I don’t eat a lot of lamb and I’ve never cooked with it at home so I have to admit that I wasn’t terribly thrilled when I received my recipe for this week’s Celebrity Chef swap. It’s a Bobby Flay recipe so I knew it would be good, but still I had to be convinced. It’s not that I don’t like lamb, it’s just usually a bit too gamey for my everyday meals. Plus, the Husby isn’t the biggest fan so it typically stays off of my shopping list.
Even with my inexperience, I knew that lamb has to be cooked *just right* in order to reduce the gamey taste. And since my grill is out of service for the season, I turned to my trusty crockpot for some low and slow, tender goodness.
To my surprise, I enjoyed this meal so much that I was sad there wasn’t enough for another helping. The lamb itself was a little bland due to my inability to salt anything correctly but combined with the pickled onions, tomato relish and cheeses, I barely even noticed. I didn’t tell the Husby he was eating lamb and he happily cleaned his plate. I may have to start experimenting with it more in the kitchen!
Adapted for the crockpot from Jenna's Cooking Journey, from Boy Meets Grill Pickled Onions from A Couple Cooks
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. Lamb Stew Meat
- 1 Red Onion, coarsely chopped
- 10 Garlic Cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 Cup Orange Juice
- 1 Cup Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 4 Large Tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 Cup Red Onion, finely diced
- 1 Jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 1 Red Onion
- 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup Water
- 8 Flour Tortillas
- 1 Cup White Cheddar Cheese, shredded
- 1/2 Cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
- 1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Instructions
Combine the lamb, red onion, garlic cloves, orange juice, olive oil and salt and pepper in the bowl of a crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
One hour before serving, prepare the tomato relish and the pickled onions. For the relish, combine tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix until well combined and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve. For the pickled onions, combine onions, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt and water in a bowl. Mix until well combined and let sit at room temperature until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, remove the lamb from the crockpot and shred with a fork. Spoon the lamb into a flour tortilla and top with the white cheddar, feta and monterey jack cheeses, as well as the tomato relish and pickled onions.
http://www.thejeyofcooking.com/lamb-tacos-with-pickled-red-onions-and-tomato-relish/
I’m so glad you ended up liking the lamb. Yay!
I’m glad you ended up loving them. I had a feeling that whoever received them wasn’t thrilled, but was hoping the flavor changed their mind. We loved these and glad you did too.
I absolutely love lamb, and don’t find many crockpot recipes for it. I’ll have to pick up some lamb stew meat the next time I get to the farmer’s market so I can try these!