Cutting the rack: breaded, cheesy lamb chops

Ragazzi, Annalena has been rather busy in her kitchen this past week, and is a veritable storehouse of good recipes for you, starting with this one. It appeared in the New York Times under the aegis of one of Annalena's favorites, David Tanis.

People have very mixed feelings about lamb. First, there is the cuteness factor, and as Annalena is learning, there are many people who will not eat anything which they consider "cute" when it is alive.
Now, "cute" is a relative term. Yes, Annalena thinks lambs are cute. She also things cows are cute. Many people who will not eat lamb because lambs are cute, have no problem with beef. This is an issue with no answer; however, Annalena suggests that anyone who thinks a particular animal is "cute," should work with it in a setting where, for example, you are mucking out its bed, cleaning its cage, or in some other way, dealing with the unpleasant side of things. Speaking of the "unpleasant side," if you have ever wondered why lambs, and sheep, etc, have their tails lopped (cut), let it simply be said that they are not the cleanest of animals. Does Annalena have to say more?

The mixed feelings come about also because the quality and taste of lamb can vary tremendously. Annalena thinks that there is more variation in the taste of lamb, than any other meat. While she has never tasted the lamb of Carmargue, in France, some say that the diet of the animals, which involves the herbs and plants which grow in very salty terrain, create an animal that need not have herbs or salt added to the meat. Perhaps this is true. Older lambs, which begin to approach mutton, can have a gamy flavor. Some like it, and some do not. Lamb which is fed grass has a flavor all its own, which is rather delicate and delicious. It is really a difficult thing to predict; however, Annalena remembers feeding lamb to the Guyman, and watching a scene somewhat out of "Lord of the Flies," (go and watch the film, ragazzi), and him declaring it his favorite meat. And so it goes.

With this recipe, there is the issue, perhaps a bit controversial, of breading meat, and also adding cheese to it. What can Annalena say? We bread cutlets of any type, and have no problem with it. Japanese cuisine has its breaded pork (tonkatsu), and of course, fried fish is ubiquitous (and often awful). Breading lamb? Not something one thinks about immediately.

Try it. It IS good. Cheese? Again, this is one where we can debate the point endlessly. Veal parmagiana(if you eat that which is cute), chicken parmagiana (if you do not find chickens cute), Philadelphia cheese steaks (again, often horrific), and so forth. Cheese and lamb? Again, doesn't immediately ring true. But try it.

Now, to the cut of meat . Rack of lamb scares people, and Annalena will admit that she finds it more difficult to cook than a simple chop. Ultimately, however, a rack of lamb is simply eight chops or so, from the side of the animal. It is frequently more expensive than simply buying chops, but not always. Also, the rack is usually from a smaller animal (yes, she knows.... more cuteness), so the meat will be softer and more juicy, so really, it is up to you. If you choose to do this recipe with a rack of lamb, you will need a sharp knife to separate the chops one from the other. It is absurdly easy to do. It will take you five minutes, but please focus, and work on a solid, dry surface to avoid injuring yourself.

If you choose to use chops, then get eight rib chops, on the small side. Eight small chops will feed, at best, three people (so perhaps you should get nine...). You will have enough of the other materials to make nine chops.

You then put, in a bowl, a half cup of bread crumbs. Panko will work well, but not as well as basic bread crumbs. If you are a "do it yourselfer," you can make them, but you will want to dry them out: dry bread crumbs, not fresh ones. Add a half cup of grated parmesan cheese to this. If you wish to continue the theme of lamb, you could use pecorino, which is a sheeps cheese, but it is strong and may overpower the taste of the lamb. Then add either half a teaspoon of ground fennel seeds or, if you have one of the miracle ingredients of the world, half a teaspoon of fennel powder (one of Annalena's favortest things, if you are thinking ahead to Christmas. HINT...). Chope up a healthy tablespoon of rosemary (ALWAYS good with lamb), and that's one bowl.

Break two eggs into another, and scramble them with a fork. And, finally, get half a cup of flour, and add half a teaspoon of salt, and some pepper, cayenne also if you want a bit of bite.

Get a frying pan ready. "Ready" here means pouring in enough olive oil, to bring it to a level of about a quarter inch. Start heating it at medium heat, while you prep your chops.

Organize your work area, because you are going to dip the chops in flour, and shake off the excess, then into the egg, and finally, into the breadcrumbs to coat them. Some folks say that you should use one hand for the flour and eggs, and the other for the bread crumbs, to keep the crumbs from adhering to your wet hand. Annalena tries to do this, and always fails. If they accumulate on your fingers, wash them off, dry them, and continue.

By the time your eight or nine chops are ready, the oil should be hot enough. Test by putting the tail end (the bone end) of a chop into the oil. That is, stand it up vertically. Do bubbles sizzle around the end? If so, the oil is ready. Put as many chops in as you can, without crowding. If you like rare lamb, you will want about 3 minutes on one side, and two on the other. REGULATE YOUR HEAT, because the coating can burn before the meat is cooked. If you like very browned breaded products, you need not worry. If you don't, you have to watch. And if you like medium rare lamb, go for 3 and 3 minutes. If you are going beyond medium rare, do something else. Don't make this.

Drain the chops as they come out, on some paper, and ... you are done.

Annalena finds the fennel flavor in this dish to work admirably with the cheese, and the overall product to be extremely satisfying. While she can normally put away four of these chops without any problem, breaded as such, three is more than plenty. So, think about your appetites, and plan accordingly.

Coming up , ragazzi, is a recipe that some of you may want to avoid: pigeon. And, Annalena goes south of the border and makes a favorite dish: chilaquiles. Stay tuned.