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Batch Cooking Recipes – Restaurant Style Pre-Cooked Meat

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Pre-cooked meat is one of the most important batch cooking recipes on my blog!

This is batch cooking at its best. Change the seasoning and you can use this technique for any cuisine that requires tender meat.

Whether the restaurant is a low cost Indian curry house or an upmarket Indian restaurant, the chefs will normally cook meat before service so that it is tender and ready to use. This recipe can be adjusted by changing the spicing to work in any cuisine.

Pre-cooked meat, this is a batch cooked recipe for cooking meat.

About this recipe.

When you make this pre-cooked meat recipe, you will notice that it tastes a lot like a great curry when you’re finished. 

In this case, it is actually a delicious lamb curry in its own right. It is mild but you could spice it up. You could also do other things to it like stir in yoghurt or coconut milk.

That isn’t really the idea here though. Batch cooking recipes like this are meant to get you deliciously cooked meat that you can have ready for your curry house style curries. 

Why should you batch cook your meat for curries.

As mentioned above, this is not just something that is done at low cost curry houses to speed up the cooking process. This is batch cooking that you will see done at the best restaurants regardless of the cuisine.

It is easy to pre-cook your meat and it is great to have on hand. By getting this job done, you can prepare a weekday meal in 10 minutes rather than an hour plus!

Who should pre-cook meat in this way?

The reason chefs batch cook their meat is simple… if they didn’t do it, it would take too long to serve their delicious curries. Pre-cooked meat is essential in many of my curry house style recipes to make things quick and easy. Doing this not only speeds things up but also gives the curry another delicious layer of flavour. 

If you want to be able to turn around amazing curries in minutes, then it’s batch cooking recipes like this that you need to know.

Batch cook your meat and you will take your curries to the next level.

How do you use the pre-cooked meat?

You just need to put the amount required next to your work station so that it is ready to add to any curry house happen to be making.

This is a batch cooking recipe that will come in handy whenever you want deliciously cooked meat to add to your curries. If a recipe calls for pre-cooked lamb, for example, just add some of this and a little of the cooking liquid and you will have an amazing meat curry in minutes.

If cooking a curry house style curry, just add some of this pre-cooked meat when the recipe calls for you to add it. By adding a good splash of the cooking liquid to the sauce, you will add even more flavour.

Your curry will taste as if it has slowly cooked for hours when you actually whipped it up in about 10 minutes. Batch cooking has many advantages!

Should you cook the meat on or off the bone?

Either but you will get more flavour if you cook the meat on the bone.

In the photos below, I cooked the lamb cut into small pieces on the bone. If you do this, you may need to remove the bones after the meat has cooked, depending on the recipe. 

This is an easy process as you will be cooking the meat until fall off the bone tender!

If you would rather, you could cook the meat off the bone and add a bone to the cooking stock as in the video on this page.

Can you add this batch cooked meat to any curry?

Yes. Even if you are making a chicken chilli garlic or chicken korma recipe, you can substitute some of this pre-cooked meat for the chicken if red meat is what you want.

All of the curry house curries on my blog and in my books can be made with the protein of your choice, regardless of what the original recipe calls for.

Do you have other batch cooking recipes that will help with my curry house curries?

I sure do! You should also check out my batch cooking recipes for pre-cooked chicken and pre-cooked potatoes

BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style cooking calls for a lot of batch cooking recipes that will make it quicker, easier and tastier for you to achieve the most amazing curries.

You will also want to check out my batch cooking recipes for curry house style base sauce, tandoori chicken tikka and tandoori lamb tikka.

How long to you cook different meats in this way?

Different meats as well as different cuts of meat need to be cooked for longer or shorter amounts of time.

If cooking lamb, you will need to cook it longer than beef, for example. Lambs run around a lot and build up muscle. The meat is naturally tougher than beef.

Cows are lazy animals so generally speaking, they will not be as tough and can cook to tender in about 40 minutes where lamb meat could take over an hour.

Lamb leg is usually more tender than shoulder. Just keep this in mind when cooking your meat of choice and be sure to check for tenderness as it stews. 

It is important not to rush things!

For batch cooking recipes like this, it is important to let the meat cook until tender. There is no point going to all this work if you end up with tough meat!

The meat you cook, in this case I used lamb, needs to cook until deliciously tender. If your meat is not enjoyably tender to eat, keep it cooking. 

How long can you keep this pre-cooked meat in the fridge?

Batch cooking recipes like this are great to have in the fridge if you plan ahead. You can store your pre-cooked meat in the fridge for about 4 days in the cooking liquid. 

As it rests in the fridge, the flavours will develop and the sauce and meat will taste even better.

Can you freeze this meat and sauce?

Yes and that is one of the main things I do with batch cooking recipes like this.

It will freeze very well for about 6 months. Be sure to freeze it in some of the cooking liquid in portion sizes that will be convenient for you.

If you know you will just be cooking for yourself, then portion it out for a 1 to 2 portion curry. If you will be cooking for a crowd, you could get away with freezing the meat in larger portions.

