With no interest in writing a “This is what I had for dinner” blog, I initially hesitated to write about my first time cooking a lamb neck. However, I think that braising isn’t getting a fair shake and lamb neck is getting no shake Granted a plate full of brown meat isn’t glamorous, but any exposure for this rarely used cut of meat is good and this plate full of brown meat is not only delicious, but occupies a similar place in my food heart as rillettes, terrines, and BBQ – just warmer and jucier.

This braise is really simple, as it should be. The neck was rubbed with a tablespoon each of lemon zest and rosemary, then browned and removed. An onion, a carrot, 2 cloves of garlic,  and filets from two salted anchovies were added to the pan where they cooked for 15 minutes when the lamb was added back and a bottle of white wine was poured in. The dutch oven was covered with foil and cooked for 8 hours in a 275 degree oven.

After 8 hours, I cooled the whole dutch oven outside and skimmed the first layer of fat from the top. Then, I pulled the meat from the neck revealing an all too familiar looking spinal column (and windpipe, beware). The yield is far more than I expected. I rewarmed the meat and braising liquid in the oven and served it over white beans and breadcrumbs with orange zest and more rosemary.

After eating the braised lamb neck, I think of other possibilities. The amount of connective tissue would make it really difficult to do any direct high heat cooking like grilling, but what about smoking? The low and slow dry heat aspect would be an interesting contrast to the braise. To me, I love lamb over fire. It is something if I see on a restaurant menu, it would really take a diversion to not order it.

This braised lamb neck was indeed delicious. I was expecting a gamier flavor, but it was not at all. Our place was amazingly lamb scented for most of the day, so it was not until I had the leftovers for lunch did I really get a taste of the lambiness. It was lovely and, dare I say, a better dish on day two and the remnants on the bottom on the pyrex container went perfectly as an afternoon snack with a bagel from the breakroom.