How is lamb cooked? It's delicious and rotten without any fishy smell

The key to making lamb meat soft and tender without any fishy smell lies in the selection of materials, pretreatment, and control of heat. There are mainly five core steps: soaking to remove blood, blanching to remove foam, pairing spices, simmering over low heat, and later seasoning.

1. Soak fresh lamb in clean water for at least 2 hours, and change the water 2-3 times during the process. It is recommended to cut the lamb leg meat or lamb chops into pieces and soak them. A small amount of white vinegar or cooking wine can be added to the water to help separate the bleeding. In winter, soaking in warm water can accelerate blood leakage, but the water temperature should not exceed 40 degrees to avoid protein denaturation.

2. Blanch to remove foam

Boil in cold water and skim off foam. When blanching, add ginger slices, scallions, and Sichuan peppercorns. After the lamb has changed color, remove it and rinse it with warm water to prevent the meat from contracting due to cold. Pork meat with bones needs to be blanched for an additional 10 minutes to completely remove any fishy substances from the bone marrow.

3. Spice pairing

Traditional spice bags contain isothermal spices such as grass fruit, white cardamom, and fennel, which match the flavor of lamb meat. Add 1 hawthorn or 2 pieces of tangerine peel to every 500 grams of lamb, as fruit acid can soften muscle fibers. Avoid using heavy spices such as star anise and cinnamon to avoid masking the freshness of lamb meat.

4. Slow stewing on low heat

The water volume should be completely free of food materials. Turn to low heat after boiling on high heat to keep Noodles in soup in a seemingly open state. The best way to stew in a clay pot is to choose the tendon mode for an electric pressure cooker. The lamb leg meat should be stewed for no less than 1.5 hours, and it will be soft and tender if it can be easily penetrated with chopsticks.

5. Post seasoning

Add salt 15 minutes before stewing is complete. Adding salt too early can cause the meat to become mushy. Pour a little Baijiu before cooking to increase flavor, and sprinkle white pepper to freshen up. When the soup color is cloudy, radish chunks can be added and stewed together, which can absorb the flavor and clarify the soup.

It is recommended to choose sheep meat aged 1-2 years, which has fine muscle fibers and uniform fat distribution. Maintain a constant water level during the stewing process and add hot water instead of cold water if necessary. Paired with root vegetables such as white radish and carrots, it can balance the greasy feeling. Finally, sprinkle chopped cilantro or garlic sprouts to add flavor layers. The remaining lamb soup can be filtered and frozen for storage as a base for the next stew.