Cooking lamb in Greece

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hereandtherenz
hereandtherenz

I have (foolishly) promised to cook for my hosts in Athens. Even more foolishly I have said that I will cook lamb in a way that will make my Italian/Greek friend change her opinion of lamb (she is not a fan). Here at home I would take some briefly marinated (usually olive oil and mint but sometimes I get a bit more adventurous) lamb loins and pan fry them for a couple of minutes each side, leave to rest and then serve.

We are a little spoilt with good quality lamb here. Will I be able to find good quality lamb in Greek supermarkets? Or should I try and find a butcher? Any suggestions for different marinades?

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battybilly
battybilly

Hey hey.

Sounds just wonderful.
The Greeks and Albanians do cook the very finest lamb. It's available widely.
The tastiest (by far ! !) I ate, was cooked on an outside spit.
Any chance you could rig one up? It's ever so easy - and the meat is just divine.
Best of luck with everything.

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sashac001
sashac001

My husband who doesn't like lamb loves kefta. It's ground lamb mixed with herbs and spices - we use cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, cilantro, ginger powder and tumeric. Form into thin patties and grill. Also grill tomato wedges and sliced onions (we use a grilling basket) and serve on warmed pita.

I also make a lamb kabob - above spices (not the cilantro) rubbed on skewered lamb chunks with onion and mushroom chunks in between the meat served with rice or couscous.

Neither of these maintain a lot of the lamb taste but if you want to convince your friends that lamb can be good it's probably a good idea to alter the taste a bit. Then the next time you serve lamb you can let the flavor of the meat through a bit more.

Just a thought.

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hereandtherenz
hereandtherenz

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I can stop panicking. Well, not really, but stop panicking so much anyway.

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battybilly
battybilly

Have you done it yet?

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hereandtherenz
hereandtherenz

Next week. I will provide a full report bsck. In triplicate.

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battybilly
battybilly

Looking forward to seeing that.

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vinnyd
vinnyd

Does the age/quality of Greek lamb depend on season?

My kofte has onions, garlic, mint, parsley, pine nuts, currants, and cinnamon.

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battybilly
battybilly

Does the age/quality of Greek lamb depend on season

No, not at all. It tastes just the same in spring as it does in winter.

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hereandtherenz
hereandtherenz

I am a dreadful failure. I was so jet lagged we decided it was a very bad idea for me to cook. I have enjoyed greek lamb however, especially souvlaki and a very nice pork and lamb dish. It seems to be cooked for a lot longer in Greece than we would at home, but a nice helping of Tzatiki (I know, I've spelt that wrong) overcomes any dryness.

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