VOLUME 10 ... BREAKING DOWN THE LAMB

Alright, alright… enough emails already!  Yes, we missed a month of the newsletter… but we have excuses - it’s been a hectic couple of months! Besides Easter, Passover, Mother’s Day, and the May 2-4 long weekend, we’ve been scrambling behind the scenes to serve you better.  We’ve completed the installation of our new smoker (look for the ultimate organic smoked hams, bacon, chickens, and innumerable items of charcuterie) and we’ve doubled our walk-in cooler size so you can expect more products and increased dry-aging time!

Way back in April, 2005, live to eat's title-of-the-month was “Breaking Down the Beef” (click here).  In that newsletter, we demystified the names of the cuts of beef and explained why some cuts are tough and others tender. That 2-page newsletter was extremely well received and has since been referenced on several websites.  In this volume of live to eat, we’re going to break down a lamb in a similar fashion and within the next few months we’ll do the same with pork and poultry. 

For the foodies that want a full understanding of cuts and the differences between beef and lamb, we recommend priming yourself by reading Breaking Down the Beef, then reading this newsletter.

BREAKING DOWN THE LAMB

Lamb is a sheep less than 1 year old.  The term “Spring Lamb” refers to a lamb between 3 and 5 months old. Over 1 year, a lamb is referred to as a yearling. Over 2 years of age, lamb is called mutton; meat from mutton is darker, tougher, and has a much stronger flavour than lamb.

The taste of good lamb is earthy and rich with a faint sweetness.  Lamb is fairly fatty, and, unlike pork, the fat is not entirely edible - it is more like tallow.  This contributes to the high price of lamb, because by the time the lamb is trimmed of its fat and other nonedible parts, the resulting meat is only about 40% of its weight.  Some people are turned off by the smell of lamb, but what they are smelling is burning lamb fat, which does have a very "lamby" odor - for these people we recommend leaner cuts that have been well trimmed.

Lamb has been a part of our carnivorous lives since 9000 B.C.!  During these early days, much of the world were shepherds and the meat they knew best was lamb.  Today, lamb is the only universally accepted meat.   Hindus are forbidden to eat beef, Muslims & Jews eschew pork, but no culture or religion outlaws lamb.  Oddly enough, in Canada, lamb consumption is trivial in comparison to other meats. Per capita consumption in Canada is approximately:

• Beef - 32 kg per year;

• Chicken – 30 kg per year;

• Pork – 29 kg per year; and

• Lamb – only 0.8 kg per year!

Canada-wide statistics aside, The Healthy Butcher has built up quite a reputation for high quality lamb, which now makes up 6% of our meat sales!  The biggest lamb selling period is at Easter, when we sell in two days as much lamb as we sell during any other two-month period.  However, contrary to the lamb frenzy that occurs every spring, the best time to purchase lamb is between mid-summer and fall, when lambs have grazed on open pasture for several months. The ultimate in lamb enjoyment occurs in the autumn when you can buy genuine “Spring Lamb”, that is, a lamb born in the early spring, fed on mother's milk then eating organic pasture all summer, and slaughtered in the fall, which produces one of the sweetest and most succulent meat.

These days, it seems you can’t escape grocery store shelves stocked with lamb from Australia and New Zealand.  In our opinion, our locally raised lamb is superior for several reasons… but, really, only one is essential to comprehend – our lamb travels 200 km to get to our store, not 14,000 km.

STRUCTURE

Beef and lamb are both four-footed animals (obviously), and therefore their structures are the same. However, on average, a lamb is one-tenth the weight of a beef and as a result, the butchering is slightly altered since beef can be easily cut into many more individual pieces. There are eight basic (or primal) cuts of lamb: Neck, Shoulder, Foreshank, Breast, Rib, Loin, Leg, and Shank. As shown in the diagram below, we have grouped the primal cuts of lamb into three categories: Premium Cuts, Most Versatile, and Tough but Flavourful.

PREMIUM CUTS / PREMIUM PRICED

The rib area of the lamb is, like prime rib in beef, very tender and flavourful. This portion of the lamb is either cut into little rib chops or left as a whole rack of lamb (with seven or eight ribs). The rib cut has an outer layer of fat which can be trimmed off but, if left on during cooking, melts and bastes the meat.

Rib chops or racks of lamb are very frequently “Frenched” for aesthetic purposes, meaning the meat on the ends of the rib bones are scraped off. We’re not quite sure who decided that naked bones look better than meaty ones, but that’s beside the point.  True lamb lovers will tell you that the best part of feasting on a rack of lamb is nibbling on the bones.  For a very special occasion, consider buying two racks and asking us to create either a crown roast or guard of honour. A Crown Roast is achieved by stitching together two racks at one end, then curving the racks, bone side out, to form a circle shape that looks like a crown. A Guard of Honour is accomplished by tying the racks together such that the ribs interlock, fat side out. The alternating bones resemble the crossed swords of a military guard of honour.

The lamb loin, like beef loin is the most tender muscle. It is usually cut into butter-soft loin chops, which resemble tiny T-bone steaks. Alternatively, in can be divided into the ultra tender (and very tiny) tenderloin and flavourful top loin chops (the cuts being the equivalent to Filet Mignon and NY Striploin in beef). A lamb tenderloin is too small to roast, so it should be quickly grilled or sautéed.

