Lamb Dagwood Sandwich

Photo: American Lamb Board

From: Chef Rodney Scruggs, The Occidental, Washington, DC. Yield: 1 sandwich.

1 deboned American Lamb shoulder (from Border Springs Farm, Patrick Springs, VA)

Cure:
4 cups salt
4 cups sugar
1 pack curing salt
1 Tbsp. each of the following toasted: cumin, fennel seed, coriander, pink peppercorn, star anise, all spice, cardamom, za’atar
1 handful fresh rosemary and thyme

Sandwich:
as needed, focaccia or other light, airy bread
as needed, thinly sliced lamb shoulder (recipe follows)
as needed, lamb jamb (recipe follows)
as needed, softened goat cheese
as needed, arugula
as needed, pickled ramps (recipe follows)

Strawberry Lamb Jam:
4 pints hand-picked strawberries, wash, de-stemmed and quartered
1 cup sugar
6 Meyer lemons, zest, and juice of 3

Pickled Ramps:
As needed, ramps
1 quart champagne vinegar
1 pint water
1 cup sugar
Sachet of bay leaf, thyme, star anise, pink peppercorn, cloves


For cure: Combine cure ingredients; rub deboned lamb thoroughly; pack to cover. Allow lamb to cure for 48 hours. Pull lamb, then wash in extremely cold ice water and dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Rub thoroughly with roasted garlic paste. Place fresh chopped rosemary and thyme over lamb. Roll and tie with butcher twine into a roast. Place in large Cryovac bag. Add 1 cup rendered lamb fat, and seal tightly. Place into water bath and slowly cook at 72.5°C for 20 hours. Remove from water bath and shock in ice water for 30 minutes. Allow to stay in bag for a minimum of 48 hours. Grill lamb to warm and slice thinly.

For strawberry lamb jam: Add strawberries to a very hot pan with large surface volume. Cook until liquid is almost dry. Add sugar, Meyer lemon zest and juice. Cook until hard boil stage. Remove and blast chill immediately to retain ruby red coloring.

For pickled ramps: Bring ingredients, except ramps, to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Drop in clean washed ramps. Remove from heat and allow to stay in liquid for 5 to10 minutes.

For Dagwood Sandwich: Use a light airy bread such as Focaccia or Piato. Slice bread in half horizontally. Spread lower half with strawberry lamb jam (see recipe).

Spread upper half with softened goat cheese. Place thinly sliced lamb shoulder in stack on top of strawberry lamb jam. Top with local arugula and pickled ramps (see recipe). Cut according to size. Brush top of the bread with olive oil, sea salt and za’atar spice.