BBQ Pulled Lamb Burger
I always see the glorious burgers on Instagram and am so tempted to make my own burger buns. I know we have all these ready burger buns in the supermarkets but it's different when you make your own! And so I made the brioche buns the other day which my sis and mum couldn't resist but help themselves to one and ate it plain, all by itself. They were raving about the smell and the taste. As much as I'm a bread lover, I can't eat plain bread much. It's a wonder you know, how they could always eat bread/waffles and what-have-you plain. They appreciate the simple pleasures in life I guess. Anyway, I proudly consider that an achievement and they couldn't stop praising my buns (; I made these a few days earlier, cut them up and froze them for use during the weekends.
Always liked pulled pork burgers and so I decided to try my hands on pulled lamb burger instead! Made mine with the TheMeatClub's butterflied leg of lamb. I got a huge one, I think it was about 1.5kg, sufficient for 8 pax. Dry rubbed the lamb, let it seasoned for about 45 mins before sous vide-ing for about 12 hours.
As usual, my cooking recipes are always based on gut and whatever flavours I like. If I like something, I just add more of it. Taste your food at the different stages, and adjust accordingly. Cooking is suppose to be fun and not a chemistry examination. If you ever see me cooking in the kitchen, i rarely take measurements of anything. I just pour stuff, sprinkle stuff, add stuff, taste...and repeat.
PULLED BARBEQUE LAMB LEG BURGER WITH PURPLE SLAW
Makes 8 burgers
Prep time: 2 hrs
Marinate time: 1 hr ~ Overnight
Cook time: 3 hrs ~ 12 hrs
Dry rub
1/2 cup of paprika powder
3 tbsp chilli flakes
4 tbsp mixed dried herbs (or just any dried herbs you can find in your pantry)
2 tbsp garlic powder
Black pepper and salt
1. Season the lamb all over with the dry rub. Leave it in the fridge overnight or for at least 45 minutes.
I don't usually follow any specific measurements for my dry-rub, it's basically a mix of all my favourite herb and spices. I use a lot of paprika and chilli flakes, it may look scary but it's not spicy at all. I've got family members who can't take spiciness at all and they couldnt taste the heat. But if you're really afraid and can't take spicy, feel free to reduce the amount and substitute it with any other herbs you want. If you don't have any specific herbs that I suggested, just sub it or remove it. Purple Slaw
1/2 a purple cabbage
1 lime
Black pepper and salt
1. Wash, remove the hard centre of the purple cabbage. Thinly slice it and drizzled with the juice of one lime. Season with black pepper and salt, toss well. Leave it in the fridge.
Marinade
1 can of beer stout
1/2 a bottle of BBQ sauce
A splash of apple cider vinegar (optional)
Black pepper and salt
1/4 a bottle of BBQ sauce
For traditional oven method
1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Mix the can of beer, 1/2 bottle of BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and salt together in a bowl and pour into a baking tray (large enough to fit the lamb). Then, place the lamb in the baking tray. Don't pour the wet marinate over the lamb because you still want the dry rub to be intact on the lamb.
3. Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 3 hours or until tender.
4. Increase oven temperature to 180C. Remove foil and continue to bake for about 30 minutes or till brown.
5. Once tender and brown, remove from oven. If there's too much liquid in the tray from the meat and marinate, pour some into the bowl. You may need these to mix the liquid back in with the shredded lamb if it's too dry.
6. Shred the lamb and add in some liquid, if necessary. Then, pour in 1/4 a bottle of BBQ sauce and toss with more black pepper and salt. Sous vide method
1. Set sous vide machine at 75C.
2. Mix the can of beer, 1/2 bottle of BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and salt together in a bowl. Pour wet marinate into the ziplock bag, then add in the lamb.
3. Vacuum seal the bag and then place into the prepared sous vide bath. Cook it overnight (or at least 12 hours) at 75C.
4. Once cooked, remove lamb from the bag and keep the liquid in a bowl because you may need to mix the liquid back in with the shredded lamb if it's too dry.
5. Shred the lamb and add in some liquid, if necessary. Then, pour in 1/4 a bottle of BBQ sauce and toss with more black pepper and salt. Assembly 1. Prepare burger buns. Cut buns into two and toast them in the oven till warm and slightly crispy.
2. Optional to slather buns with butter.
3. Top buns with loads of shredded lamb, like a mountain-high amount of shredded lamb. Throw in the purple slaw, garnish with parsley and cover with the lid of the burger.
ENJOY!
