Easy Tips for Cooking Lamb

Many Americans find the idea of eating lamb distasteful. Yet if they just give lamb a try, most really enjoy its tenderness and mild flavor. Lamb is also ideal for almost any cooking method, including grilling, roasting, sautéing, or stewing. Lamb isn’t difficult to prepare, although it’s important to choose a good cut and understand a few basic cooking techniques. Before finding a terrific lamb recipe, familiarize yourself with the main ways lamb is prepared.

Buying lamb

Many Americans do not like the strong flavor of mutton, but most lamb on today’s market is young and raised on grain. Look for meat that’s pink and firm to the touch without being tough. The shade of the fat varies according to breed, feed, and age; however, don’t buy lamb with fat that’s yellowish or brittle.

General cooking tips

Try seasoning lamb with garlic, rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, cumin, or mint.

Generally, lamb shouldn’t be cooked above 350 degrees F or it becomes tough.

Stewed lamb

Stewing is excellent for tougher cuts, flank or shoulder cuts, or any time you buy lamb chopped into smallish pieces. It’s also an ideal way to introduce lamb into your diet. Simply replace the beef with lamb in your favorite stew recipe.

Sautéd lamb

Thin cuts of lamb (no more than one inch thick) are suitable for sautéing. To sauté lamb, preheat a pan and add a small amount of oil. Pat the lamb with a paper towel, then place in the pan. Brown both sides and cook until lamb reaches 160 degrees F for medium or 170 degrees F for well done.

If you add a bit more oil to the pan, you can also pan fry lamb, giving it a crispy outer layer. Choose chops or steaks for this method, and use a cast iron pan for best results.

Roasted lamb

Lamb chops or frenched rack of lamb are well suited to roasting, and leg of lamb (also well suited to roasting) is an excellent first lamb recipe.

First, sear the lamb in a pan, then baste with oil and place fat side up in a preheated oven. Slow roast the meat, baking at 212 to 325 degrees F. To prevent drying, periodically baste the lamb in pan juices. Allow the lamb to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Grilled lamb

In the United States, grilling is perhaps the most popular way to cook lamb. Good choices for grilling include lamb chops, steaks, ribs, tenderloin, shoulder, loin roast, and rack of lamb. Thinner cuts may stay closer to the heat (as much as four inches above the coals or other heat source), while thick cuts should be kept further away. You can also brush lamb with barbeque sauce and wrap in foil before grilling.

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Baked Fish Recipes - Mahi Mahi

Nowadays, we are wondering why we are seeing Mahi Mahi on so many eating places. One of the big reasons for this is that restaurants are playing a little trick on all of us.

The word Mahi Mahi, comes from Hawaii and it means "Strong Strong" in English. It refers to a fish we all know as the Dolphin. By looking at some reactions of individuals and the idea that you are eating the famed Dolphin known as Flipper, the restaurants changed the name so you won't get stunned and think they are trying to serve you a piece of that adorable animal.

Many times, Mahi Mahi is hyphenated like Mahi-Mahi and sometimes people use an alternative name which is called "Dorado". Whatever you want to call it, this is a fish that has both great flavor and the nice, firm texture that most seafood fans prefer.

You can discover the Mahi Mahi swimming in many waters. They are found and most abundantly in the Gulf of Mexico and in the warm Caribbean Sea. So the next time you will go to a eating place and order a Mahi Mahi, you will remember the previous sentence. The Mahi Mahi on your dish is probably caught in of those two waters.

In North America you will find the best selection of Mahi Mahi in mid-spring through mid- to late-summer. But, fresh Mahi Mahi is mostly available throughout the year. You can also find frozen Mahi Mahi fillets all year round.

Mahi Mahi has to look pink or light beige. If this is the case, you have found some fresh fish! Darker meat is certainly safe to eat, but the taste might be too strong for some individuals.

You can steam, poach, fry, bake and grill your fresh Mahi Mahi because it's a all-around fish. It doesn't matter which cooking method you want to use but you have to be careful not to overcook it.

