11.6 Lamb

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Lamb is the meat of sheep killed before they are a year old. Meat from older sheep is mutton. Because it is young, lamb is tender enough for almost any method. It has a strong, distinctive taste and stands up to bold sauces and garnishes. Most lambs are sold for meat at 6 to 8 months old.

"Spring lamb" has two meanings. It can mean young lamb never fed grass or grain. On a label, it tells you the lamb was killed some time from March to October.

The primal cuts

A lamb carcass weighs 41 to 75 pounds (20 to 35 kg). It is cut into five primals: the shoulder, the breast, the rack, the loin and the leg. As with some veal primals, each is cut straight across the animal, so it holds both sides; the primal leg holds both hind legs.

Shoulder. The shoulder holds four ribs, the arm, blade and neck bones, and many small, tough muscles running different ways. That makes a whole shoulder almost impossible to cook and carve. It can be cut into chops, or boned and roasted or braised, stuffed or not, but most often it is diced for stew or ground for patties.

Breast. The breast takes in the foreshank. Trimming the rack leaves behind the rib tips, which belong to the breast. Cut away on their own, these little ribs are sold as Denver ribs and can replace pork ribs. The breast can be stuffed and braised, with or without its bones. Foreshanks are meaty; braise them as a main course, or use them for broth or grinding.

Rack. The rack, or hotel rack, sits between the shoulder and the loin and is prized for its tender rib eye. It holds eight ribs, or nine as some count it. The rack is usually split in two. Each half is grilled, broiled or roasted whole, or first divided into rib chops, one or two bones thick. Two rib roasts sewn into a circle make a crown roast.

Loin. The loin holds the 13th rib, the loin eye, the tenderloin and the flank. Apart from the flank, it is very tender and is always cooked by dry heat: broiled, grilled or roasted. It can be boned for roasts or boneless chops, or cut into bone-in chops, and the eye can be cut into medallions, called noisettes.

Leg. The leg includes the part that would be the sirloin on beef. It is rarely used whole; it is split into two legs and partly or fully boned. The sirloin end is more tender than the shank end. Bone-in legs are roasted for buffets or braised with vegetables or beans. Steaks can be cut from it, the most tender from the sirloin end. A boned leg can be tied and roasted, stuffed or plain, or cut into scallops, and the shank end diced for stew or ground.

Lamb chops come from several primals. Loin chops and rib chops are the most tender and the most expensive. Cheaper chops, which may be just as tender, are the sirloin chop from the leg and the blade and arm chops from the shoulder.

Buying lamb

Lamb is small enough to handle as a whole carcass, so some kitchens buy it whole and cut it themselves. That only pays if the kitchen has the skill, the equipment and the storage, and a use for every cut and trimming. Besides whole carcasses, primals and smaller cuts, suppliers sell:

• Foresaddle: the front, cut off between the 12th and 13th ribs, with the shoulder, breast, foreshank and rack.
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• Hindsaddle: the rear, with the loin, the leg and the kidneys.
• Back: the rack and loin together, trimmed, handy for cutting many chops.
• Bracelet: the hotel rack with the breast still joined to it.
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Nearly half the lamb sold in the United States comes from New Zealand and Australia. Lamb raised in the United States is mostly fed grain and tastes milder than grass-fed lamb. It is raised to about 135 pounds, bigger than imported lamb, so its cuts are bigger. Choose lamb that is fine-grained and firm, red with white marbling, with firm white fat that is not too thick. USDA-graded lamb in shops is Prime, Choice or Good, and most of it is Choice.

Compared with other red meats, lamb is lean and has less cholesterol, and a good source of iron compared with chicken or fish. Its extra fat sits on the outside of the cut, where it is easy to trim.

Frenching a rack

Frenching cleans the meat off the rib bones for a neat look.

• With a meat saw, cut the ribs to about 3 inches (7.5 cm), measured from the eye of meat.
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• Flip the rack and free the meat from the featherbones by cutting along each side of them.
• Turn it back. With the saw held at 45 degrees, cut through where the ribs meet the chine bone.

Handling and cooking lamb

Raw lamb does not need rinsing. Rinsing spreads germs around the sink and is not needed, since cooking kills any bacteria. Individual cuts of meat are used within two days, best on the day they are cut. Ground lamb and stew meat keep 1 to 2 days. Frozen roasts, steaks and chops are best within 6 to 9 months, ground lamb within 3 to 4. Marinate roasts, steaks and chops in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and cubes or stew meat for up to 2 days.

Medium-well lamb reaches between 65°C and 69°C (150°F and 158°F) inside and well-done lamb 71°C (160°F), and ground meat must reach 70°C (158°F). Organ meats are cooked to 160°F. A bone-in leg roasts at 325°F for about 20 to 25 minutes a pound. Shanks and stew meat need 1½ to 2 hours of braising.

Plan for loss in the oven. After cooking, a pound of raw bone-in leg or roast gives 8 to 9 ounces of meat to eat. Ground lamb or a boneless cut gives about 10.5 ounces.