The Final Leg for the Leg of Lamb Is-

Scotch Broth. Julia actually specifies using raw lamb bones for her broth, but I had the remains from the roast of a couple of weeks ago, so I hoped that I could count the first few steps as having been completed during the roasting that I had done then. Which brought me to the simmering phase.

She directed me to cover the bones plus an inch with water, bring to a boil and stand at the ready to skim off the accumulated scum. This is an assignment she regularly gives her students, but I always take offense to the idea that my broth could be producing scum. I assume that she must be refering to the wisps of foam that form, which are definitely not scum, but nevertheless I dutifully skim them off. When they stop forming I add some chopped celery and garlic plus some rosemary and bay leaf and let it simmer for about four hours. At that point it is strained and refrigerated over night to allow the fat to rise to the surface and harden for easy removal.

The next day I added a half cup each of barley and chopped onion and chopped carrots and simmered for an additional 15 minutes. The recipe also called for adding a cup of fresh tomato pulp just before serving (made by dropping a fresh tomato in boiling water for 10 seconds, peeling it, gently squeezing out the juice and seeds, and then dicing the remainder) and as always reminded me to correct the seasoning.

After much correcting I finally realized that there was not enough seasoning in the world to give this broth a worthy flavor.

The Bottom Line:
Scotch Broth-Thumbs Down