More Lamb Neck & More Hopsickle
After previous Hopsickle and lamb neck adventures, I wasn’t planning on revisiting either this soon. After a happy accident at the butcher where I wanted a shank, but thanks to a communication mishap, I ended up with a neck instead. Instead of asking to swap it out, I decided to run with it, and set about braising it curry spices.
I cooked it the night before in He’Brew’s Genesis Ale (easy night-of dinners is one of my favorite benefits of braising). I imagined the darker malts would marry nicely with the curry spices. Using whole spices, I fried cloves, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, cumin and coriander with onions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno and tomatoes. I added a bottle of the ale and chicken stock, submerged my browned lamb neck, and left it alone in the oven to cook. A hour later, my whole apartment was engulfed in a curry aroma, which made me think it might be worth revisiting pairing up another bottle of the Hopsickle.
We served the lamb for Shabbos dinner, alongside challah, wild rice, and curried eggplant. We were joined for dinner by Chris and Julia. Eli handed the rice and eggplant, while Chris and I tended to some important Wii-related business.
The finished plate packed a punch, with the slow cooked goodness of the lamb melding nicely with the curry spices. I’m not sure I could detect the beer directly, but the long slow cooking time melded everything. Next time a stronger beer perhaps, and more jalapeno. After snapping a few pictures, I cracked open the beer and settled into dinner.
This time, the pairing clicked. The big beer was able to stand up to the big dinner. I think Indian curry spices are a great compliment to a big IPA. The citrusy hops provide a nice balance, and the sweetness seems perfectly in place against the rich sauce. The beer has a slightly grass, earthy character from the dry hopping, which works well in this context. The girls tried the pairing, but rejected the beer out of hand, as “too bitter!” and handed it right back. More for us.
I also opened a bottle of the Genesis Ale, to see how the ingredient worked as a beer. Unfortunately, the Hopsickle is a hard act to follow. After such a big beer, this classical ale seemed timid. It’s lighter hopping makes it ideal for cooking, but not so much as a pairing against these flavors. Next time I think I’d be better off using their Lenny Rye IPA.
Chris approved as the pairing as well, and happily quaffed the IPA. He was so impressed in fact, that they did the dishes.
