Buying and Cooking Lamb
Lamb is one of our most traditional meats. In fact, we eat more lamb per capita than any other nation except for New Zealand and Australia (well, let’s face it, there are more sheep in New Zealand!) Here’s some interesting facts about lamb……
1. 40% of the lamb we eat is home grown. The rest comes from Australia and New Zealand.
By law, the butcher has to label the country of origin of any meat.
2. Lamb is particularly rich in iron and vitamin B complex. Essential for good nutrition.
3. Optimum lamb production in the UK is from early spring until October. The other months of the year are usually supplied with imported meat.
4. The lambs in the UK are usually between 3 and 12 months old, mutton is usually between 18 months to 2 years.
7. Lamb is quite fatty but a little dusting of seasoned flour over the top will absorb the fat and help to crisp up the skin.
8. Allow 300g/12oz per person of meat on the bone and 150-225g/6-8oz per person off the bone.
9. Best for grilling: Cutlets, Chops and Noisettes
10.Best for Stewing: Breast, Scrag end or shoulder
11. Best for Roasting: Shoulder, Leg, Loin
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This is a versatile cut and comes from between the middle neck and loin (see the diagram). It’s great for braising or roasting on the bone. Two famous roasts come from the best end of neck: the crown roast and the guard of honour. Give the butcher a few days notice and he’ll prepare these very extravagant and impressive roasts for you.
The best end of neck also gives you lamb cutlets – the long thin boned chop with a slight layer of fat. It has a very sweet small piece of lean meat. They are quite small, so allow a couple per person.
This is usually sold off the bone where is it stuffed and rolled. It is an economical cut that can be roasted or braised. Just be aware though that it is quite a fatty joint of meat.
Lamb chops are very popular in the UK and come from the loin area or the leg. They’re best grilled, fried or braised. Try out our Masala Lamb Chops recipe or our Aniseed Spiced Lamb Chops
These come from either the loin or the leg area and have a central bone, unlike normal chops. They are expensive due to the fact that each leg of lamb can only yield 2 chops each.
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As the name goes, these come from the loin. They have a T shaped bone in them and are fairly lean cuts.
This cut comes from the upper part of the leg and is usually roasted whole on the bone. What about our Oriental Lamb recipe.
This is the most popular roasting joint, often weighing 2-3kg. It is very versatile and can be boned, stuffed and rolled or roasted on the bone. It can also be divided into the knuckle and the fillet and lends itself to all methods of cooking: roasting, braising or stewing.
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Chops: 12-15 minutes