5 Minutes With Chef Adrian

  Chef Adrian is the Ambassador for the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland. Starting at a very young age, Chef Adrian trained in some of Ireland’s most renowned restaurants and holds a degree in culinary arts. He now travels the country spending a week in your local Craft Butcher, developing new product ideas, promoting the local Craft Butcher, introducing school kids to their Craft Butcher shop, and conducting cookery demonstrations for charities. We grabbed him for a quick chat about food heroes, what we really need in the kitchen and why fat is essential to great-tasting meat.

What was your first food memory?
My first ever food memory is when I was 3-4 and I hopped up on a stool to turn the bacon and sausages to turn them under the grill. I then proceeded to turn them and burn myself badly. I ended up in the doctors and I still have the scar on my chest today.

What’s your inspiration in the kitchen?
My inspiration is Richard Corrigan because he is irish, I love his style of cooking and his presentation is unbelievable. I got to meet him recently at taste of Cavan and I was star struck. I didn’t know what to say. I long to meet Gordon Ramsay as well as he also a great chef. Maybe some day someone will be star struck meeting me. You never know.

What is the best kept secret of Irish meat?
All the top chefs in the world use Irish beef in their kitchens. Once hung for 28 days, grass fed Irish beef has this beautiful musty flavour and melt in the mouth texture. Irish people should be proud of the quality beef we have.

What are your three top tips for buying meat in your local Craft Butcher?
-A good layer of fat on steaks and pork chops. Cook with the fat on as it creates massive flavour. Remove it once it is cooked if you don’t like it.
-Meat on the bone is well worth spending a little extra on. Again it’s another thing to do with moist meat and flavour.
-Steaks and roasts in a craft butcher shop that have gone dark are well aged and well hung not gone off. Well hung and aged means your steak will be more tender and flavoursome.

What’s your essential kitchen equipment?
I have the same knife since I started working in a kitchen at the age of 14. It’s a Wustoff and I never have problems keeping it sharp. Your local craft butcher can run your knives on a stone if they have lost their edge and become blunt.

What’s your desert island dish?
I would recommend chicken fricasse. The flavour and moisture of the chicken falling off the bone is unreal!!! This recipe one me a gold medal at Chef Ireland. Traditionally served with heart shaped croutons dipped in chopped parsley. It is an Escoffier classic.

What’s in your fridge right now?
I have a demonstration coming up this week so my fridge is fairly full. I have a rack of lamb, t-bone steaks, coconut milk, cabbage, bacon ribs, smoked bacon, smoked cheddar and loads of veg that I got from my neighbour’s garden.

Chef Adrian’s Pulled Lamb Shoulder

These pulled lamb shoulder sandwiches are wonderful for outdoor eating, barbecues and lunches. The slow cooking of this cheaper cut results in spectacularly tender meat which slapped between a soft floury bap.

2kg shoulder of lamb (shank on)
5 roughly chopped cloves of garlic
1 cinnamon stick, broken up
4 sprigs of rosemary, chopped

1. Preheat your oven to full whack. Slash the fat side of the lamb all over with a sharp knife. Lay half the sprigs of rosemary and half the garlic cloves on the bottom of a high-sided roasting tray, rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Place it in the tray on top of the rosemary and garlic, and put the rest of the rosemary, garlic and cinnamon on top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with tinfoil and place in the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 170°C and cook for 3-4 hours – it’s done if you can pull the meat apart easily with two forks.

For the sauce:

5tbsp tomato ketchup
4tbsp balsamic vinegar
2tbsp smoked paprika
2tbsp brown sugar
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2tbsp Dijon mustard
Salt and black pepper

1. For the sauce mix all the ingredients in a bowl well.

Want more of Chef Adrian? Follow him on twitter, Facebook, or on his blog.