Many chefs already know that incorporating Australian lamb as the star of a dish can breathe new life — and taste — into a menu.
As lamb becomes more familiar to consumers and in higher demand, now is the perfect time for chefs and restaurants to start sourcing the best lamb product in the world. Australian lamb sold in Canada and the U.S. is climate-neutral, pasture-raised, all-natural, and free of artificial additives. The production’s unwavering commitment to quality and integrity, combined with the rich unspoiled environment in which the lamb is raised, makes Australian lamb a special product.
The grassy, mild, tender, and lean qualities bring unmatched quality and taste to a menu, not to mention the kind of sustainable practices that are becoming more important to diners and consumers.
Building a dish around Australian lamb only requires confidence in the product and a little bit of inspiration. Here, four Canadian culinarians — Matt Rosen, Kim Sutherland, Marc Swiednicki, and Chad Stewart — provide some inspiration through dishes of their own.
Matt Rosen’s roasted sirloin with lebnah, latkes, and pickles
Rosen marries a citrus honey-glazed lamb loin with lebnah, parsnip, carrot top stew, pickled turnips, beets, and radishes, latkes, sauteed kale, and orange zest.
“It’s easier to play with the lamb because, for example, lamb sirloin is a lot smaller than a beef sirloin,” says Rosen. “There’s a lot more rapid-fire experimentation you can do with it. Australian lamb has such a great flavour to it that all you’re doing is dancing with it, so to speak.”
Kim Sutherland’s vegemite-and-seed-crusted shank
Sutherland serves a Vegemite-and-seed-crusted braised lamb shank alongside brown butter celery root mash, bourbon honey-glazed carrots, roasted radish, and vegemite jus.
“It’s very easy to integrate lamb into something that we would have used for any other meat and you don’t necessarily have to reinvent all the spices and seasonings,” says Sutherland. “It’s not reinventing the wheel, that can be quite intimidating; it’s more reminding us of the things we already know and love, but introducing the highest-quality lamb as the centrepiece.”
Marc Swiednicki’s jerk lamb T-bone steak
Swiednicki is a huge fan of jerk seasoning, and uses it here to marinate a T-bone lamb steak, which he finishes with a honey jerk glaze served with charred corn salsa and a fire-roasted cauliflower and sunchoke puree.
“Jerk tastes amazing with Australian lamb, and I’ve also been using a lot of Mediterranean spices and Turkish spices on my lamb,” Swiednicki says.
Chad Stewart’s glazed lamb ribs
Stewart glazes lamb ribs with harissa, garum, and local honey and serves them simply with fire-roasted root vegetables, pickled radish, and shallots.
“Australian lamb holds up to spices and marinates really well without losing the earthy undertones in the meat,” says Stewart. “I treat the ribs similarly to pork ribs and they could stand up to wood-fired cooking really well.”
To learn more about Australian lamb or be connected to marketing support for Australian lamb on your menu, contact: [email protected] or visit foodservice.trueaussiebeefandlamb.com.
