Barbecued lamb breast with malt vinegar sauce

Name: Barbecued lamb breast with malt vinegar sauce
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 lamb breast, weighing approximately 1.3kg; 1 tbsp of ground white pepper; 1/2 tbsp of onion powder; 1/2 tbsp of garlic powder; 1 tbsp of brown sugar; 1 tbsp of flaky sea salt; 1 tbsp of mustard powder; 8 bay leaves, crushed in a pestle and mortar into flakes; 200ml of malt vinegar; 2 tbsp of caster sugar; 2 tbsp of mint, leaves picked and finely chopped; 2 tbsp of tarragon, leaves picked and finely chopped; 4 tbsp of mayonnaise; 6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

by Helen Graves

Item 1 of 1

Main
medium
4
20 minutes

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Helen Graves' barbecued lamb breast recipe sees the meat covered in an aromatic spice rub and cooked low and slow over hot coals, though if the weather isn't playing ball feel free to slow-cook in the oven. The ribs are served with a malt vinegar sauce, based on the famous recipe from Alabama, but with a smattering of fresh herbs.

First published in 2017

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This is a riff on southern American barbecue but I’ve given it a British twist. The rub is made with white pepper, mustard powder and bay leaves and the sauce is based on an Alabama vinegar sauce. I love it because you can really taste the malt vinegar. It’s a thin sauce, which you can either pour onto the ribs or (my preference) use for dipping.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Lamb breast

1 lamb breast, weighing approximately 1.3kg

Spice rub

1 tbsp of ground white pepper
1/2 tbsp of onion powder
1/2 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp of flaky sea salt
1 tbsp of mustard powder
8 bay leaves, crushed in a pestle and mortar into flakes

Malt vinegar sauce

200ml of malt vinegar
2 tbsp of caster sugar
2 tbsp of mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
2 tbsp of tarragon, leaves picked and finely chopped
4 tbsp of mayonnaise
6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

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Equipment

Barbecue with a lid

Method

These ribs are best slow cooked on a barbecue but of course can still be slow cooked in an oven at 160°C/gas mark 3 for 2.5–3 hours. If cooking on a barbecue, set up a kettle barbecue for indirect cooking

Blend all the rub ingredients together and rub all over the lamb

1 tbsp of ground white pepper
1/2 tbsp of onion powder
1/2 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp of mustard powder
8 bay leaves, crushed in a pestle and mortar into flakes
1 tbsp of flaky sea salt
1 lamb breast, weighing approximately 1.3kg

Place the lamb belly, skin-side down, on the opposite side of grill to the coals and pop the lid on. Set the air flow to 1/4 open at the base and leave a small crack (2mm) in the vent holes on the lid

Cook for 3 hours, the heat will initially be around 200°C but will drop through the cooking and settle at about 120°C for the bulk of the cooking. You should turn the belly every 45 minutes

To make the dipping sauce, add the sugar and finely chopped herbs to the vinegar and give it a good stir until the sugar has dissolved

200ml of malt vinegar
2 tbsp of caster sugar
2 tbsp of mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
2 tbsp of tarragon, leaves picked and finely chopped

Add the mayo and whisk until it's incorporated. Add the Worcestershire sauce and give it a final whisk

4 tbsp of mayonnaise
6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Once the ribs are cooked, remove from the barbecue, allow to cool a little and chop them roughly. Pour over about 1/2 of the sauce, if you like, retaining the other half for dipping

First published in 2017

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Helen Graves

Helen Graves is Head of Content at Great British Chefs. She's also the author of the cookbook LIVE FIRE: Seasonal Barbecue Recipes and Stories of Live Fire Traditions, Old and New, and the editor of Pit, an independent magazine with roots in live fire cooking.

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