Information on and photos of our cuts of lamb -
Our lambs are processed fresh off pasture. They are not placed in a feedlot or fattened on grain. Grass-fed lamb has a good fat covering - but only grass-fat. To discover the benefits of grass-fed lamb vs. feedlot lamb, visit http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html for the basics. Our lamb is processed, cut, wrapped and frozen. We do not tamper with it in any way.
While grass-fed lamb is usually more tender than grass-fed beef, it has a firmer texture than feedlot lamb. Most pasture raised meats benefit from slow, long cooking and/or a marinade. Some cuts (roasts, stew meat, ground) are not affected as much by cooking style, but others (steaks, chops, ribs) can be. Much information is now available on cooking grass-fed meats to transition from confined feedlot animal meat.
Whole legs and shoulders vs. roasts - If you have a lot of folks
to feed or cook large quantities for later use in portion size servings, whole
legs and shoulders cooked are good choices. Whole legs and whole shoulders
usually weigh 5 to 6 pounds and include the bone. Cutting the leg and
shoulders in half yields and smaller size roast. If you never cook roasts,
consider these options - Legs can be processed into leg chops, sometimes
called leg steaks. Shoulders can also be processed as chops. Either cut
can be boned and cut into boneless meat "stew" chunks and/or ground into ground
meat. Photos are of leg - both sides.
Chops - A lamb has many options when it comes to chops. Leg,
shoulder, loin, rack, neck and shank can all yield chops. Smaller chops (loin,rib)
tend to be packaged in quantities of 6 or 8. Larger legs steaks may be one
to a package. They are 3/4 of an inch thick, unless you want them cut
thicker. The familiar "T-bone" style chop is a lamb loin chop. The most tender
and delicious chop is the lamb's rib chop. Lamb shanks can be cut into chops and
are my favorite sautéed chop. When ordering a whole custom lamb you can
experiment with an assortment of chops to find your favorite. Marinade
these chops prior to grilling or broiling and don't let them dry out.
Chops are also great pan sautéed on the stove. Rib chop photo.
Ground - As a working Mom, I depend on ground lamb to save dinner on a
weekly basis. I reluctantly admit placing premium cuts of my lamb (chops, legs)
into ground meat. You just can't beat lamb sloppy joes if you have two
hungry kids getting off the school bus in 30 minutes and you just got home from
work ! Grass-fed ground lamb is versatile and convenient - just use it
like ground beef. We keep our ground lamb lean but you can order is anyway you
like with a custom lamb processing.
Pre-made lamb patties - Uniform lamb burgers with little more fat for
grilling. These are great timesavers and really stay together on the
grill. They are packaged 4 to a package and are 1/4 pound each. They are
great for the traditional burger, cheeseburger and for ground-meat "steaks".
They are 100% grass-fed lamb - no fillers or additives.
Boneless
meat can be cut from leg, shoulder and loin. It is a time saver
packaged in apprx. one pound packages. Use it in your favorite stew and
soup recipes. Great in the slow-cooker.
Sliced shanks are unmatched as a bone-in stew meat. Shanks are leg bones that contain marrow. Slicing them lets the marrow cook into the dish.
Whole shanks, sometimes referred to as trotters. Great for traditional shank recipes.
Spare
ribs, short ribs, riblets and breast - Ribs are referred to as
spare ribs when the ribs are left basically intact in a slab - one from each
side of the lamb. Short ribs refers to a slab of spare ribs cut down in a
"baby-back" style way. They are more uniform and very easy to slice apart. When
short ribs are cut apart into "fingers" they are referred to as riblets.
Spare ribs take a little more time to clean and trim but the large section of
meat cooks better without drying out. Par-boiling and marinating ribs
makes them delicious and tender. Ribs are classic BBQ Grill fare but they are
also great in the oven. You can boil them, pick off the meat and fat you need
and use in enchiladas, tamales and other recipes. This meat makes a nice change
from using ground lamb in some recipes. Spare ribs have both sides packaged together. Photos show
front and back. Note that the breast meat is still attached and can be trimmed
off for a boneless strip of meat. The fat covering on the outside of the slab
makes for good grilling. Spare ribs are often made into two cuts. Short ribs and
breast of lamb. That is why lamb breast (supermarket cut) has some rib
attached. I prefer to trim my spare ribs of breast meat before cooking. I then
par-boil the ribs intact then cut them apart for grilling or broiling. I
place the boneless breast meat in a fajita marinade or cook for shredded meat
for tacos, enchiladas, etc. In the third photo from left, the spare ribs and
breast have been cut apart and marinated.
Organ meats - The greatest variety and best source of many nutrients
are in the form or organ meats. Organ meats are under utilized in this country.
Most are sold as gourmet pet foods. It is a challenge to utilize organ
meats, but rewarding. And remember, the nutrients are concentrated when compared
to meat (muscle) - a little goes a long way. Our lamb hearts, liver and
kidneys are available to those seeking the best sources of nutrients. Kidneys in
photo.
circle and returning
to a radical concept:
nature has
the best ideas.
—Courtney White, Executive Director,
The Quivira Coalition