Tandoori Hogget
The third course of the Hogget Feast was a Tandoori Hogget Rump with a curry sauce and rice. Lacking a traditional clay walled tandoor oven (or the permission to dig one into my back garden), I used the barbecue grill to give the tandoori-marinaded hogget its nicely blackened finish.
Rump is a great cut for grilling as it’s lean and flat-ish (a butterflied leg is a worthy alternative ). It benefits from a good searing, but try to keep the centre of the meat nice and pink.
For the Tandoori Hogget
- 1 rump hogget
- 300ml plain Greek yogurt
- Thumb-sized piece of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
- 4 cardamom pods, cracked
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp onion seeds
- ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp honey
- Juice of ½ lime
- Big handful of fresh coriander including stalks, chopped
- Generous pinch Maldon salt
- 1/4 tsp red food colouring (optional, but recommended)
Put all marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend. Cut a couple of 1cm deep slashes into the rump. Cover with marinade and reserve in fridge in a non-reactive container for at least 2 hours or overnight. Meanwhile make the curry sauce (see below)
Grill the hogget on the BBQ over a medium-low direct heat. Flip the hogget over to develop a nice char on each side. Check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer, the meat is medium-rare at 55C and perfect just a fraction above that, so either continue to cook on the BBQ over indirect heat or transfer to an oven at 160C until it reaches 55C, then rest in a warm place for 5-10 mins. Carve and serve.
For the Curry Sauce
- 4 medium-sized onions
- ½ can coconut milk
- 300g tomatoes, diced
- 2 tbs butter or ghee
- 1 tbs coriander
- 1 tbs paprika
- 4 cardamom pods
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp onion seeds
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
- 50 ml double cream
- 1-2 Fresh or dried chillies, to taste
- Big handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped or torn
Fry the onions in the butter over a medium-low heat for 15-20 mins/until tender and lightly browned. Add spices, ginger and garlic and fry for 5 more mins.
Add tomatoes and coconut milk, simmer for 30 mins, stirring occasionally. Finish with double cream and garnish with fresh coriander.
