OBQ - Lamb Osso Bucco Barbeque Sandwich

Here's the inspiration...the Lamb Osso Bucco open-faced sandwich we ate at Ansill Friday night.
To me it reminded me of an upscale lamb barbeque with a twist. Since tiny is chic, we wanted to do these as mini-sandwiches or sliders.

The dish needs three components, the meat, the gremolata topping and the brioche bun.

"osso bucco"
1 lb. Lamb Shoulder
1/2 medium onion sliced
1 garlic clove

gremolata
1 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup almonds, roasted
1 organic lemon

4 mini-brioche buns



I threw the lamb shoulders in a hot pan to put a sear on them, turning after a few minutes. Then turned the heat down, added the onions and garlic to get some carmelization going, maybe another 4 or 5 minutes. Finally, I added enough water to nearly cover the shoulders, got it going to a full boil, then covered and simmered for 30 minutes. Add a little salt to season.

Once teh meat was cooked, you pull the meat from the bone to create a pulled BBQ consistency. (Next time, I"ll use a shank to get longer pieces of meat)



I strained the braising sauce, skimmed off the fat and reduced it down to a gravy-like consistency. I stirred that back in to flavor the pulled lamb



To make the gremolata "slaw" of the OBQ sandwich, chop parsley and add some organic lemon peel; make sure it's organic, that way you don't get any nasty pesticides on your peel. Finely chop the almonds and combine everything together with a pinch of Kosher salt.


We bought these mini-brioche buns at Di Bruno Bros. , perfect for OBQ sliders. I hollowed out the top of the bun to make room for the pile of meat & slaw.


Simply top the bun with a generous portion of each and you're ready to dig in! Next time, I'll probably leave a little more stock sauce to drizzle like a gravy over the meat, but the lamb is moist enough and won't dry out. The parsley & lemon give the meat a clean flavor and the crunch of the almond in the gremolata is a nutty balance to the lamb...plus it reminds me of those charred little chunks you get in North Carolina pit BBQ.


C & E