Eating Parker: His middle name is Stu

For more about our 4-H lamb, Parker, see the first installment of Eating Parker.

For an early Valentine’s Day dinner, I made an Irish stew, using a 3.5-pound lamb shoulder. I followed this recipe from PBS, adding one head’s worth of whole peeled garlic cloves to the pot with the liquid. I used a bottle of Yuengling Black & Tan for the beer. The stew turned out really well, with tender, flavorful meat and a nice broth. There were ample leftovers, some of which we’ll eat tomorrow, and the rest we’ll freeze.

The wine was 1986 Ridge York Creek cabernet sauvignon. Based on CellarTracker notes, we should have opened it five years ago. Unfortunately, I only bought it 6 months ago.

Clear medium brick-red. Mature nose of crushed fall leaves, sour cherries, tobacco, cedar, thyme. Quite mature on the palate, with much of the fruit faded. Slate, forest floor, tobacco. Thin mineral finish. Hint of grilled meat and redcurrant. A little over the hill. (87 points)