Roast options from the loin include a loin roast and a saddle of lamb. A loin roast is the entire loin section, left whole and bone-in; because of the leanness of the loin, it should be cooked carefully to avoid overcooking and drying out. The saddle is a double loin roast, where both sides of the backbone have been left intact – this roast contains a large quantity of meat and is very easy to carve.

Rib and Loin meat is best cooked using dry heat methods (i.e. roasting, broiling or grilling).  Use an instant read thermometer to achieve these internal temperatures (remember a roast will continue to rise about 3-5C while sitting):

Lamb Cooking Temperatures:
Rare: 135F/57C
Medium Rare: 140F/60C
Medium: 150F/65C

MOST VERSATILE / MID-PRICED

The lamb leg is in a league of its own. The leg in beef, called round, is extremely lean and tough. In lamb, however, because of the smaller size of the animal as well as the fact that lamb is brought to market at a comparatively young age, the leg of lamb is tender and very versatile. It makes a wonderful large roast, or several small roasts, or can be cut into steaks or kabob meat.

Although a lamb has four legs (of course), only the two hind legs produce the cut referred to as “leg of lamb”. The whole, bone-in leg can weigh from 5-to-9 pounds and may be American style (no shank, bone attached) or French style (shank bone left on). A whole leg that has been boned makes a compact and tidy roast when rolled (with or without stuffing) and tied or netted to keep its shape. It may also be butterflied for grilling. Leg steaks are attained by cutting across the bone and can be quite large when cut from the sirloin end, that is, the part closer to where the leg in our diagram meets the loin. Leg is our preferred meat for the kebabs we make since it has large muscle areas from which cubes can be cut free from gristle and bone.

TOUGH BUT FLAVOURFUL / LOWEST PRICED

Now we get to the fun stuff… these are the cuts that we’ve become known for because our chef’s are always willing to explain cooking techniques to customers.  The best example is the shoulder; the shoulder is more flavourful than other cuts, less expensive, tougher, and has more connective tissue, veins of fat, and bones. From the shoulder, we can cut shoulder roasts (boneless or bone-in), shoulder chops, or the best stewing lamb around.

As a roast, the shoulder is one of those dual-purpose cuts: just tender enough to be dry roasted, but because of the fat content, excellent for long, slow braising. Chops from the shoulder are full of flavour, somewhat chewy if grilled, amazing if quickly braised in a skillet on the stove top.

Let’s talk shank. Technically speaking, a lamb has two shanks located at the rear (attached to the leg) and two “foreshanks” located at the front. However, most of our customers prefer their leg of lambs bone-in, shank attached (and for good reason), so we rarely cut the shanks from the legs. Instead, the shanks we typically sell at our store are actually the foreshanks. Confused yet? Don’t worry – whether we’re speaking of shanks or foreshanks, there’s nothing better than braised meat from these cuts.  Read our braising newsletter to learn more about braising.  Served up one per person with the bone sticking out of them, they have more of a primitive appeal than veal shanks because of their larger size. And please, don’t hesitate to ask us to cut the shanks into pieces to make lamb osso buco.

What’s left? Well, the breast is so small there’s not much you can do with it. The neck is also small, but can be braised whole or cut into crosswise slices. We find that the best use for these cuts is to trim off the fat and bones, grind the meat, and turn them into our award-winning lamb sausages and burgers.

As always, we encourage you to try different cuts. The next time you’re in to pick up a couple of chops for the BBQ, instead of picking up three of the same, try a shoulder chop, a loin chop and a rib chop and compare each one side-by-side. Or instead of roasting one larger roast, get a mini-leg of lamb and a small shoulder roast. Experimenting is the most effective way of understanding the cuts we’ve discussed and finding the ones the best suit your tastes.
 

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Boneless Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Sheep’s Feta, Pine Nuts, Fennel, Olives, and Herbs

1 (5 pound) leg of lamb, deboned and butterflied
1 Bulb Fennel, chopped
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon butter
1 ½ cups crumbled Sheep’s milk feta
1 cup toasted pine nuts
¼ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup chopped mint
¼ Cup chopped parsley
¼ Cup chopped basil
1 tablespoon Pure olive oil or vegetable oil

Salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut six 2-foot lengths of butcher's twine. In a small frying pan sauté fennel and shallots in butter for one minute or until lightly browned, seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl and cool. Mix well with feta, pine nuts, olives and herbs; season with pepper as there is probably enough salt from the feta.

Arrange lamb on work surface, inside facing up. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over lamb and pound with a meat mallet to flatten meat slightly, if needed, until leg is a fairly even thickness. Remove plastic wrap and generously season inside and outside of lamb with salt and pepper. Mound stuffing mixture lengthwise along one side of lamb; roll up lamb over stuffing, tucking in ends. Evenly space 6 pieces of twine under lamb roll and tie the roll firmly.
 

In a roasting pan on the stove top (possibly over 2 burners), heat oil over high heat.  Add lamb roll and sear all over, about 6 minutes in all.  Insert a rack under the lamb roast in the roasting pan. Roast in the oven at 375F until an instant read thermometer reads 140 degrees F for medium rare, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting occasionally.  Remove from oven and let sit, cover loosely with foil at least 10 minutes. To serve, discard strings, slice in 12 pieces and serve 2 slices per serving with favourite potato or rice recipe.

To access past issues of live to eat? Click here.

To learn more about cuts of beef, read "Breaking Down the Beef ... A Primer on the Cuts of Beef"

For further reading on cooking techniques, refer to The Healthy Butcher's Cooking Guide