Hample Haven Farm, LLC

Recipes - This is a work in progress ...  You can easily google what you want to prepare for dinner or lunch and several recipes will pop up online.

Menu Category 1 - Grilling

1.  Lamb chops are great on the grill.  I prefer to marinate them in wine, garlic, and rosemary for an hour or two before grilling.  I like to season them with dill weed just before placing them on the grill.  They can be cooked to your preference, rare to well-done without being tough.  You do have to watch for flare-ups.  Then I sprinkle a bit of season salt or Lawry's on it as I eat it.  Mmmm!

Greek Lamb Marinade:

2.  Lamb steaks - We grill the steaks just like the chops.  The meat isn't quite as tender as the chops, but the flavor is still great.  We've discovered they the steaks are delicious and tender braised.  Heat peanut oil/grape seed or oil of your choice and add crushed garlic.  Sear the steaks and sprinkle with Lawry's; reduce the heat to low and smother with vegetables: onions, tomatoes, carrots, ... add rosemary and a bit of wine or juice for liquid.

3.  Boneless leg of Lamb - I like to marinate the meat in wine, garlic, rosemary, and 3/4 cup of chicken bouillon for a couple of hours.  I stuff the leg with crushed onion, parsley, and garlic and tie it up and sprinkle the outside with Lawry's or Chicago Steak seasoning before putting it on the rotisserie.  I check it with the thermometer after a couple of hours.

Menu Category 2 - Slow cooker recipes/ roasting

1.   Lamb roast - Thaw and place in a crock pot with 1 cup red or white wine or apple juice, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 1 tsp. crushed garlic (1-2 cloves), and 1-3 sprigs of rosemary.  Sprinkle the roast or shanks with Lawry's and pepper or your favorite seasoning,cover roast with chopped onions and tomatoes, cover crock pot with lid, and cook all day while you are at work.  Come home and enjoy!

2.   Lamb shanks - I use the recipe for roast above.  The texture of the meat is different from the roast - the flavor is excellent!  The sliced shanks are also wonderful when braised.

3.   Lamb stew - there are several really good lamb stew recipes.  The Basque Lamb Stew from the Simply Recipes site is delicious.  This stew does use a boneless leg of lamb.  I like serving it over brown rice.

4.  Lamb & Lentil stew - The recipe link calls for leg of lamb - I used both the shanks and roasts in the slow cooker and it turned out great.  This is almost like a lentil soup, if you don't simmer it quite so long.

5.  Greek-Style Grass-Fed Lamb Shanks adapted from Melissa Diane Smith's recipes :  (Delicious!  Added 6/16/13.)

Ingredients:  4 grass-fed lamb shanks/ shoulder roasts/ or neck roasts, 4 garlic cloves (2 Tbs), peeled and sliced into slivers, 4 Tbsp. organic extra virgin olive oil, Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup of lemon juice) more if desired, 1/8 cup of lime juice, 1 Tbsp. oregano, sea salt to taste, black pepper to taste, 1 cup water (or pinot grigio / white wine).  

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.  Cut 1/2 slits in several places on both sides of the shanks.  Stuff garlic slivers into slits.  2. Add olive oil to bottom of a deep, lidded, 12 inch heavy roasting pan and heat on medium-high heat.  Brown all sides of shanks.  (Skip step 2 if desired or pressed for time.)  3.  Pour lemon juice over shanks.  Sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper on both sides. Then pour water/white wine between shanks.  4. Cover pan and bake 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, remove cover, and flip shanks.  Cover pan, and bake 2 hours more, flipping shanks every 30 minutes.  Check meat for tenderness:  it should easily pull off the bone and have a wonderful aroma.  If it doesn't, return to oven, 15-30 minutes, until done.  5. Remove from oven, taste jus, and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.  Serve with cooked vegetables and/or brown rice, and spoon jus over both shanks and side dishes.

Menu Category 3 - Braising

1.   Lamb shanks, cubed steaks, or cubed roast.  Warm olive oil in your skillet and add one or two teaspoons crushed garlic and brown the cubed lamb meat.  I sprinkle a bit of Lawry's and pepper on it.  While it is browning (about ten minutes) chop up one or two large onions, 3-4 large carrots, and 3-4 scrubbed potatoes (I leave the skin on).  

2.   Lamb shanks - I found the Braised Lamb Shanks recipe from all recipes to be fantastic.

Menu Category 4 - Ground Lamb ideas

1.   Gyros - Brown a pound of ground lamb - sprinkle it with Lawry's and black pepper as you are cooking it (to taste).  Drain off the fat - rinse it, if you prefer. 

Place a tortilla on a large plate and fix like a burrito - using lamb meat.  I add Tzatziki sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, and lettuce.  My daughter likes to add shredded cheese to as well.  When I can't find the tzatziki sauce in the store I improvise by mixing plain Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill weed, crushed garlic, and a bit of salt and pepper.

You can also add cucumber dip, instead of the sour cream.  Blend together:  8 oz. cream cheese softened, 16 oz sour cream or Greek Yogurt, 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (not dip), 1 minced clove of garlic.  Add chopped or grated cucumber only to the part you are using.  It makes a great veggie dip or bread dip.  I love using it as my gyro dressing!

2.  Stuffed peppers - Mediterranean style - with couscous -

3.  Greek Meatballs or meat loaf

4.  Lamb burgers: Mix 1 pound of ground lamb, 1 T dill weed, 2 tsp crushed garlic, 1/4 tsp oregano, 2 tsp parsley, 1 egg, 1/2 bread crumbs.  Form patties that a strip of bacon can wrap around.  Wrap 1 thinly sliced strip of bacon around the burger and hold in place with a toothpick.  Grill or broil until the bacon is crisp.  Serve with feta cheese and Tzatziki sauce (see Gyros, #1 above).  It's so tasty you'll want to skip the bun.