Lamb Neck Tartare
Lumina Lamb Neck, Daikon, Mushroom Emulsion, Fermented Peppers, Pickled Ramps, Sunchoke Chips
Chef Neil Zabriskie of Regards | Portland, ME
Adapted by StarChefs | August 2023
INGREDIENTS
Fermented Pepper Powder:
Cherry peppers, cleaned and quartered
Salt
Lamb Neck Tartare:
Lumina lamb neck
Salt
Sugar
Kombu, hydrated
Razor Clams:
Razor clams, shucked, bellies reserved
Pickled Ramp Bulbs:
200 grams ramp bulbs, cleaned
600 milliliters white vinegar
50 grams sugar
3 grams salt
Sunchoke Chips:
Neutral oil
Sunchokes, cleaned, peeled, and thinly sliced
Salt
Mushroom Emulsion:
50 grams butter
50 grams shallots
10 grams garlic
225 grams maitake mushrooms, cleaned and pulled
100 pieces matsutake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 morita chile, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
20 milliliters rice vinegar
2 grams ground black pepper
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
72 grams crème fraîche
3 grams salt
240 milliliters neutral oil
Pepper Seasoning:
Coarsely ground pink peppercorns
Coarsely ground coriander seeds
Coarsely ground black peppercorns
To Assemble and Serve:
Yield: 1 serving
Brunoise daikon
Picual oil
METHOD
For the Fermented Pepper Powder:
In a large nonreactive container, combine peppers and equal parts water. Weigh and stir in two percent salt by weight of peppers and water. Cover and let sit 7 days at 65°F. Once fermented, heat dehydrator to 65°F. Strain peppers, seed, and transfer to a sheet tray. Reserve fermenting liquid. Dehydrate until completely dried out. Transfer to a coffee grinder and grind until a fine powder is achieved. Strain and store in an airtight container.
For the Lamb Neck Tartare:
On a work surface, coat lamb with 2 parts salt and 1 part sugar. Wrap in kombu and let cure 1 hour and 20 minutes. Once cured, rinse and dry thoroughly. Tightly wrap lamb in plastic wrap and freeze overnight. The next day, remove neck from freezer. Using a blow torch, sear lamb quickly, being sure not to cook the meat. Wrap in plastic again and freeze 1 hour. Using a deli slicer, slice lamb lengthwise so that slices are thick enough to be brunoise. One a work surface, brunoise lamb. Set aside.
For the Razor Clams:
Wrap clams tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze overnight. The next day, place clams on a metal plate. Using a blow torch, sear clams until charred on the outside, but frozen on the inside. Rewrap clams in plastic wrap and freeze 1 hour. Remove from freezer and thinly slice clams horizontally. Set aside.
For the Pickled Ramp Bulbs:
Cover ramp bulbs with 2 parts salt and 1 part sugar. Let cure 20 minutes. Rinse ramp bulbs and transfer to a nonreactive container. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring vinegar, sugar, salt, and 540 milliliters water to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and stir until sugar and salt have dissolved. Once temperature reaches 100°F, pour pickling liquid over the bulbs. Let cool, then thinly slice and reserve.
For the Sunchoke Chips:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high flame, heat oil to 375°F. Fry sunchokes until golden and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined tray to dry. Salt lightly and set aside.
For the Mushroom Emulsion:
In a sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add shallot and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add maitake and sauté until golden. Add matsutake, morita, and bay leaf. Continue cooking until golden and crispy. Remove mushroom mixture from pan and transfer to a parchment lined half sheet tray. Let cool. In a Vitamix blender, add mushroom mixture, vinegar, black pepper, eggs, crème fraîche, 10 milliliters reserved fermented pepper liquid, and 70 milliliters water. Blend on high. Stream in oil and continue blending until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt. Set aside.
For the Pepper Seasoning:
In a mixing bowl, add equal parts pink peppercorns, coriander, and black peppercorns. Stir to combine. Transfer to an airtight container and set aside.
To Assemble and Serve:
In a cold mixing bowl, combine 63 grams Lamb Neck Tartare, 22 grams Razor Clams, 15 grams Pickled Ramp Bulbs, and daikon. Season with salt, picual oil, Fermented Pepper Powder, and Pepper Seasoning. Place a ring mold on a serving plate. Add Lamb Neck Tartare mixture to the mold. Using a squeeze bottle, pipe desired amount of Mushroom Emulsion into Lamb Neck Tartare. Garnish with Sunchoke Chips. Remove ring mold and serve.
