This recipe is adapted from Mark Miller's cookbook "Coyote Cafe", page 107.
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 24, 1989)
What you need to know before you start:
This is a joint of meat baked in a clay shell for a long time. To serve, you break the clay shell at the table. It's a party kind of thing to do.
Working the clay requires patience and muscles. Got kids? Great way to work off some energy.
You should work the clay on some protective covering, like parchment paper, to ease cleanup
The choice of meat is optional: Pork, lamb, goat are all great choices.
Well marbled is important, because this will go low and slow.
You can do this inside or outside, but it's a great dish to do on the barbie or in an imu.
Ingredients:
Method:
Publisher: Ten Speed Press (March 24, 1989)
What you need to know before you start:
This is a joint of meat baked in a clay shell for a long time. To serve, you break the clay shell at the table. It's a party kind of thing to do.
Working the clay requires patience and muscles. Got kids? Great way to work off some energy.
You should work the clay on some protective covering, like parchment paper, to ease cleanup
The choice of meat is optional: Pork, lamb, goat are all great choices.
Well marbled is important, because this will go low and slow.
You can do this inside or outside, but it's a great dish to do on the barbie or in an imu.
Ingredients:
- 10 pounds of baking clay
- 1 joint of meat, 4-5 pounds.
- 5 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 white onions, julienned
- 24 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 10 bunches of mint, washed and trimmed
Method:
- roll out clay into a large rectangle, large enough to cover your joint.
clay should be about 1/2 inch thick
let that sit while you prepare the rest of the stuff - IFF you are cooking outside, start a large bed of coals
- heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet
- when that oil is very hot (smoking), sear the joint of meat on all sides
note: you will want to reduce the heat to prevent flash point fire -- do this when you see smoke - set the joint aside and allow to cool
- saute the onions in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until tender
- make slits along the joint, against the grain of the meat and down to the bone
there should be about 6 of these, which should be about 2 inches long - stuff the slits with the onion and garlic
- salt and pepper the joint
- IFF you are cooking inside, preheat the oven to 225 F
- on a large piece of foil, big enough to mirror the size of your clay, place about half of the mint
- put the joint on top of the mint
- cover with the remaining mint
- seal the foil around the joint securely
- wrap the whole thing in the clay, making sure to crimp the edges together
- optional but fun: etch patterns in the clay
- Inside directions: place on a parchment-covered sheet pan and roast for 4 to 5 hours
- Outside directions: nestle the clay into the coals and cook for 4 to 5 hours, replenishing the coals as necessary
- rest for at least 30 minutes before cracking open
