I bought some lamb bones with a bit of meat attached at the supermarket. I was actually intending to buy beef bones to make a soup.
I'm intending to cook it in the slow cooker to make stock for soup.

What herbs and spices would be best to use please?

calista - 2019-03-30 11:41:00

Lamb stock made from raw bones is lovely, sweet and mild. I wouldn't drown it in herbs, maybe just a couple of fresh bay leaves and a few stalks of thyme. It will make a delicious soup with tomatoes, onion, kumara and leek or silverbeet, season with salt, lemon juice and a little butter or good quality extra virgin olive oil.

davidt4 - 2019-03-30 12:01:00

Yummy - Thanks David.

I don't have access to fresh bay leaves. Would a smaller amount of dried ones do?

Glad that my thyme is growing well enough to harvest.

calista - 2019-03-30 12:38:00

Dried bay leaves are okay, try to buy ones that are green and pliable, not all flaky and ancient. Use one or two to a litre of water.

davidt4 - 2019-03-30 16:59:00

Add chopped parsley to your soup once cooked, stir it through just before serving....nice.

rainrain1 - 2019-03-30 17:35:00

calista wrote:

I bought some lamb bones with a bit of meat attached at the supermarket. I was actually intending to buy beef bones to make a soup.
I'm intending to cook it in the slow cooker to make stock for soup.

What herbs and spices would be best to use please?

Whatever flavours you like.
Rosemary is common with lamb....but if you are just going to make stock, then the basic stock recipe is:

Bones
celery , roughly chopped
onions , roughly chopped
carrots , roughly chopped
bay leaves
fresh parsley
fresh thyme
peppercorns
cold water

I use stalks of celery and leftover tops etc of carrots and any ends of onions.

lythande1 - 2019-03-30 18:51:00

Why not just TASTE the lamb flavour?

smallwoods - 2019-03-31 10:09:00

smallwoods wrote:

Why not just TASTE the lamb flavour?

Boiled lamb water ?

rainrain1 - 2019-04-01 11:39:00

rainrain1 wrote:

Boiled lamb water ?

LOL, stick to your sandwiches.
To concentrate the flavour, you boil the water down.

Would rather taste mutton or hogget over lamb.

Edited by smallwoods at 1:17 pm, Mon 1 Apr

smallwoods - 2019-04-01 13:16:00

As it seems to be the season for cheaper lamb products, you might like to try this recipe (from New World) I got in the past couple of weeks, and scored some beautiful lamb shoulder chops on Saturday (at Pak'n'Save!), made it yesterday for dinner..... Gorge-us! And not much harder than opening a pack mix, but very nice flavour.

Lamb, Cashew Nut and Cardamom Curry

As the weather gets cooler, cosy up to hearty, flavoursome curries.
Ingredients
• 1 kilogram lamb shoulder chops
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 onions, sliced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cardamom pods
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup cream
Masala:
• 1/3 cup raw cashew nuts
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon each ground cumin, coriander, garam masala and turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 large vine tomatoes, roughly chopped
Garnish:
• 4 onions, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• knob of butter
• ½ cup roasted cashew nuts
Method
Masala: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a large casserole and cook the onions and salt for 8 minutes or until tender and golden. Add the masala paste and cook for a further 4 minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently.

Cut each lamb chop into 2 long pieces through the natural join and add to the pan, stirring to coat in the spice paste.
Lightly crush the cardamom pods to open them and add, along with the remaining ingredients. Season with sea salt, combine well, cover and cook over a very low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and taste for seasoning then cook for a further 20-25 minutes until the lamb is very tender and the sauce is reduced, stirring so it doesn’t catch on the base of the pan.
Garnish: Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan and cook the onions with a good pinch of salt until deep golden, stirring frequently, especially towards the end of cooking. Tip the onions onto paper towels to drain. Place in a bowl and combine with the cashew nuts.
To serve: Transfer the curry to a serving bowl and scatter with the topping and some fresh coriander.

You can adjust the spices up or down for heat, and use less onions for garnish. I also had no cream, so used the top of a can of coconut milk (freezing the rest).

autumnwinds - 2019-04-01 14:30:00

oh yum! Thanks AW
That's c & p'd.

samanya - 2019-04-01 15:03:00

smallwoods wrote:

LOL, stick to your sandwiches.
To concentrate the flavour, you boil the water down.

Would rather taste mutton or hogget over lamb.

We only eat lamb when one knocks itself dead, or some such thing, happens a bit at times, hogget mostly, and mutton. I wouldn't waste lamb boiling it for soup

rainrain1 - 2019-04-01 17:24:00

Thanks everyone. I have more options now.

calista - 2019-04-01 21:00:00