For many passionate fans, this is as good as braaing gets. It’s also one of the cuts of meat that is absolutely, without a doubt, best prepared on the braai. Braaing lamb rib is exactly the opposite of braaing steak. With lamb rib, you need gentle heat and it’s a slow process. Due to the layers of fat that are naturally present inside the rib, there is little danger of it drying out. The risk is going too fast and burning the outside before it’s ready. Ask your butcher to prepare the required number of lamb ribs for you to braai. They will need to trim away the loose flap, fat and sinews. They might also cut strategically through some of the bones to make it easier to eat and will possibly cut a crosshatch pattern into the fat or skin side of the rib so that you get nice little blocks of crackling on that side once it has been braaied.
Ingredients
- 1 lamb rib
- 1 lemon (juice)
- coarse sea salt
- 1 tot Worcestershire sauce
- freshly ground black pepper
- brush made from rosemary twigs (or a kitchen brush)
Method
- Twenty minutes before you want to start braaing, squeeze some of the lemon juice onto both sides of the rib. Take care to remove any pips that fall onto the meat. Also grind sea salt onto it. If the salt does not stick, pat it onto the meat with your clean hand.
- Place the ribs on the braai grid and start to braai. You should braai these ribs for an absolute minimum of 1 hour, preferably 1½ hours. To accomplish this, you obviously need gentle heat, which means a very high grid and mild coals. Another popular option is to use a hinged grid and place it vertically next to the fire or coals where just enough heat will reach it to melt the fat and crisp the meat in your allocated 90 minutes. You can braai a rib in less time but it will be less tender.
- When you judge the meat to be almost (80%) ready, use a brush made from rosemary twigs to paint the Worcestershire sauce onto both sides of the meat. If you’re too lazy to make this brush, use your normal food brush.
- To check whether the ribs are done, grab the edge of one of the bones and tear the rib away from the rest. It should be relatively easy to pull it off.
- Remove the ribs from the fire and place on a cutting board or in a bowl. Cut them with either a knife or kitchen scissors. Serve with salt and pepper and eat them with your hands.
AND …Instead of using Worcestershire sauce, try sprinkling 1 tot of crushed coriander seeds on both sides of the ribs. If you don’t feel like braaing the rib for 90 minutes, bake it in your oven at 140°C for 90 minutes in a covered dish. Then braai it over the coals for 20minutes in the way you would braai chicken. Baste with the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce during this time, adding salt as required. Never pre-boil ribs in a pot of water as they will lose a lot of their natural juices and flavour to the water.
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