate was at Le Vaca, a French restaurant in Williamsburg. A fresh leg of lamb, rubbed only with salt, pepper and thyme, was hanging in front of a reflecting fireplace. A flick of the string would send it swirling around, changing direction. It was served thinly sliced and very rare, in the French tradition,” Dobree said.

“Leg of lamb was a delicacy often served at the home of my parents, John and Hunter Adams, on West Sixth Street in Lexington. By contrast, it was slowly cooked until very done.

“Shepherds sell their lamb and eat mutton. We discovered that our favorite way with a leg was to smoke it with sprigs of fresh rosemary on top. But time and again, I come back to curried lamb, substantial for a winter meal, elegant enough for guests,” Adams said.

Here’s a recipe from Adams.

Riverbend Farm lamb curry
2 pounds of lamb, cubed
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1/2 cup raisins
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
2 gloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 teaspoons curry powder
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced dry onions
1 teaspoon hot paprika
2 cups water
Garam masala
Dust the lamb with flour, salt, and pepper. Add oil to skillet and saute lamb over medium heat, browning slowly. It’s best to do this in two batches.
Return lamb to skillet and add remaining ingredients. Pour 2 cups of water over lamb and cover. Simmer.
Stir often, adding a little water as needed. Cook until the lamb is tender and all the ingredients blend together, perhaps two hours. Then cook another half-hour or so uncovered, to thicken.
During the last ten minutes of cooking, add 1/2 teaspoon garam masala. Check seasoning before serving. Serve with saffron rice and mango chutney.

Anne and Steve Muntz of Mount Sterling have been farming on a small scale for about 20 years. They raise sheep, chickens, turkeys and an organic garden. Anne created this recipe for lamb shanks.

Lamb shanks
2 medium lamb shanks from your local Kentucky producer
Olive oil
2 tablespoons beef bouillon
1 large onion
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
2 to 3 large portobello mushrooms, sliced
3 to 4 rosemary sprigs, 1/2-inch long
Salt and pepper to taste
In a heavy skillet, brown shanks in olive oil. Add other ingredients, making sure that the bouillon is on the bottom. Pour one cup of water over all, cover and simmer until meat is tender and pulls away from the bones. Check frequently to make sure that the water hasn’t simmered away. Keep adding water as needed to make gravy. Serve over wild or white rice.