by Dave Dewitt
Skim off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan juices, and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the roasting pan. Transfer this to a saucepan, gradually adding the flour only until a thick and medium-brown roux is formed, whisking over medium heat.
Add the broth, wine, Worcestershire sauce, and ground chiles; whisk well, and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat and cook over medium heat until sauce reaches desired consistency.
Serve the sauce over the sliced lamb and potatoes.
CURED AND PECAN-SMOKED KING SALMON
WITH TWO CLASSIC SAUCES
serves 10 or more
heat scale pungent
Thanks to Mark Preston for the cure recipe, which he researched in out-of-print manuals for curing seafood and meats. The key to preparing salmon this way is to make certain that your smoke is rather cool, about 100 degrees F. If it is warmer, decrease the smoking time. Incidentally, this recipe was most recently tested by using salmon caught in Monterey Bay by David Humphrey. Note that this recipe requires a lot of preparation time for appetizers, but most of that time is spent waiting rather than working. It’s not traditional, but feel free to add hot-chile powder to the sauce recipes to heat them up.
ENGLISH HORSERADISH SAUCE yield 3/4 cup
1
teaspoon dry hot mustard
¼
teaspoon sugar
¼
teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1
tablespoon white-wine vinegar
½
teaspoon lemon juice
½
cup plus 1 tablespoon sour cream
2
tablespoons cold heavy cream
2
tablespoons grated horseradish
To make the English Horseradish Sauce, in a small bowl combine the mustard, sugar, salt, a sprinkling of black pepper, the vinegar, and the lemon juice to make a smooth paste.
Whip the cream in a cold bowl until peaks form. Add the whipped cream and horseradish to the mustard paste, stirring the mixture to blend it. Refrigerate before serving.
CLASSIC BRITISH MUSTARD SAUCE yield about 1 ¼ cups
1
tablespoon unsalted butter
1
tablespoon flour
1 ¼
cups rich beef stock
1
tablespoon grated horseradish
1
tablespoon hot English mustard, coarse or smooth (or more to taste)
½
teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
To make the Classic British Mustard Sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, add the flour, and stir to make a roux. Cook the roux for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the beef stock. Add the horseradish sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste.
Return the pan to the stove and heat to boiling, stirring constantly, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Serve immediately.
THE SALMON AND THE CURE
2
large salmon fillets, about 2 to 5 pounds each, or 5 small but thicker fillets
2 ½
cups kosher salt
¾
cup brown sugar
1
tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1
teaspoon powdered oregano
1
teaspoon crushed dillweed (not seeds)
To make the salmon, combine the ingredients for the cure in a bowl and mix well. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on an aluminum baking sheet. Spread about an ⅛-inch-thick layer of the cure blend onto the plastic, and place the salmon fillets on the cure mixture. Top the fillets with 1/8 inch of cure. Cover the fillets with plastic wrap and cure in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours; a 4-hour cure is preferable.
Remove the fillets from the wrap and rinse the cure off each fillet. Allow the fillets to air-dry for about 2 hours.
Prepare a fire in the smoker’s fire box with pecan wood, or other fruit or nut hardwood of choice, such as apple, apricot, peach, or walnut. When the fire stabilizes and the smoke is no longer hot, place the fillets skin-side down on racks or on the aluminum baking sheet. Smoke the fillets for 4 to 5 hours, depending on their thickness. Regularly check the fire and fillets to make sure that the fish is smoking, not cooking.
Serve with crackers and the two sauces as an appetizer. Refrigerate any leftovers, which will keep for weeks.
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