Tender Smoked Lamb Fries Recipe
Lamb fries, or testicles, aren’t generally sold in many places. Just like kidneys and liver, they’ll have a more pronounced flavor than other, milder offal like tongue and hearts. If you’re brave, this tender smoked lamb fries recipe will change how you think about eating rocky mountain oysters completely. After years of making them, everyone loves them, and no one has ever guessed what they are.
There’s nothing wrong with cooking what you like, but roasted lamb chops, delicately carved saddles and tenderloins are only part of a whole creature, and in order to make more of the cuts everyone wants, it’s good to appreciate different parts. Most parts like liver, kidneys are hearts aren’t a hard sell for us (thank you!) but we do offer other parts too, other offal off the beaten path. Lamb fries, along with sweetbreads, are two good examples of different offal you might try and experiment with. Historically, too, organs were often prized more than other meats, due to the short shelf life, and high nutrient density.
Admittedly, chef was a little skeptical at first, having memories of strong-tasting wild boar testicles, but using a few tricks he uses with game meat, we can just about guarantee that these smoked lamb fries will fool even picky eaters into thinking they’re a kind of smoked ham, especially served on a cracker with salami, cheese, pickles, and mustard, of course.
The secret is in soaking the fries. Brining in saltwater, or soaking meat in milk is often used with things like livers and kidneys, especially from ruminants like deer and game animals that can have varying flavors and aromas depending on their seasonally changing diet.
The liquid helps draw out some flavors, and allows you to add others of your own, if you choose. Corned beef, even though it isn’t offal, is a great example, since it spends an extended amount of time in a brine, it has more time to soak up aromas and flavor from pickling spices in the liquid. With the smoked lamb fries, chef layers subtle flavors of brine with a smoked taste everyone loves for a really special, nose-to-tail experience.
If you’ve never worked with this meat before, please read How to Cook Rocky Mountain Oysters.
This recipe is by James Beard Award-winning Chef Alan Bergo. He’s a chef from Minnesota and author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. Learn more about Chef Alan at foragerchef.com.
Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.
More Smoked Lamb Recipes
Smoked Lamb Fries Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Smoker
- 1 2 quart mixing bowl
Ingredients
- Lamb testicles
- 1 quart water
- 90 grams salt roughly a heaping 1/3 cup
- 10.5 grams roughly 2 teaspoons pink curing salt (sodium nitrite)
- 2 Tablespoon pickling spice
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 dried bay leaves
Instructions
- Bring the ingredients for the brine to a boil, then chill completely before adding the testicles. Clean the lamb fries by trimming and removing the outer membrane using a sharp paring knife.
- Brine the lamb fries for 4 days. After 4 days, bring a pot of water to a simmer, turn off the heat, add the testicles and allow to sit in the hot water for 10 minutes, then remove and chill in cold water.
- Remove the lamb fries from the water, dry with a paper towel, then, using a sharp paring knife, carefully remove the inner membrane to reveal the inner meat.
- Transfer the testicles to a smoker, and smoke the testicles at 225 degrees for 1.5 hours, then chill. The smoked “oysters” are now ready to serve, and will keep refrigerated for 4 days. Serve with crackers, mustard, pickles and cold cuts.