Lamb necks

Tonight, we enjoyed one of those "less-favored" cuts of meat--lamb necks. At first hearing this, you might say, "Ick". That would be most unfortunate for you. These bony cuts are ideally slow cooked in a braise, where they release all that lovely connective tissue into a wonderfully unctuous broth. We took four neck halves from Hannewald Lamb (the lamb vendor at our Farmers Market), browned 'em up with some salt, pepper, paprika and flour. Added in some bacon for smoky flavor, and to provide a better oil to sweat the onion adn garlic. Two large cans of tomatoes, some white wine, and some home-made stock rounded out the braise. Three hours later, I added lemon segments and a couple handfuls of black olives. Served with some simple couscous, it was just plain delicious. And, at $1/lb (very few people are brave enoguh to try this, I guess--their loss!), it's a downright steal. (Look at the menus of high end trendy restaurants, especially on teh coasts, and you'll find this cut commonly used in ragouts, etc. Guess who is coming out ahead on that!)

Sadly, our wine pairing, a Vin de Pays de Vaucluse from one of our local wine shops (in fairness, NOT our usual shop), was a real disappointment. It's not so much that the wine was _BAD_, per se. It just wasn't what I was hoping for or expecting. Because it's a VdP (vin de pays), the producer is free from most restrictions on the grape contents driven by French law. So, before I bought it, I asked the wine shop owner what was in it -- and they assured me that it was just classic grapes for the region, declassified. Well, when I tasted it, I knew they were wrong. Turns out that the producer threw in a bunch of merlot with their classic grapes (syrah and grenache). Don't get me wrong--merlot, when grown and vinified well, as in much of Bordeaux, is simply wonderful. In the hot climates of southern France, it becomes an oversimple, overextracted, fruit bomb. So, instead of the wild, racy, herbal notes of a wine of southern France, I ended up with a more New World, fruity wine that did not pair so well with the acidic, earthy notes of the lamb neck. It wasn't terrible, by any means. But not the wonderful pairing it could've been, either. Moral of the story: Ask your local wine merchant about your wine, but don't always trust that they know.