Chef’s Table: Let’s go the whole hogget!

By Paul Newman

May 2 2021, 12:00pm

Chef Paul Newman, of Thyme at Errichel restaurant in Aberfeldy, comes up with something simple, seasonal and sensational – oven-roasted hogget.

The sun is shining and the place is humming with the excited activity of the team, coming back together to get ready and open again.

Our home-bred, grass-fed Shetland hogget is back in stock and with an important new chef joining our team, having run her own award-winning restaurant in Montrose, I thought I would ask Martha Doyle how she would cook a leg of our hogget.

We share a mutual passion for combining fantastic local Scottish produce with international flavour.

Martha hails from Mexico and I think you will love this flavoursome recipe, easy to prepare and perfect to serve outside with friends in the sunshine.

Hogget is older than lamb but not yet mutton, aged between one and two years old.
The longer time spent out grazing on the pasture produces excellent flavour and quality meat and fat, which ultimately makes for a fantastic product.

Ask your butcher for any native breed Scottish hogget for best results, or Scotch lamb would do too.

Martha Doyle’s slow oven-roasted leg of hogget

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 leg of Shetland Hogget on the bone.
1 whole head of garlic, broken down into cloves, roasted and peeled.
1 tbsp of freshly roasted cumin seeds
1 spoon of allspice
1 roasted smoked chilli could be chilli ancho or guajillo as these ones are not hot – they add smokiness and colour to the dish
A pinch of oregano
Salt and pepper
About 50ml preferably lamb stock but you could use any other stock.
500ml of beer I use Mexican beer like Modelo for its deep golden hue light hop and crisp finish, but any good local beer would do a great job here.

Method

Put in a blender or food processor the roasted peeled garlic, roasted cumin, all spice, roasted chilli, oregano, and blend to make a smooth paste.
Rub the paste all over the leg of your hogget and season well.
Marinades works better if you leave the meat marinating overnight in a cool room or fridge as the meat not only absorb better the flavours but also is impregnated with the aromas making an incredible balance with the depth meaty flavours of the hogget.
Preheat the oven at 220C. When ready to cook, put the leg of hogget on a roasting deep tray, making sure you transfer all the marinated and juices Add the beer, cover with baking paper and then wrap tray with foil to keep all the moisture in.
Put in the lowest part of your oven and cook for 15 minutes. after this time reduce the temperature to 190C and cook for around 2 to 3 hours.
The meat should easily come away from the bone and yield under pressure.
Serve this with a side of steamed seasonal asparagus (look out for Lunan Bay Asparagus in May) and Mexican style rice with diced carrots, garden peas and corn kernels. Or serve as hogget tacos with freshly made guacamole and fresh salad, squeeze of lime and salt like the one in the picture. Simple, seasonal & sensational taste!