Gigot Bouilli à l’Anglaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-quart (7.5-liter) heavy stockpot or close-fitting oval Dutch oven
• •2-quart (1.9-liter) saucepan
• •Instant-read meat thermometer
• •Sturdy tongs and slotted spoon
• •Butcher’s twine
• •Sharp carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the joint

   Ask the butcher to shorten the protruding shank bone and remove only the thick, hard external fat. Leave a thin covering to protect the meat. If the half leg is loose or partly boned, tie it at 1½-inch (4 cm) intervals so it cooks as one even joint. Pat it dry, peel the vegetables, and push the whole clove firmly into the onion.

   The shortened bone is tidy but not essential. If the butcher has left it long, use a pot that accommodates it rather than attacking a lamb bone with household tools.
2. 2

   Begin à l’anglaise

   Put the water and salt into an 8-quart (7.5-liter) pot and bring them to a full boil. Lower the lamb carefully into the water with sturdy tongs, moving it away from you to prevent splashing. Add the carrots, clove-stuck onion, bouquet garni, and garlic. Let the water return just to the boil before adjusting the heat.

3. 3

   Poach at a tremble

   Immediately lower the heat until the surface barely trembles, with only an occasional lazy bubble, about 180 to 190°F (82 to 88°C). Cover the pot partially and cook gently, turning the lamb once if any part sits above the water. For a 3½-pound joint, begin checking after 26 minutes, following the book’s quarter-hour for each two pounds. Continue until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest meat without touching bone registers 145°F (63°C), usually 30 to 40 minutes. If the pot begins rolling hard, lower the heat at once. Ça se rattrape: even if the outer meat has tightened, a proper rest, thin carving, and generous sauce will keep the platter succulent.

4. 4

   Rest meat and roots

   Lift the lamb onto a warm platter and tent it loosely with foil for 15 minutes. Transfer the carrots and onion to a covered dish, discard the bouquet garni and garlic, and reserve at least 2 cups (480 ml) of the poaching liquor. The rest lets the meat settle so its juices stay in the slices rather than escaping across the board.

5. 5

   Make the caper sauce

   Melt 2 tablespoons (28 g) of the butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes without allowing it to color, making a roux blanc (white roux). Gradually whisk in 1½ cups (360 ml) of hot poaching liquor, then simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until the sauce reaches nappé, a light coating on the back of a spoon. Take the pan off the heat and monter au beurre, whisking in the remaining cold butter a few cubes at a time. Fold in the capers, lemon juice, and white pepper. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with reserved liquor; if butter floats at the surface, stop heating and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cool liquor. Ça se rattrape. Never boil the sauce once the finishing butter is in.

6. 6

   Carve and serve

   Remove any twine and carve the lamb across the grain into thin, generous slices. Arrange them on the warm platter with the carrots and softened onion around the edge. Spoon enough caper butter sauce over the meat to give it a gloss, then send the rest to the table in a warm sauceboat. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a shank-end half leg with the bone in. It preserves the entry’s character, fits a home pot, and gives four people a generous main course without leaving you to poach a brigade-sized joint.
• •Keep the source ratio of one-third ounce of salt for every quart of water. If your pot needs another quart to cover the lamb, add another 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 9.5 g) of fine salt with it. Weighing is the calmest answer because salt crystals vary enormously.
• •The thermometer supplements the book’s timing rather than replacing its method. Thickness, starting temperature, and the shape of the bone all change the clock; the barely trembling water must remain constant.
• •Real butter is the structure and flavor of the sauce. Add it cold and off the heat so the sauce stays glossy rather than greasy. We don’t apologize for butter.
• •The entry also allows turnip or celery purée made from vegetables cooked with the lamb. Potato or haricot bean purée should be prepared separately, as the book specifies, so starch does not cloud or thicken the poaching liquor.
• •Cool leftover poaching liquor promptly, remove the set fat, and keep it refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. It makes a fine foundation for barley soup or a root-vegetable potage.
• •A light, savory red such as Cabernet Franc or cru Beaujolais suits the mild lamb and sharp capers better than a heavily oaked bottle.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the butcher trim the joint and shorten the shank bone a day ahead. Tie it if necessary, cover it well, and refrigerate it until cooking.
• •The carrots, onion, garlic, and bouquet garni can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
• •This lamb is best poached near serving time. During its 15-minute rest, make the sauce. The roux and poaching-liquor base may wait briefly over very gentle heat, but whisk in the cold butter and capers only when the platter is ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)