MAD MEAT GENIUS

MAD MEAT GENIUS
Chilebrown at home

Saturday, September 24, 2011

BERBERE


Larry from ‘Peppahead’, my hot sauce guru asked me if I liked Berbere. I honestly did not even know what Berbere was. Berbere is an ‘Ethiopian’ blend of spices used in dishes and to season meat. Larry suggested I use some on some lamb. Here is another ingredient that Chilebrown is not familiar with. Lamb and Berbere spice will be another culinary adventure to experience. Here is what Larry has to say about his Berbere spice;

“Berbere is the fantastic seasoning of Ethiopia and Eritrea, with many regional variations. It is prepared as a dry spice for seasoning as well as a sauce. It is pungent and fragrant with a unique a flavor. Excellent for stews, grilling or baking seafood and meats. This blend is spicy, but you can kick it up with a hot chile such as African Bird pepper. Use the sauce for seasoning and marinades. The perfect BBQ sauce.”


Some cute little lamb loin chops from ‘Anderson Ranches' were picked up from the farmers market. These chops were dusted with Berbere spice. They were grilled on a hot mesquite fire until they were cooked medium rare. Tender and tasty with a unique spicy tang was the verdict. Berbere spice on its own is not hot in the heat department. There are spices that I am not overly familiar with in this blend. (allspice, fenugreek, cloves and several others) This was a unique flavor that I will have fun experimenting with on some other meats. I also loved our cute little lamb chops. Lamb will definitely make a return visit to the grill.

Peppahead

3 comments:

Kailyn said...

Allspice, fenugreek and cloves are standards in Northern African and Indian cooking. Sounds like a yummy blend to me.

Gerry @Foodness Gracious said...

Sounds intriguing, my wife went to a Greek festival the other day and had lamb ribs, said they were wonderful..

Chilebrown said...

Kailyn, It is yummy and I cannot wait to try it with some chicken. I think this would be a good seasoning for rice too.

Foodness Gracious, I am going to add lamb to my grill more often now.