The Fat of the Lamb

I am learning to cook a few dishes recently — not just for myself, but more so to enhance my ability to show Christian hospitality, for there is nothing quite like fellowship around a home-cooked meal.

In particular, I wish to highlight lamb cutlets, which have been one of our family favourites since the air fryer became popular in the mid-2010s. After all, lamb is a biblical staple that, when cooked well, pleases even the Creator of the entire universe.

And if it’s good enough for God, it’s certainly good enough for us!

Lamb Cutlets Marinated in Rosemary and White Wine

LET THE HUNT BEGIN

• Lamb Cutlets
  700 grams — a pack from Coles contains nine pieces
• White Wine
  150 millilitres — e.g. Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc
• Rosemary
  3 sprigs
• Garlic
  5 cloves
• Olive Oil
  50 millilitres
• Pink Rock Salt
  1 teaspoon
• Black Pepper
  1 teaspoon
• White Sugar
  1 teaspoon

LET THE FLAVOURS CLICK

Combine everything in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. For thicker cutlets, score the meat lightly with a knife — this helps the flavour penetrate and ensures even cooking.

Once prepared, transfer the marinated cutlets to sealed containers and refrigerate overnight.

LET THE MAN COOK

Blanket the air fryer basket with a layer of aluminium foil. Avoid silicone liners, as direct heat contact is necessary for the best results. Arrange the lamb cutlets on top, making sure they don’t overlap.

Fire up the fryer and start cooking at 180°C for 10 minutes.

When time’s up, flip the cutlets and raise the temperature to 200°C, cooking for another 7 minutes. The increase in heat helps create a beautifully crisp surface, perfect for serving.

Chewing the Fat

In the few times I have cooked and served lamb cutlets, I observed that not everyone eats the fat.

Back in Old Testament days, when Israel offered animal sacrifices to God, the fat from various parts of the animal was also set apart. Instructions for one of the fellowship offerings make this explicit:

From what you offer, you’re to present this food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all of the fat connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys.

The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma.

All the fat is the Lord’s.

— Leviticus 3:14-16 (NIV)

The fat was recognised to be the choicest part of the offering — the richest, most desirable portion that belonged to God alone. Indeed, the fragrance that fat produces through burning is intoxicating. Had I been an Israelite back in those days, I suspect I might have been tempted to take a bite and suffer the consequences not unlike Adam and Eve with the fruit of knowledge of good and evil.

Similarly, I find it impossible to resist the fat in lamb cutlets; it is a key reason why I love this delicacy. Truth be told, I am unsure how people manage to avoid the fat — perhaps they are secretly Jewish (which is a long-running joke in my community group at Grace City Church), though more likely they do so just for health reasons. Either way, I am really grateful that we live under the New Testament, where ceremonial food laws no longer apply.

“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but only into their stomach, and then out of the body.”

In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.

— Mark 7:18-19 (NIV)

After the coming of Christ Jesus, God forgoes his claim to a dietary portion, because the true offering has been made in the Lamb who was slain, whose sacrifice appeases the Father once and for all.

And so at present, we eat with gratitude. That which was set apart on the altar as a heavenly delight is today enjoyed in freedom. May we dine, fellowship, and chew the fat together until Christ returns.