Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Slow-Cooker Braised Lamb Steaks

Tonight's dinner is  brought to you by "things in the refrigerator that were not fuzzy."

Okay, maybe that's extreme, but dinner was all about what I had on hand. From the vegetable crisper, I grabbed the last of the carrots from the last farmer's market of the season. From the freezer came some lamb shoulder chops. Onions are always around.

And then I did some accessorizing.

As is so common lately my method of cooking was the slow cooker. It's so nice to be able to throw everything into the slow cooker before I go to the hospital, and have a hot meal ready when I come home at night.

I love the Greek seasoning from Penzey's - I usually use it in salad dressings, but it's great for cooking, too. The mix includes salt, so I didn't add any more.

If you don't have a Greek seasoning mix that you like, you can add your choice of herbs and spices. Rosemary, oregano, and marjoram are my favorites for lamb. And, of course, add salt as well.

I didn't measure the carrots, but I'm guessing I used about 1/2 pound.

I used water for this, but wine or broth would be great.

If the cut of meat you see here isn't quite what you've seen at the store, don't worry about it. I buy whole lambs from local farmers, so some of the cuts I get aren't quite the same as what's sold by your local grocer.

Slow-Cooker Braised Lamb Steaks

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 lamb shoulder chops
1 tablespoon Greek seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon juice
12 dried apricots
4 Greek pepperoncini
1 onion, large dice
Carrots (about 1/2 pound or as desired), peeled and cut in chunks
Water, as needed

Heat the oil in the bottom of a slow cooker that has a browning function and brown the lamb shoulder on both sides (or perform this step in a separate pan, or skip this step).

Add the seasoning, lemon juice, apricots, pepperoncini, onion, and carrots.

Add just enough water to come about 3/4 up the sides of the chops. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 3 hours, or until the chops are tender and the carrots are cooked through.

You can reduce or thicken the sauce, if you like.

Serve hot.

I served this with mashed potatoes.

    
Yum