Another St. Patrick's day staple is lamb. I'm not actually sure why. Did they eat a lot of lamb in Ireland back in the day? I mean, more than other countries? Or is it simply that lamb is a springtime food, since lambs are born in spring? I tried to find the answer to these burning questions and came up short. If you know, drop a comment!
At any rate: lamb. If you can get past how cute lambs are, and there's that lamb chop lying on your plate, many people are faced with the challenge of cooking it. What exactly are you supposed to do with lamb? Most of us don't have a whole lot of experience with it, as lamb is a somewhat rare meat in America.
Lamb also tends to have a distinctive, almost game-y flavor. This may be because the meat we're used to (from chickens, pigs, and cows) has been rendered almost completely flavorless by America's system of industrial agriculture. Be that as it may, a lot of people dislike lamb because of the taste, so you will want to check with someone before cooking it up for dinner.
Lamb stew is probably the most popular way to eat lamb on St. Patrick's day. It's relatively foolproof, does not require a lot of attention, and the lamb taste is mitigated by the rest of the stew ingredients. Beer is a traditional ingredient in lamb stew, which makes this Guinness and lamb stew recipe a natural.
Lamb chops are the next most common lamb preparation. Lamb is easily overcooked, so you will want to serve it medium-rare at most. Lamb chops can be cooked much like a steak: all you have to do is sear both sides, get the middle as warm as you want it, and you're done. This recipe looks easy and delicious.
Image courtesy Flickr/Calgary Reviews
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