Aragón, Spain
Aragón's protected designation milk-fed lamb — distinct from the Castilian cordero lechal in using Rasa Aragonesa, Ojinegra de Teruel, and Roya Bilbilitana breeds, slaughtered between 45 and 90 days old at 7-13kg live weight. The Ternasco de Aragón IGP (PGI) represents the most important meat product of the Aragonese cuisine — a young lamb roasted simply in a clay cazuela with garlic, white wine, lard, and bay leaf, producing meat of extraordinary whiteness and delicacy. The Ebro valley region of Aragón, between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, produces lambs that feed on their mothers' milk supplemented with grain — the result is a larger, slightly firmer animal than the pure milk-fed lechazos of Castilla but with comparable tenderness and a slightly more developed (though still very mild) flavour.
Season simply: salt, white wine, garlic, bay, and lard (not butter or olive oil — lard is the traditional fat). Roast at low heat (160°C) for the initial 2 hours to render the fat and develop the structure, then increase to 220°C for the final crisping. The clay cazuela retains moisture in the early phase. The ternasco is done when the meat releases from the bone at the lightest pressure. Rest for 15 minutes before service.
Ternasco de Aragón can be found in tabernas and mesones throughout Zaragoza and the Pyrenean foothills. The Rasa Aragonesa breed's fat profile differs from Churra (Castilian) — slightly more lanolin character, firmer fat. Pair with Garnacha from Cariñena or Calatayud — the oldest vine Garnacha in Spain grows in these pre-Pyrenean zones and pairs naturally with the young lamb. D.O. Cariñena Gran Reserva at 8-10 years is the definitive pairing wine.
Substituting older lamb — the 45-90 day window is the product definition. Over-seasoning — the milk-white meat has a subtlety that demands restraint. Rushing the initial low-heat phase.
The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden