Lamb Rump.

As I said before becoming a chef has introduced me to lots of different ingredients that perhaps had I not gone on this Buddhist like culinary journey would have just passed me by.
Lamb Rump is something I knew about but never used on a menu before until recently working at the Treehouse at Alnwick gardens where they serve it with a beautiful Blackberry and Sloe Berry Gin Jus erh I mean gravy !

So I purchased 5 portions from Warren Butterworth's a local catering butchers that supply the treehouse. The cost is secret as I got a good deal on it but in this current economic climate its not the cheapest cut as its about £20-£25 per kilo top quality end nationwide all though Sainsbury's have some rump steaks at about £15 per kilo which is cheaper but would they be in same league as the rump I brought I am not so sure.
As a quick cook lamb treat it is worth every penny and usually the more you pay for your meat the better the quality as a rule.
Now I promise I will start to cook some more interesting things in time but as previously whinged I am working quite hard at the moment and Sundays is the only day I can really cook and to be honest I would rather watch the football match on the telly while snogging a can of Stella and eating some crisps then come up with some kind of culinary delight.
So when I do cook it tends to be quick and easy so it tends to be a meat and two veg plus a potato of some description.
I think you could call it a Roast Dinner. Ha ha !
So that's what I did. I don't think I should apologise for possibly the greatest British dish of all time and I am proud to say that I have advanced from my childhood habit of swamping my Sunday roast with tomato ketchup and now I eat it as God intended with either mustard,apple sauce or in this case mint sauce.
The beauty of lamb rump is it is quick to cook as I said before so I cooked my Roast potatoes, cabbage, carrots, the mother of all Yorkshire puddings and made my gravy all before cooking the Lamb.

Gently massage the meat with Olive oil. Add some sea salt and Black pepper.

Get the pan SMOKING !!!

Saute all around the meat. Including the sides.

Beautiful !

Now at this point you need to put the lamb into the oven. After 20 minutes take it out of the oven to see how its cooking.You can squeeze it like they do on the telly to see if its rare or medium or well done but just go to the supermarket and buy a cooking thermometer . I brought a really nice one from Sainsbury for £9.99 and it was a lovely bright orange colour too !!!
Rare is about 45 oc, Medium about 50+ and about 65 and above should be well done. This is a great way of getting succulent and not dry over cooked meat every time. Obviously do not apply this method to Pork or Chicken or you will be getting a visit from my pal John "the Undertaker" Kinghorn and he will be taking you to the land of pushing up daisies !
Let the meat rest for 10 minutes.
On this occasion after sealing the meat I placed it onto baking foil with a bit of thyme added and made it into a bag and then placed it onto a tray and then into the oven.
The idea being to let the lamb cook in its own steam and to collect all the juices that it will let out which are then added into the gravy.

The mother of all Yorkshire puddings.

Ok I know I am probably going against the Foodie code of eating by saying I know I have cooked this meat well done but I am not so fussy about how my red meat is cooked if I am honest. So long as its not burnt and so long as its not so raw that it can still talk to me while I am eating it that will be fine.
There are lots of things you can do with Lamb rump. It would go great with a warming Tomato and Borlotti bean stew or just marinated in a few herbs and thrown onto the barbie.
Either way hope you try it soon.