Traditional Lancashire Hotpot Lamb Hotpot Food

TRADITIONAL LANCASHIRE HOT POT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 170C/325F
• Melt the butter and vegetable oil in a medium sized casserole or sauce pan and fry the lamb pan until lightly browned all over (about 3-4 minutes). Spoon the lamb into a bowl, then add the onions to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft.
• Add the lamb back in, then stir in the flour, cooking for a minute. Add in the stock, bay leaves, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Give everything a stir, bring to a gently bubble. Then place a lid on it and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, stir in the carrots. At this point, you can transfer the contents of the pan to a casserole or pie dish if you wish (I moved mine to a 25cm diameter pie dish). Top with the sliced potatoes. Start from the outside, and layer the potatoes, moving towards the centre.
• Brush the top of the potatoes with the melted butter and sprinkle on the dried thyme. Cover with a lid or foil and place back in the oven for 1 hour.
• After an hour, turn the oven up to 200c/400f and remove the lid. Cook for a further 30 minutes until the potatoes are browned and crisp on top.
• Take out of the oven, and leave to rest for 5 minutes or so (it will be very hot), then serve with some green veg.

TRADITIONAL LANCASHIRE HOTPOT (LAMB HOTPOT)

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 175°C/350°F
• Peel and slice the potatoes and onions
• Place a layer of potatoes in a casserole dish and top with half the onions and add the carrots. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Trim most of the visible fat from the lamb and discard.
• Heat the oil in a separate pan and fry the pieces of lamb until they are nicely browned on all sides.
• Arrange the browned lamb over the vegetables and cover with the remaining onions. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Dissolve the stock cubes in boiling water.
• Add the worcestershire sauce and the tomato paste to the stock and mix.
• Mix the flour to a paste with a little cold water and mix into the stock.
• Pour the stock over the meat until it just covers the ingredients.
• Arrange a layer of potatoes on top of the meat, overlapping them slightly like fish-scales. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
• Cover the casserole dish with a lid and place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 90 minutes.
• Remove the dish from the oven and test the meat for doneness. If the meat is still a bit tough, cover and return to the oven for another few minutes until the meat is done.
• Remove the lid from the casserole dish and replace in the oven. Leave for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes start to crisp and turn golden brown.

TRADITIONAL LANCASHIRE HOTPOT

Steps:

• First trim the lamb of any excess fat and wipe with kitchen paper. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and ¼ oz (5 g) butter until it is very hot, then brown the pieces of lamb two or three at a time until they all have a good brown crust. As they cook, remove them to a wide casserole. Brown the pieces of kidney too, and tuck these in among the meat. Next, fry the onions - add ¼ oz (5 g) butter to the pan if you need any extra fat - cooking them for about 10 minutes till they turn brown at the edges. Now stir in the flour to soak up the juices, then gradually add the hot water and Worcestershire sauce, stirring or whisking until flour and liquid are smoothly blended. Season with salt and pepper and bring it up to simmering point, then pour it over the meat in the casserole. Add the bay leaf and thyme, then arrange the potato slices on top, in an overlapping pattern like slates on a roof. Season the potatoes and add a few flecks of butter here and there. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook near the top of the oven for 1½ hours, then remove the lid and cook for a further 50 minutes.I sometimes finish off the hotpot under the grill. If you brush the potatoes with a little more butter and place the casserole under a hot grill they crisp up and brown beautifully. Alternatively, if you think they're not browning enough during cooking, you can turn the heat in the oven right up during the last 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs before serving.

LAMB CHOP LANCASHIRE HOT POT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160°C.
• Peel the potatoes and cut into medium/thin discs.
• Chop the onions any way you like.
• In a large ovenproof casserole dish, layer half the potatoes on the bottom, season with salt and plenty of pepper.
• Now layer half the onions and all of the mushrooms and season again.
• In a frying pan melt the butter over a high heat and once sizzling add the lamb chops to quickly brown on both sides then add them to the casserole.
• Season again with the salt and plenty of pepper and put the chopped kidney's if using along with the rest of the onions over the chops, season, and finally a last thick layer with the rest of the potatoes. Season again.
• Pour over the stock, you only want enough to come just below the last layer of potatoes.
• Cover with a lid or use foil and bake for around 2 hours.
• Remove the lid and return to the oven until the top is browned, around another half hour making sure there is just enough liquid so that the Hot pot does not completely dry out but being careful not to water log.
• MMMMM! Meltingly tender!