A leg of pauillac Lamb, inside the hold-o-mat, a quasi oven, I used low temperatures to slow cook it.
I first tasted this lamb was at alain dutournier’s restaurant in Paris where he specializes in Basco-Béarnaise cuisine. Alain was a friend at the time we lived in Paris, we used to meet Sundays with a small regular group to drink and eat.
The pauillac sheep are superb for milking and butchering, traditionally grazed on the Médoc marshes and amongst the vines after the grape harvest. They came from the pyrenean breeds of basco-bebearnaise sheep, or the red or black headed manech, I am not sure which one. The basco-bebearnaise sheep were domesticated for milk in the 60’s, while the manech are still used for the wool, known to migrate from the plains to the mountains depending on the season.
The ewes (females) are often used for their milk to produce brebis cheeses, ossau-iraty is part of the traditional cheeses of salies-de-béarn in the basque countryside and has a nutty taste. By the way, sheep cheeses are believed by many to be easier to digest. Because the fat globules are bigger and the main reason why the cream separates, cow’s milk is harder to digest. Goat’s milk is closest in structure to human milk, the fat globules are smaller which aids in digestion.
Since the 13th century, agneau de pauillac sheep had been moving down from the pyrenean mountainsides to graze in the pastures in Bordeaux. These animals are fascinating, and the breeds vary from within the region. I am intrigued by the different races, how they live and grow. This is a technical resources to help you understand more the breeds:http://www.agroparistech.fr/svs/genere/especes/ovins.htm
These pauillac Lamb also come from hardy breeds of bérrichon du Cher, a : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berrichon_du_Cher
If your interest in French products goes beyond the surface, you can use this resource, information et guide d’achat sur les produits du terroir. It is a comprehensive sources for searching French products: http://www.keldelice.com/gastronomie/articles/agneau-de-pauillac-igp
Back to the pauillac lamb, it is very delicate in taste when cooked correctly, the pink color is superb and juicy to the bone. I used the hold-o-mat to finish at 57 degrees Celsius, it was cooked almost to perfection, after I finished in the oven at 312 Celsius, the skin was browned, and the fat rendered.