Step by step photographs

Ingredients for pre-cooked meat.

Get all your ingredients together before you start cooking.

Melting ghee in a pan over a medium-high heat.

Melt the ghee in a large pan over a medium-high heat.

Adding whole spices to infuse into the hot ghee.

Stir in the whole spices and let them infuse into the oil for about a minute.

Adding onions to the pan.

Add the chopped onions and stir them in to coat with the ghee and spices.

Frying the onions to soften and adding the garlic and ginger paste.

Fry the onions, stirring often for about 5 minutes. Then stir in the garlic and ginger paste to fry for a further 30 seconds.

Adding the meat to the pan.

Now add the meat and stir it in to coat with the other ingredients in the pan.

Adding the ground spices to the pan.

Add all the ground spices and stir some more so that the meat is coated with the spices.

Adding water to cover the meat and simmer.

Add just enough water to cover the meat and bring to a simmer.

Simmering the meat in a covered pan.

Once simmering, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium to simmer for about an hour.

Checking the meat for tenderness.

Check the meat for tenderness after about 40 minutes and continue cooking until tender.

Batch cooking recipe complete with tender pieces of meat.

After about an hour, your meat will be really tender and ready to use, refrigerate or freeze.

Pre-cooked meat for curries

You can remove any bones or leave them in depending on the recipe and your preference. Be sure to retain the cooking liquid to add to your curries for flavour.

When you make this pre-cooked meat, you might like to try it in one of these famous curry sauces.

Tikka masala sauce
Korma sauce
Pasanda sauce
Chasni sauce
Chilli garlic sauce
Ceylon sauce
Pathia sauce
Jalfrezi sauce
Keema sauce
Bhuna sauce
Methi sauce
Madras sauce
Vindaloo sauce
Phaal sauce

Have you tried this pre-cooked meat?

If yes, please give it a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

If you are not already doing so, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all my latest recipes.

 

Yield: 6

Batch Cooked Pre-Cooked Meat

Pre-cooked meat, this is a batch cooked recipe for cooking meat.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 8 black or 10 green cardamon pods
  • 10 black pepper corns
  • 1 x 5cm (2 inch) cinnamon stick
  • 1 piece mace
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
  • 3 Indian bay leaves (cassia leaves)
  • 1 Kilo (2 pounds) leg of lamb cut into 1 inch size pieces on the bone
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tbsp good quality mild paprika
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat the ghee/oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
  2. When the oil is visibly hot, stir in the whole spices and let them infuse into the oil for about a minute. Be careful not to burn them!
  3. Pour in the chopped onions and stir to coat with the oil and spices. Cook this for about five minutes before adding the garlic and ginger paste.
  4. Fry for a further 10 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent.
  5. Now add the meat and the ground spices and stir well to combine.
  6. Brown the meat for a couple of minutes and then add just enough water to cover and simmer for about one hour to one and a half hours until the meat is nice and tender.
  7. When tender, allow the meat and the sauce to cool for use in your curries.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 185Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 166mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g

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Richard Partridge

Friday 23rd of February 2024

Hi Dan What can you do with the broth after cooking slow cooked lamb. Seems a shame to waste it Thanks Richard

Dan Toombs

Saturday 24th of February 2024

You could add a little bit to the curry for extra flavour. Or maybe freeze it as it wouid be a nice gravy with roast lamb. You could also make this lamb soup with it.

https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2016/03/18/lamb-soup/

Thanks Dan

Stuart Kirk

Tuesday 12th of December 2023

Should you seperate the meat from the stock and freeze these seperately ?

Dan Toombs

Tuesday 12th of December 2023

You can do or freeze together. The stock can be used to give another flavour level to any curry. Thanks Dan

Brian Wright

Saturday 16th of April 2022

I always have more lamb stock ice cubes left over from the previous precooked lamb. Can these cubes be used in other meat curries, ie chicken. Also, do I add the cubes to the gravy or direct to the sauce. Thanks, Brian.

Dan Toombs

Monday 18th of April 2022

Thanks for your message. Yes, you can use the lamb stock in whatever curry you like. I am sure it would add excellent flavour. Dan

Joseph Nicholas

Monday 4th of October 2021

I recently bought a case of square cut lamb shoulders. I was just wondering what the best way to pre cook this meat would be- should I separate as much of the muscle and I can from the bone and cut that into the appropriate size, then pull the smaller bits of the meat off the bone after it is done simmering?

Dan Toombs

Wednesday 6th of October 2021

Yes use my pre cooked meat recipe as you suggest and pull the tender meat off the bone when cooked. Thanks Dan

S

Sunday 20th of June 2021

You don't actually mention ANY timing on precooking the lamb?

How do your website's users know how long it's supposed to cook for?

Dan Toombs

Monday 21st of June 2021

Not really sure what you mean as the instructions in step 6 in the recipe state to cook it for 1 - 1/2 hours or until tender. If that is not clear please let me know. Thanks Dan

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