Here's a recipe of my favorite dish:

Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi

Ingredients:

* 2 ounces macadamia nuts

* 4 ounces plain bread crumbs

* 6 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets

* 4 ounces butter

* 2 ounces shallots, diced

* 4 cups chicken stock

* 4 ounces pineapple, rough chopped

* 4 ounces papaya, rough chopped

* 4 ounces mango, rough chopped

* 1 tablespoon shredded coconut

* 2 habanero peppers, seeded

* salt and pepper to taste

* white sugar to taste

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. In a food processor or blender, pulse together macadamia nuts and breadcrumbs until finely ground. Pour nut mixture onto a plate, and coat fish fillets on both sides.

3. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry fillets on both sides until nuts are golden brown. Remove to a baking pan.

4. Add shallots to skillet, and cook until translucent. Stir in chicken stock. Mix in pineapple, papaya, mango, coconut, and habanero peppers. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Simmer until sauce is thick, about 30 minutes. Strain to remove peppers, fruit, and shallots. Reserve sauce in a pan over low heat.

5. Bake mahi mahi in preheated oven about 10 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F. Remove fish, and lightly coat with sauce.

If you are looking for more recipes for any kind of fish like, Mahi Mahi, Sea Bass, Catfish, Tilapia, Swordfish, Redfish and many more..please take a look at Baked Fish Recipes. You can also take a look at the following blog, Fried Fish Recipes and Grilled Fish Recipes.

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Spicy Pork and Pinto Bean Burritos

If you love burritos but know you shouldn't have all that fat, here is a tasty burrito recipe for you. We trade-in the fatty ground beef for lean pork and replace the refried beans, which are usually cooked in lard, with good-for-you pinto beans. We also use brown rice, rather than white. If you think our Spicy Pork and Pinto Bean Burritos might be too spicy for you, omit the jalapeno pepper.

SPICY PORK AND BEAN BURRITOS

1 jalapeno pepper

1 tsp cumin, divided

1 tsp salt, divided

2 boneless pork chops

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onions

1 carrot, chopped

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1/8 tsp cinnamon

a pinch of ground red pepper

1 cup chopped canned tomatoes

1 1/4 cups low-fat chicken broth

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 pkg (20-oz size) burrito-size flour tortillas

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup shredded lettuce

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

Lime wedges

Salsa

Heat broiler; line a small baking sheet with foil. Broil the jalapeno pepper 2-inches from the heat for about 8 minutes until skin is charred on all sides. Be sure to turn the pepper to char both sides. Wrap foil around the pepper and let stand until cool enough to handle, probably about 10 minutes. Remove the stem, skin and seeds from the pepper. Chop the pepper. NOTE: It is a good idea to wear gloves when handling jalapeno peppers. Do not touch face or eyes with hands while handling these peppers.

Rub half the cumin and half the salt on both sides of the pork chops. Heat a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil. Brown the pork chops in the oil for about 2 minutes per side. Remove chops from Dutch oven and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the meat into 1/2-inch pieces, discarding any fat, and place pieces in a bowl. Set aside.

Reduce the heat of the Dutch oven to medium and add the jalapeno, celery, onions, carrot, garlic, cinnamon, red pepper and the remaining salt and cumin. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes or until the onion softens. Add canned tomatoes and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Stir in the chicken broth, pinto beans, and cut-up pork. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the bean mixture without any pork to a food processor or blender and puree (return any pieces of pork to the pan). Return pureed bean mixture to saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, just until heated through; be careful not to burn.

Microwave or steam tortillas according to package directions. Spoon 1/4 cup of the rice down the center of one tortilla. Spoon 1/2 cup of bean mixture on top of rice; sprinkle with a tablespoon of cheese. Arrange 1/8 cup of lettuce and 2 tablespoons fresh tomato on top of cheese; fold in sides and one end of tortilla and roll up. Place burrito seam side down on a cookie sheet. Cover loosely with foil and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining tortillas same as above. Serve with lime wedges and salsa, if desired.

Yield: 8 burritos.

Enjoy!

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