Question I was in Corfu a few yrs ago & went out for a meal,we ordered steak & it was gorgeous,I asked the chef how he made this & he told me he marinated it in milk overnight,I done this when I got home & it was as good as just putting it in dry pan,can I substitute this with yoghurt to cut down the marinating time,also could I use same method for fish,chicken,pork,lamb & beef,could I also add spices to the yoghurt marinade,thankyou,Mr,A.Southworth.
Answer
Alex:
Lucky you, visiting Corfu. I have promised my kids a visit to Greece and they keep bugging me about it.
What the Chef probably used was goats milk. Don't bother with yoghurt, use butter milk. If you are not aware, butter milk is a misnomer. It does not have a lot of butter in it. It is the leftovers from making butter. It is pretty much like watery yoghurt. In the old days the buttermilk was the leftover liquid in the butter churn and since it had been well aerated and innoculated with all the critters in it due to the churning action, it would self culture resulting in a tart almost sour milk. Today it is called cultured buttermilk and is made similar to yoghurt but is not left to clot as much.
Since I did not taste the dish, I cannot say which he might have used. If there was a slight tang to it, he used buttermilk. If not, he probably used regular milk. Goats milk has a higher percetage of fat in it than cows milk, so it the dish was richer and creamier, he might have used goat's milk.
What the buttermilk will do is act a a sort of marinade, working on the outer part of the meat to break it down due to its acidity. Do not expect it to turn a tough thick cut of meat into something that will be fork tender.
If you are looking for something to impart a rich smoothness to the meat, you can try soaking the meat in goat or regular whole cows milk or even coconut milk (the canned type).
Since I did not see the cut of meat, I cannot tell whether he might have used any mechanical means to help the marinade infiltrate deeper, like poking it all over with a fork or knife or even pounding with a meat mallet.
Here is a recipe for milk marinaded lamb, from Food and Wine magazine. If you could remember any of the smells or taste of spices from the dish, it might help you to better replicate it.
And yes, milk marinades in whatever form, will work on chicken, fish, pork, beef and of course lamb. The greeks marinade almost all of their cuts, even Soulvlaki probably because traditionally the meat cuts were tough. Four legged critters get that way climbing up and down hills all day.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey, warmed in the microwave
1 cup whole milk, warmed in the microwave
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Six 7-ounce boneless lamb steaks cut from the leg, 1 1/4 inches thick
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Directions
In a mortar, grind the cumin seeds to a coarse powder, stir into the warm honey and transfer 1 tablespoon to a bowl.
In a baking dish, combine the remaining honey mixture with the milk. Stir in the garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Add the lamb and turn to coat well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 450°. Heat a large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Remove the lamb from the marinade; season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until almost smoking. Add the lamb and cook until browned on both sides. Transfer to the hot baking sheet and roast for 8 minutes for medium rare. Transfer to a warmed platter.
Stir the lemon juice into the reserved 1 tablespoon of the honey mixture; lightly brush half on the steaks. Put the baking sheet on a burner over moderately high and heat until sizzling. Add 1/2 cup of water and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add any accumulated juices from the lamb and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining honey-lemon juice mixture. Season with salt. Pour the sauce around the lamb and serve.
