A cheap lamb steak seared hard in a smoking pan, served on milk-soaked fried bread with an anchovy and caper vinaigrette. Ramsay calls this “taking a cheap cut to the Premier League” because the dressing does all the heavy lifting. Serves 2 in about 25 minutes.
He cooks this on his Ultimate Home Cooking show and explains that the bone through the centre is full of marrow that adds sweetness. The vinaigrette is built in the same pan using the roasted garlic left behind. The full method is in his YouTube video.
Soaking the bread in milk before frying is the trick nobody expects. It turns stale cubes into something spongy and creamy inside while the outside crisps golden. The vinaigrette soaks into them without the croutons falling apart.
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Gordon Ramsay’s Lamb with Fried Bread
Course: Dinner, MainCuisine: British, FrenchDifficulty: Medium2
servings10
minutes15
minutes650
kcal25 minutes
Pan-seared lamb steaks on milk-soaked croutons from Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking show. Anchovy, caper and Dijon vinaigrette pounded in a mortar. Cheap cut, big flavour.
Ingredients
- For the lamb:
2 lamb steaks (cut from above the leg, bone in)
Olive oil, for frying
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed (skin on)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the croutons:
2-3 thick slices of stale bread, cut into 2cm (¾ inch) cubes
Splash of milk
Olive oil, for frying
- For the vinaigrette:
Reserved roasted garlic from the lamb pan
4-5 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp capers
1½ tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Directions
- Prepare the lamb: Score through the sinew at each end of the lamb steaks so they do not buckle. Season generously with salt and pepper, pressing the pepper into the meat.
- Sear the lamb: Heat oil in a heavy pan until just below smoking. Lay in the lamb steaks and add the crushed garlic cloves. Sear for 3-4 minutes until deeply coloured, then flip. Tilt the pan and baste the lamb with the garlicky oil. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, then rest on a board.
- Soak the bread: While the lamb cooks, put the bread cubes in a bowl and pour over just enough milk to coat. Let it soak for a few minutes.
- Make the vinaigrette: Remove the roasted garlic from the lamb pan and squeeze the soft cloves into a pestle and mortar. Add the anchovies, capers and Dijon mustard. Pound to a rough paste, then stir in the red wine vinegar, olive oil and parsley.
- Fry the croutons: Heat fresh oil in a pan. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread cubes and fry until golden and crisp on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve: Spread vinaigrette across the plate, pile the croutons on top, then slice the lamb and lay it over. Spoon the remaining vinaigrette over everything.
Notes
- Ramsay says “rendering” the fat by tilting the pan and basting is what gives a cheap cut its depth of flavour. He also says this basting technique works brilliantly with ribeye. Use day-old bread for the croutons because fresh bread absorbs too much milk and turns soggy.
FAQs
What cut of lamb is a lamb steak?
It comes from just above the leg and has a thin bone running through the centre. That bone is full of marrow, which melts during cooking and adds a sweetness you do not get from boneless cuts. They should be about 2cm (¾ inch) thick.
The lamb breast from the UCC is another cheap cut, but it needs slow braising rather than fast searing. This steak is the quicker option when you want lamb on a budget without the long wait.
Why soak the bread in milk?
The milk gives the inside of each crouton a soft, creamy texture that plain fried bread cannot match. Ramsay says it sounds strange, but that contrast between spongy centre and crisp outside is what makes them work.
Squeeze out the excess before frying or the croutons will spit in the oil. You want them damp, not dripping, so the outside can still crisp up properly.
What does the anchovy vinaigrette taste like?
It tastes salty, sharp and punchy, which is exactly what a fatty lamb steak needs to cut through the richness. The anchovies dissolve into the paste so you do not taste fish, just a deep savoury background that makes the lamb taste more like lamb.
Ramsay says anchovies go “brillantly well with lamb.” The roast lamb shoulder from Pub Food uses the same pairing, pushing whole anchovies into the meat before roasting. The anchovy dip from UHC takes the same ingredient in a completely different direction.
How do you know when the lamb is done?
Ramsay sears it hard on both sides and bastes constantly with the garlic oil. For medium, 3-4 minutes each side gives you pink in the centre with a dark crust outside. Rest the steak for at least 5 minutes before slicing so the juices redistribute.
The basting technique is the same one Ramsay uses on beef. The tomahawk steak from his restaurant recipe uses the same method of tilting the pan and spooning hot fat over the meat as it cooks.
What other cheap lamb dishes does Ramsay make?
The lamb koftas from UHC mince the lamb with spices and grill it on skewers. That is the cheapest way to stretch lamb across more servings, and they feed 4 instead of 2.
This fried bread dish sits between the fast koftas and the slow braises in effort and cost. The lamb steak itself is one of the cheapest bone-in cuts at the butcher, and the vinaigrette is made from store-cupboard ingredients.
