I am excited to announce my very first lamb recipe: smoky beef and lamb stew! The reason I’m so ecstatic is because I haven’t cared for lamb when I’ve tried it in the recent past. It isn’t something I ever ate growing up and nobody in my family ate it either, so I really haven’t had any experience with it.
I figured it’d be better if I mixed the lamb with some ground beef and decided that a lamb sausage would probably be that much better, since it’s well spiced. So, I picked up a couple fresh Italian lamb sausages from one of our local co-ops and felt determined to like it. I did like it too! The recipe turned out phenomenal and I couldn’t stop raving about it after every bite.
I browned the lamb sausages first to make them easier to slice, but you could try skipping this step if you want. I didn’t want the sausage to fall apart and turn into grounds, so I opted for it. If you’re pressed for time, don’t worry about it.
Enjoy!
Smoky Beef and Lamb Stew
For the stew:
- 1 Tbsp grass-fed butter, ghee or coconut oil
- 2 Italian grass-fed lamb sausages
- 1/2 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp smoky spice blend from Practical Paleo (recipe below)
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes (I like this brand)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2-3 Tbsp homemade bone broth or low sodium chicken broth
- Sea salt to taste
Directions:
- Melt butter, ghee or coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the lamb sausage and brown a few minutes each side. Once browned, remove from pan and set aside to cool (sausage may not be cooked all the way through yet, which is fine).
- To the same pan, add the onion and garlic, and saute for a minute over medium heat. Then, add the ground beef and break up with a wooden spoon or spatula. While the beef begins to cook, slice the cooled lamb sausage. Add to the pan with the beef and stir.
- Season to taste with sea salt and add the smoky spice blend. Mix well and then add the tomatoes, broth and apple cider vinegar.
- Reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer until meat is cooked through and sauce thickens a bit.
- Serve over zucchini noodles, steamed kale or cauliflower rice.
Yields: 3 servings
For the smoky spice blend, courtesy of Practical Paleo:
- 1 Tbsp chipotle powder
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Mix together and store in a jar or spice container.
Yields: 5 Tbsp of blend
It’s funny how if you didn’t grow up eating a certain food later on in life it’s hard to get adjusted to. I’m like that with pork. We hardly ever had it as kids, except for Christmas day at my aunt’s! Joe on the other hand grew up eating it all the time so since we’ve been together I’ve been eating pork more often but I don’t think it will ever be my favourite meat source, I’m still hesitant to cook it a lot of times. Lamb on the other hand apart from beef IS a favourite of mine, and probably because I grew up eating it… and of course Joe didn’t lol! So if you asked him he would say pork is his favourite!
Anyway once you get more and more used to the taste of lamb and cooking it you should try this recipe…
http://alexxstuart.com/lamb-shoulder-set-it-and-forget-it
Oh and as for you needing time for other stuff, it’s completely understandable! You need to do what right for you in your life right now and if it means less blogging then so be it 🙂
Thanks for understanding, Naz. I’m lucky to have a friend/follower like you 😉 Thanks for the recipe too, but it might be a while before I get there! Baby steps!
No worries! And yes keep it on file for later… Promise you slow cooked lamb is worth it 🙂
Aw Naz – Saw the track back to here on my WP report and there you are spruiking my lamb! Big thanks x
No worries Alexx! Love your work 🙂 x
See…I knew you’d love it! Lamb sausage is one of my favorites, as you know. I’m so proud of you!
I’m pretty proud of me too 🙂
Lamb is actually my all-time favorite meat! I am going to put this in the list of recipes to try!
BTW — Your ring seems like its gorgeous!
Thanks, I’m going to try to start incorporating lamb more into my diet, so hopefully it’ll continue to grow on me. I can definitely handle the sausage though!
I posted a picture of my ring on my Facebook page yesterday. I’m not sure if you follow me on FB, but go take a look if you want to see it 🙂
This is timely for me since I just bought 10 pounds of pastured local lamb!! I will have to give it a shot.
Wonderful! That’s a nice little stock of meat to have on hand.