When people eat jingisukan, the question that comes up most often is when to turn the meat.
"How many seconds per side?"
"How far should I cook it?"
"Does it go tough if I overcook it?"
We are asked this in the restaurants all the time.
Hitsuji Gumi, the lamb specialist behind Azabu no Hitsuji and Ichigaya no Hitsuji, works mainly with lamb, alongside Japanese sheep, hogget and a wide range of cuts.
After grilling a great deal of lamb, one thing is clear: you cannot decide the cooking time by seconds alone.
Thickness, cut, fat, the way it is sliced, the condition of the meat and the temperature of the grill all change how the heat goes in.
This article shares the way we guide our guests: when to turn the meat, and how to avoid overcooking it.
The trick is not to judge by a stopwatch.
Watch the thickness, the cut, the fat and the surface of the meat, turn it at the right moment, and stop before it dries out.
- Do not keep touching the meat
- Use the fat on fatty cuts
- Watch the surface on lean cuts
Remember that much and you are most of the way there.
When to turn the meat, and how not to overcook it
Guides to grilling lamb often give a time: so many seconds per side.
As a starting point for a first-timer, that is useful.
But we do not treat seconds as an absolute rule.
Two pieces of the same chuck roll will finish differently if the thickness, the marbling or the grill temperature is different.
On lean cuts, watch for the "sweat"
With leaner cuts such as leg or shoulder arm, start by grilling one side.
After a while, fine beads of juice appear on the upper surface.
In the restaurant we call this the meat "starting to sweat".
That sweat is one good sign that it is time to turn the meat.
Once turned, give the other side the heat it needs for its thickness.
The sweat is only a sign of how far the cooking has gone.
It is not a measure of whether the meat is safe to eat.
"Do not overcook" is not the same as "undercook"
The most common mistake is grilling far longer than necessary out of worry.
Overcooked lamb loses moisture and turns tough.
On the other hand, "do not overcook" does not mean it is fine to eat lamb close to raw.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare gives a guideline of heating meat to 75°C at the centre for at least one minute, or an equivalent condition.
The Japanese term "nama lamu" (fresh lamb) refers to lamb that has never been frozen. It does not mean the lamb can be eaten raw.
Freshness and safety without cooking are two different things.
Give the meat the heat it needs. Then stop.
Also keep the tongs used for raw meat separate from the chopsticks you eat with.
Do not press the meat down
Now and then we see someone pressing the meat hard onto the grill with tongs to speed things up.
We do not recommend it.
Pressing forces the juices out.
Put the meat down, leave it alone, and turn it when the moment comes.
Grill each cut in its own way
Not all lamb should be grilled the same way.
What matters most to us is not treating a cut we want to enjoy for its fat the same as one we want to enjoy for its lean meat.
Cuts with a fat cap go fat-side first
Rump, short rib and lamb chops have a clear layer of fat. We stand them on the grill and start with the fat.
As the fat meets the iron it slowly renders.
Once that fat has coated the grill, we cook the lean side.
Fat side first, render it onto the grill, then the lean meat.
It is a way of enjoying not only the meat but the fat that cut carries.
Grilled lamb fat has a distinctive aroma, with a sweetness and depth to it.
In our experience, Japanese sheep sometimes show a richer aroma in the fat than imported lamb.
That does not mean Japanese lamb always smells stronger.
Breed, feed, environment, age, fat and the individual animal all make a difference.
Chuck roll is not a fixed number of seconds either
Chuck roll is an easy cut to enjoy for both tenderness and fat.
You can set a time per side, and there is nothing wrong with that as a method.
But we do not apply a single number to every piece of chuck roll.
Thickness, fat and marbling, the way it is sliced, the condition of the meat and the grill temperature all change how the heat goes in.
Rather than watching one number, watch the meat in front of you.
With lamb, we find that far easier to judge.
The jingisukan pan, and how to grill the vegetables
On a dome-shaped jingisukan pan, the meat goes on the raised centre and the vegetables around the edge.
