AGED LAMB, ONIONS, PICKLED ELDERFLOWER
Alan Micks, Head Chef, Michelberger Hotel, Berlin
“This dish is what results out of a whole lamb which we butcher at the restaurant and break down into its prime cuts and joints. We then age the cuts in lamb fat for about three weeks which breaks down unwanted fatty tissue and reduces the water content. In this dish we serve a slow-cooked piece of braised shank, neck or shoulder alongside a grilled leaner cut of either loin, fillet or upper leg.”
METHOD
Lamb:
Ask your butcher for a cut of shank, neck or shoulder which you should slow braise, as well as a loin, fillet or upper leg cut which you should grill.
Onions:
This is a French-style white onion sauce called Suobise.
2 kg white onions
100g new season garlic
150g butter
400ml white wine
500ml white chicken stock
50ml cream
Cook the onions, garlic, butter and salt together in a deep pan, slowly until soft, sweet and without colour. Add the wine and reduce the mixture until the wine has almost disappeared, then add the chicken stock and reduce by half again. Finally, add the cream and simmer until a thick creamy soup consistency is achieved. This can then be blended until smooth and passed through a fine sieve for an even smoother consistency.
Elderflower:
Our elderflower is picked from the Brandenburg countryside and trimmed into little bunches which we pickle in a mix of:
raw sugar
water
cider vinegar
To serve:
Also on the plate are grilled spring onions, spring onion flowers and chive oil.