Last week over a wonderful dinner in South Beach I got into a discussion over lamb dishes. It inspired me to write this one down. It is adapted from Tom Colicchio (and offers a little splurge–for those who care nothing about calories–from Mario Batalli). It is actually a rather easy, simple dish whose major trick is execution. Once you get it down you will understand what they mean on “Top Chef” when they pan-roast a nice cut of meat.

I kept the preparation at two servings (still my favorite volume to cook)…

Ingredients

• 2 Saddles of Lamb (Loins) or–if not available–Lamb Steaks, about 6 oz. each, preferably about 1 1/2″ thick
• 5 or 6 whole sprigs of fresh Rosemary (if you do not have a garden, you can get these in the produce section of a good supermarket)
• Kosher salt
• Black Pepper (preferably a Pepper Mill set to medium-coarse grind, my French Chef friend, Pascal highly endorses ones from Peugeot)
• Fleur de sel (also coarse, preferably from Brittany)
• 2 Tbsp of Refined Olive Oil (it has a higher smoke point)
• 3 Tbsp of Butter (preferably Ghee)

Extra, if you want to splurge: 2 Tsp of very good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I use Pasolivo, check out http://delicious.com/haughwout/PasoRobles)

Mis en Place

1. Trim the lamb of visible fat and shape as into tournedos
2. If using lamb steaks, lightly pound then reform to tenderize (I use my knuckles–of course I have titanium inserts in my right hand)
3. Completely dry off the all surface moisture on the lamb with a paper towel
4. Set out the butter or ghee to soften, also set out the rosemary sprigs (keep them whole!) on a paper towel
5. Season the lamb to taste with kosher salt on all sides; allow to rest for 15 minutes to bring the amino acids to the surface to aid in caramelization)
6. After the rest, season to taste on all side with pepper mill
7. Let the lamb rest ten more minutes to (to come to room temperature)

Tools

The trick here is heat control. You want to roast slowly and let the flavors penetrate. It is much different than searing the hell of of the meat on the grill. I did not believe in this until I began to pan roast. The slow cooking really works well with lamb due to the richer flavor and lower density fat (tallow). To do this you will need the following tools…

• Really good digital meat thermometer
• Digital timer
• Metal tongs (not the tension-based ones but real ones with a hinge in the middle)
• A really good non-stick skillet (I love my Calphelon). You will need an aluminum pan (cast iron has too much density and too low conductivity and will hold too much heat–sorry for the MIT geekdom here but it is important)
• Optional: high-temperature contact or IR thermometer (Alton Brown could help you more)

Notice that you have no spatula here…you will see why soon.

Cooking

1. Heat the pan to med/medium-high–essentially to 350-375 F (no more–you can use the contact thermometer to verify)
2. Put in the Refined Olive Oil, heat until it shimmers, slurring it around
3. Set your timer to 2min-45sec
4. Drop in the lamb–right on top of the oil and leave it alone. You can swirl the pan around to let oil get around all sides but do not touch the lamb (you will ruin the caramelization).
5. After 90 seconds, turn the heat down to medium (here is where the aluminum comes into place as the lamb now is warmer)
6. After the time goes off (1m-15sec seconds later), pick up the lamb with the tongs, re-swirl the oil and turn it over on the other side, turn the heat back up almost to where you started
7. After 90 seconds, turn the heat down to medium
8. When the the time goes off, QUICKLY turn the heat down to low/medium-low (225 F), turn the lamb on an uncooked side (tongs help here!) dump the oil, then dump in the butter or ghee (I mean QUICKLY)
9. Once the butter melts, dump in the rosemary spigs, now the reverse basting begins…
10. Re-start the timer, every 20 seconds, turn the lamb INTO the melted butter-rosemary combo (cooking all long and wide sides)–don’t try this with a spatula. After about three minutes of this begin to check the temperature of the lamb with the thermometer (if you are human, or by touching for “springiness” if you are Gordon Ramsey). You should be able to keep rotating for 2-3 more minutes (without going past medium rare). If it is too hot after 3 min you have been cooking at too high of a temperature (you will have to try again until you get it right ; )
11. Remove the lamb when it is 5-10F below your desired doneness. The trick here is continuously turning for a slow roast and baste in the butter and rosemary. This will give it time for the rosemary to penetrate the lamb (the butter will keep it moist).
12. After it is done, set the lamb on a plate, cover with the rosemary then with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 3 min

Presentation

1. Cut the lamb into slices (on the bias) and lay out on a plate
2. If you are decadent (and a Batali fan), pour 1 Tsp of the EVO over the meat
3. Sprinkle to taste with Fleur de sel (Colicchio is a salt fiend–remember this next time he tells someone on the chopping block they under-seasoned their meat)
4. Lay the nice-and-crispy Rosemary sprigs on top. The rosemary should crush with a fork and mix nicely as you cut and eat the lamb (do not–I repeat, do not–say “yum-o”)

I recommend the following accompaniments:

• Scalloped potatoes on the side
• Nice dinner salad of mesclun greens topped with oil and vinegar (use the same brand of EVO as what you put on the lamb)
• Pair with a nice Cabernet or Rhone-style wine. If I am going with Pasolivo, I like to pair with a Justin wine (Isosceles, Justification or Savant). If not, you can go with a Super Tuscan or similar wine