Red Wines Australia and the Humble Lamb - A Love Story

Red wine in Australia is a common thing, as is the countless suggestions of serving dishes involving lamb. There is no secret that the Barossa Valley shiraz loves nothing better than to cosy up next to a lamb shank or lamb medallions with a Hunter Valley cabernet sauvignon. But how many people know how to get the best out of the lamb side of the relationship? The Buy Wine Online team put on their chefs hats and headed out for some tips and tricks to do with the humble Aussie lamb.

When looking for that all important piece of lamb to go with your yummy wine bottles filled with red, always remember colour of the meat is important. The paler the flesh, the younger the meat, which means the more young and tender it is, the lighter it will be. Most young lamb will appear pink, whilst regular lamb a darker pinkish-red. Any darker still and you will probably find yourself greeted with the proverbial mutton dressed as lamb! Your lamb cuts are also important. The most tender and juicy are usually from the rib, loin and leg and require (on the whole) less cooking time than the neck, shoulder, breast or shank.

Cooking with a good wine or simply matching lamb with a bottle of red wine for Australians is a fairly simple task. We are lucky to be graced with not only some of the best reds in the world, but also some of the best farming land, and so the combination of lamb and red wine is very, very hard to screw up. Shiraz is a sensational friend to lamb, and due to the Australian fruitier, less oaky production of red than our European counterparts, most cuts of lamb will happily serve along a good shiraz. A meat that really shines under slow cooking conditions, lamb also makes a wonderful trial for any red wines you may not have tried in the cooking pot and this is particularly true of roasting cuts, shanks or any recipe that relies on that slow down, melt off the bone cooking style.

One of the best ways to get to know lamb is to experiment with your cooking styles. Don't be afraid to make use of slow cookers, as these assist in bring out the gentle side of the meat, along with the slow, non-boiling motion of cooking for the red wine. Having a case of red wine and experimenting over time with a variety of fun ways to work with lamb in the cooking pot is a fun and dinner party friendly way of giving yourself your own practical, hands on way of learning about wine and food matching. Garlic, dried herbs and the introduction of other such flavours can markedly change the flavour of a red wine and lamb staple dish, again highlighting the various different ways to approach self teaching in the kitchen.

We hope you enjoyed the Buy Wine Online spotlight on red wine and lamb.

For interesting recipes and lamb friendly wine by the bottle or case, head to http://www.buywineonline.com.au