Vermouth-Braised Lamb for Joann

Name: Vermouth-Braised Lamb for Joann
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Photo: Joann Pai

March 22, 2024

Vermouth enhances the aromas of this take on a classic French dish.

Expat food-and-drink writer Rebekah Peppler has long made her home in Paris. But her newest book, Le Sud, ventures through the south of France for plenty of seaside sipping and herb-forward cooking. Peppler’s take on the classic French dish gigot d’agneau (roast leg of lamb) is affectionately named for her longtime photographer Joann Pai, who was promised “a really good lamb recipe” long before the book was even written. “L’agneau always belongs at the southern French table, and Sisteron lamb in particular—that is PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) designated and grazes on the lush wild grasses and herbs of Haute Provence—is especially and rightfully famed,” writes Peppler.

The lamb is stuffed with garlic and cooked with handfuls of fresh herbs, but Peppler ups the aromatic quality even further by using, as she describes, “not a small amount of vermouth” for the slow oven braise. Pour any extra into your glass for a leisurely aperitif as the aromas transport you to le sud.

Ingredients

Yield:6

1 bone-in leg of lamb (4 to 5 pounds/1.8 to 2.3 kg), trimmed
5 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup [60 ml] extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds [910 g] new potatoes, cleaned and halved
8 oz. [230 g] shallots (8 to 10), peeled and halved
2 Tbsp. grainy mustard
2 cups [480 ml] dry vermouth, dry white wine, or fino sherry
8 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh tarragon, if desired
2 bay leaves

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300°F [150°C] and pat the lamb dry with paper towels.

Use a sharp paring knife to cut slits all over the lamb, each about 1 1/2 inches [4 cm] deep. Use your finger to press a slice of garlic into each incision (you should use about 2 of the garlic cloves). Season the lamb generously with salt and pepper.

Add the oil to a large Dutch oven or heavy ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the lamb and sear until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and transfer the lamb to a large plate; set aside.

Add the potatoes to the pot, as many cut-sides down as possible, and season with salt and pepper. Return to heat and cook, without stirring, until the potatoes are golden on the cut sides, about 10 minutes. Add the shallots and stir together, cooking for 5 minutes more. Stir in the remaining garlic, the mustard, vermouth, thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs, tarragon (if using), and bay leaves, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Return the lamb leg to the Dutch oven, cover, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, then remove the lid and continue to cook, using a spoon to baste the lamb with the pan juices occasionally, until the lamb is golden on top and the meat is very tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours more. Remove from the oven, cover, and set aside to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

NoteOne of Richard Olney’s many very excellent recipes calls for cooks to toss the garlic slices in a mixture of finely chopped herbs before inserting them into cuts of meat. He wrote that into a recipe for daube, but doing that here is awesome too, if a bit more time intensive. Joann has had and loved this recipe both ways, so take it or leave it as you please.