Great British Menu ™
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Bagging Wainwrights
Jack: "The name of the dish is called Bagging Wainwrights, and the inspiration is Alfred Wainwright. He's a fell walker, wrote the famous Wainwright's book."
Paul Ainsworth: "I'll just start with this beautiful Herdwick lamb. What are you doing here?"
Jack: "I'm going to take the lamb loin off, I'm going to render that down and then I'm going to glaze it in a malt vinegar gastrique with any of the trim. I'm going to mince that down and then I'm going to make a Cumberland sausage. So traditional spice mix from Cumberland. Then with the ribs, I'm going to cook them in a pressure cooker, get them nice and soft and then I'm going to barbecue them."
Paul Ainsworth: "There's a huge amount of work going on here."
Notes taken during cooking
Jack's preparing the star of his main course, the Herdwick lamb loin.
Jack: "I've spent a lot of time with this main course and it's one that, you know, I think it's got a really good chance if I execute it right."
Jack takes the lamb trim and combines it with traditional Cumbria herbs and spices. Sage, thyme, cayenne pepper and black pepper for a sausage meat mix.
Jack starts his sauce by roasting garlic, herbs and vegetables in butter.
Jack: "Getting a really nice dark roast on this", he adds diced lamb before leaving it to reduce.
Jack: "So ... sauce is on, sausages and lamp prep's done and the pressure cooker should have finished. It's waiting to release. So now just going to reduce that as quickly as I can."
Later ...
Jack starts cooking the star of his dish, the Herdrick lamb loin, slowly rendering the fat.
Jack: "So the lamb fat comes out. We want to pour it off before searing in butter and herbs."
Jack then rests the meat in the reserved fat and cooks his sausages. Next, he glazes the ribs with pickled walnut puree.
Plating
First to the plate is a rocher of crushed Jerusalem artichoke, followed by dressed kale.
Jack bastes the loin with a malt vinegar gastrique.
The thermoses are filled with lamb sauce as pickled walnut puree is added to the plate and topped with a lamb sausage.
Paul Ainsworth: "Okay, Jack, let's start off with that loin. Happy with the quon. Happy how it's cooked?"
Jack: "Few more minutes in the pan probably would have done that a bit more justice."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"It's really tasty."
"For me, there's nothing I can fault on that plate."
Back in the tasting room
Paul Ainsworth: "Texturally happy? Is that how you wanted the sausage to turn out?"
Jack: "Yeah, I think the flavors come through from the Cumberland spice mix."
Paul Ainsworth: "The sauce consistency. Is that what you were going for?"
Jack: "I think I can make it a little bit thicker."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"The sauce was delicious. Maybe a little bit more."
Back in the tasting room
Paul Ainsworth: "Reduced the cooking of the lamb rib. Is that how you wanted it?"
Jack: "If I have my time again. Maybe I could push it more."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"Those ribs are great."
"Yeah. Unbelievable."
"Just melt in the mouth."
"I'd eat quite a few of those."
"You can see so much of his personality in all of his food as well, can't you?
Back in the tasting room
Paul Ainsworth: "If you were to score this dish Jack, what would you give yourself?"
Jack: "I think this is a 8 or a 9."
Final Judging
Paul Ainsworth: "Jack, for your dish "Bagging. Wainwrights", I thought the story really came through. My favorite part of the dish was the Cumberland sausage. Well made, great texture, and the spicing was just spot on. The lamb loin was delicious. I'd cook it a touch longer. The lamb ribs were spot on. The sauce, you know, it was just not reduced enough. Keep that focus on the sauce, bring it down more, intensify the flavor of lamb, make those small tweaks, and I genuinely believe you have a banquet worthy dish."
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