Smoked Lamb Breast, Fried Okra, and Deconstructed Elotes

We are rather odd for Americans in that we like and frequently eat lamb and goat.  Strangely enough, I usually prefer the taste and texture of leg of lamb over lamb chops.

Some time ago I was at WalMart and cruising down the meat case.  Not sure why because I don't buy meat there.  This time though, I ended up buying some.  The reason being they had American raised lamb breast.  Lamb breast is the same cut as pork spareribs.  I decided to give them a try since they were American raised.  I find Australian lamb most often.

A nice package of American grown lamb breast

The lamb breast was seasoned with my general purpose rub that is very good with lamb, pork, and poultry.  It was smoked with hickory until an internal temperature of 180F.  This got the meat cooked to the point of being easily bitten and the fat is melty and flavorful.  You can use whatever rub you'd like.

Lamb breast ready to come of the smoke

Since our Okra was producing well and a few had gotten big enough that they wouldn't be tender enough to eat boiled I made fried okra.  My method for fried okra is simple and yields a good crispy coating.  Cut the okra into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and toss in seasoned flour.  Shake off the excess flour and dip in an egg wash.  Let the excess egg wash drip off and toss in a mix of corn meal and corn starch.  I use a 4-1 ratio.  You just need enough of the corn starch to help it get crispy crunchy.  Then fry in a skillet or deep fry until crispy and you have the color you desire.

Smoked lamb breast, deconstructed elotes, and fried okra

I'd been seeing Mexican street corn, Elotes, on the cooking shows for some time prior to this.  Since I didn't feel like taking the time to thaw out some ears of corn I decided to make a deconstructed version.  We were quite pleased with how it turned out and have done it several times since.

Deconstructed Elotes

2 cups whole kernel corn
2 Tbs butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cotija cheese, grated
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbs minced cilantro
pinch chipotle powder
smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Melt butter in cast iron skillet over med heat and add the corn. Cook, stirring time to time, until the corn picks up some color. While the corn is cooking, combine the mayo, cheese, chili powder, cilantro, salt, pepper, and chipotle powder in a bowl and mix well. When the corn is done, add it to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust if needed. Once on the plate sprinkle with the smoked paprika as garnish.

All these go well together or would do well with completely different menus.  I will say I gave the Elotes recipe to someone that was looking for something different to do with corn.  A couple of days later she let me know it was a hit and her husband cleaned it up.

Give these a try and let me know what you think.

Uncle T