Fat and juices run down the slope, and the vegetables cook in them.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also describes jingisukan this way: meat in the middle, vegetables around it.
Bean sprouts and onion coated in lamb fat taste quite different from vegetables grilled on their own.
Jingisukan is not only about the meat. The vegetables cooked in lamb fat are part of the dish.
Do not leave the vegetables alone
It is easy to focus on the meat and forget the vegetables.
Quick-cooking vegetables such as bean sprouts burn if you leave them.
Turn them now and then so they take on the fat and the juices.
Piling on too many at once draws out water, so it is better to eat them as they cook and add more when you need to.
The heat source changes the grilling too: charcoal, gas and smokeless roasters
Jingisukan restaurants do not all use the same equipment.
Charcoal, gas, electric, smokeless roasters.
Each has its own character.
Rather than one being better than the rest, the choice depends on what a restaurant wants to serve and in what setting.
And when the heat source changes, so does the way the heat enters the meat.
That is another reason a fixed number of seconds is hard to rely on.
Why Azabu no Hitsuji uses gas
At Azabu no Hitsuji we heat the plate with gas.
We used charcoal for a time.
Charcoal brings an aroma and a finish of its own.
But the heat varies with the state of the charcoal, and in jingisukan, where guests grill for themselves, that made it harder to hit the right doneness.
Gas lets us adjust the heat to the meat, and makes it easier for guests to find the moment the lamb is ready.
This is not to say charcoal is worse. We have used both, and this is where we are now.
Why Ichigaya no Hitsuji chose a smokeless roaster
At Ichigaya no Hitsuji we use smokeless roasters.
Given the Ichigaya and Kojimachi neighbourhood, we built the restaurant for people coming from work, dressed for the office, and for company dinners and business entertaining.
Grilling the meat yourself is part of the pleasure of jingisukan.
But some guests would rather not carry the smoke and the smell home on their clothes.
So Ichigaya keeps the fun of grilling while holding the smoke and smell down.
The equipment differs between the two restaurants, but the thinking is the same: look at the meat in front of you.
Lamb gets more interesting when you compare cuts
Cuts of lamb differ a great deal in both flavour and texture.
- The savour of lean meat
- The aroma of the fat
- Tenderness
- A firm, meaty bite
As well as single cuts, we serve platters of four or six cuts so you can taste them side by side.
Rather than deciding that "lamb tastes like this", we would rather you found your own preference.
"I like this cut."
"I prefer it with fat."
"I prefer the lean."
That is the more interesting way to eat.
We cover the difference between lamb, hogget and mutton in a separate article.
Take the first bite of Japanese lamb with salt
When we serve Japanese lamb, a member of staff will sometimes grill the first piece and talk you through it.
Take that first bite with salt.
Before layering on flavour, we want you to taste the fat and the aroma of that sheep.
After that, our house sauce with garlic, chilli, pepper or cumin is all worth trying.
Our own favourite is the house sauce with garlic and our special vinegar.
The vinegar is not on the regular condiment list, so ask a member of staff if you would like to try it.
The acidity cuts the lamb fat and works well later in the meal.
In short: grilling jingisukan well means watching the meat
There is no single number of seconds that works for every piece of lamb.
Thickness, cut, fat, the condition of the meat and the grill temperature all change how the heat goes in.
- On lean cuts, watch the surface
- On fatty cuts, use the fat
- Do not press the meat down
- Cook the vegetables in the lamb fat and juices
- Give it the heat it needs, then stop
Not "how many seconds", but what the meat is doing.
Even a little of that changes how lamb tastes.
At Azabu no Hitsuji and Ichigaya no Hitsuji, ask a member of staff whenever you are unsure.
We will talk you through it, cut by cut.
References
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "Jingisukan: Traditional Japanese Food Encyclopedia"
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Food poisoning from meat: causes and prevention"