Now...I'm not looking to turn this blog into a restaurant review...so let's just say...it was damn good. After a bottle of wine at the bar, we sat down to a most excellent meal...somewhat Italian tapas style (if such a thing exists). They say it's a menu to share...but not in the over sized "family style" way...more a 4-5 courses per person of smaller tasting dishes which give you ample opportunity to sample myriad flavors. And did we eat...and drink. One of the dishes we both walked away raving about...were the lamb meatball sliders. They were superb. Perfectly cooked, on soft handmade brioche buns, in a bed of caprino cheese and topped with a quick pickled cucumber...I could have eaten them all night...but we did, eventually, have to leave.
So I set out to do my damnedest to replicate the recipe. And I think I got damn close. This turned into an epic project for me. I scoured Manhattan for proper ingredients and read dozens of articles online about baking brioche bread. Let me say...thank God for Chelsea Market. An Italian food import specialty store provided some of the rarer ingredients I needed, and a top notch, grass-fed, organic butcher provided some superior fresh ground lamb. I was out of Chelsea by noon, and kneading brioche dough by 1pm. Here's the skinny on the bread, meatballs, and putting it all together.
Brioche Slider buns
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it...I'm NO baker. I read dozens of articles on bread types, bun baking, and how NOT to kill active dry yeast (which I did on the first batch)...and after much reading settled on a recipe which was featured in the NY Times about a restaurant, Comme Ca, in Los Angeles. The rolls had a lovely crusty exterior and light fluffy interior that was the perfect compliment to the succulent lamb and creamy cheese inside.3 tablespoons warm milk
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Directions
In a bowl or glass measuring cup, combine milk, water, sugar and yeast. Lightly mix, and allow to sit for 5 mins. This is called proofing the yeast, which basically means making sure it's alive. Yeast is a living organism when given a warm moist environment (warm water) and some food (sugar) will give off carbon dioxide, which causes dough to rise and creates those air pockets/bubbles in bread.
In a small bowl, beat one egg.
In a large mixing bowl, sift bread flour, AP flour, and salt. Make sure it's well combined. Then take the softened butter and add it to the mixture, breaking it into small pieces as you toss it in. Then mix the butter into the mixture with your hands...squeezing the butter through your fingers as you do. You should end up with what looks like a bunch of little floured "pebbles" in the mixture.
Combine the the milk mixture and the beaten egg into the flour, and mix to combine. Mix JUST UNTIL enough of a dough comes together...if you can handle it as one object, despite how sticky and loose it may be, it's mixed enough. At this point turn it out onto a well floured board, and need for 5-7 mins. Don't beat the hell out of it...just knead it until it forms a nice smooth ball of dough. Place back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour.
When ready, remove from the bowl to a lightly floured board and knead once or twice. Take a dough divider and cut into portion sizes. Now you could easily make this recipe for standard size hamburgers, but as I was doing sliders, I ended up with about golf ball sized rounds. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, the cover with damp paper towels and allow to rise a second time for 40 mins or so.
At this point you should preheat your oven to 400F. While heating...place a large baking dish filled with water on the oven floor.
After the second rise...beat the remaining egg with a tbsp of water, and brush dough with egg wash. Then place the buns in the oven and bake for 15-17 mins rotating once, until tops are golden brown.
Resist the urge to eat them as soon as they come out of oven, and place on a cooling rack for 10 mins. Fresh baked bread...can't beat it !
Well this is turning into an epic blog...so I'm going to take a few shortcuts in writing here. For the lamb meatballs I used my previous recipe you can find here, just cut out the goat cheese part of it.
For the quick pickle, simmer a 1/2 C white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp of sugar, 1 clove of garlic cracked, and some spices (whole mustard, coriander, and black peppercorns were my choice) with some dill and a bay leaf until the sugar dissolves. Then pour over thinly sliced cucumber (seedless cucumbers work best)...and allow to cool for at least an hour. The result is a briny tangy pickle that still has a crisp crunch. A great tool for numerous vegetables.
Finally, assemble the sliders. Slice one of your gorgeous brioche buns in half. Spread a healthy amount of caprino cheese on the bottom bun, place a lamb meatball in the middle, and top with two pickled cucumbers. Place the top bun on and spear with a toothpick. Try to keep your dignity as you scarf them down.
A quick note on the cheese. Caprino cheese is a total Italian specialty item. I'm fortunate enough to have a some serious specialty grocers, living in NY, but should you not be able to find it...any soft goat cheese will do. Caprino is a sheep's milk cheese which is smooth and tangy. I mixed mine with Calabrian oregano (another specialty item), thyme, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil before spreading it on the sliders...feel free to use it plain as well.
Well, I'm beat...how about you. This sure was an epic day in the kitchen for me...but one I looked forward to for some time. It was a truly satisfying adventure, one I hope some of you will at least try. For any of you in NY...you can easily say to hell with that...and go on down to the restaurant...and I wouldn't blame you...but for anyone feeling adventurous with some time on their hands...give it a shot. Not only will the meal be more than satisfying...I think the experience will be as well. Despite the seemingly Herculian effort needed...it's not that tough..and there are plenty of built in down times to accomplish anything else you may need to that day. These sliders would make a killer game day snack for any season...and with a week left of the Olympics, pitchers and catchers reporting, and the World Cup this summer, you'll have ample opportunities, and time, to get cooking.
Mangia et statti zitto...
cheers...
dunkin
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