Lamb Head Tacos

A sheep farmer showed up at work with a lamb head tightly wrapped in plastic and wondered whether there was a call among America's chefs for it. The idea of serving head, instantly brought me back to 1996 when I was lucky to do a stage for Joel Robuchon in Paris. I fondly remember a dish I was drawn to like a moth to an open flame, it was a slow-braised pig head served with baby vegetables in a mustard tarragon sauce on a pool of buttery mashed potatoes. I know it sounds incredibly simple, but it tasted great and left a huge impression that a dish so humble could be served at a three-star level. Every part of the head was utilized, the cheeks, tongue, ears and the brain. It encapsulated Robuchon's approach to cooking: use simple, humble ingredients and elevate their stature on the plate.  

Pig Head

After my stage, I returned to Old Drovers Inn, the Relais and Chateau property I worked for in New York and started mimicking some of Robuchon's best dishes: the turban of pasta, lamb loin in a salt crust and of course the famous potato puree made with equal parts butter to potato. I had a supplier friend named Robert who ran a great company called Stone Church Farms which sold some of the best meats and poultry I've used in my long career.  I started buying pig heads for only $11 apiece because no one else wanted them, they were considered garbage and throw away.I'm sure I embarrassed him. Because, of course, Fergus Henderson is no bomb-throwing ideologue. I doubt the words "cutting edge" ever occurred to him. I'm quite sure, now that I've come to know him, that he in no way saw the simple, lovely, unassuming, and unpretentious food in this book to be an insult or an affront to anyone - much less a statement of any kind. It is instead, I think, a reminder - and a respectful one at that - of what is good about food, about the essential, nearly forgotten elements of a great meal, an homage, an honoring of the foodstuffs we eat, a refutation only of waste and disregard. ~ Anthony Bourdain, introduction to 'The Whole Beast - nose to tail eating'

Illegal Pig Bladders

I also bought pig bladders from Robert to make pigeon en vessie, a French dish where the bird is shoved into a bladder with aromatics then steamed in stock till it puffs up like a giant balloon. Buying those bladders was a bit like buying drugs, not that I personally know, hushed coded conversations, meeting with sketchy people in dark alleyways while constantly looking over your shoulders as the package and money exchanged hands. At the time the Federal government considered bladders illegal, I'm still scared to talk about it, it's a foggy grayline on what the statue of limitations for past culinary offenses are, and you really never know who is listening.The lamb heads seemed an easy sell, given we still are a meat centric nation and most of America's gifted cooks are still deeply infatuated with the snout to tail movement that swept the country shortly after Fergus Henderson's masterpiece, "Nose to Tail Eating" came out.  Despite the popularity among urban diners, I got flack from friends on Facebook for posting a "disgusting" photo of a lamb's head wrapped in plastic, I even had one friend unfollow me because of it.  I won't get on my soapbox and preach too much but I find it interesting how separated we have become from our food. We order whole fish in a restaurant but god forbid the fish still has its head on. We want to eat steaks but cringe when other animal parts are mention.Give my lamb head tacos a try, they are incredibly tender and I promise you won't end up in jail for serving them.

Lamb Head Tacos

Slow braising lamb heads is an economical way to enjoy lamb and these delicious tacos are a great way to introduce different cuts of meat to a squeamish meat eater. 

braising the lamb head

• 1 lamb head
• 2 carrots (chopped)
• 1 sweet onion (sliced)
• 2 ribs celery (chopped)
• 2 guajillo peppers
• 6 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 quarts water

making the pickles

finishing the tacos

1. Put all the ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil, then slowly cook covered in a 170-degree oven for 12 hours.

2. Remove all meat from skull, reserve.
3. Strain liquid into a blender, add guajillo peppers and puree till smooth.

4. Reduce liquid until thick and pour over picked meat.

I like eating my tacos on corn tortillas warmed straight on a gas burner till lightly charred and burnt, topped with grated Cotija Mexican cheese, pickled sweet onions and a simple salsa. Pure heaven. The missing recipes can be found in this post about the best salsa ever.