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I'm not as weary of eating lamb as I am of getting it ready to eat. I usually cook a half leg of lamb so that I'll have enough meat to last for a couple of weeks. Cooking it is pretty easy because I don't do anything other than salt and roast it.
I'm finding that it's full of fat, gristle, and is cold by the time I trim and eat it. Even though I was hungry tonight, I had no desire to eat my dinner because trimming it is so unappealing.
Would I be better off having the butcher slice it into chops? What would be the best cut to get?
I'm able to buy it at a reasonable price at a small Mexican grocer. They had a frozen leg in the back and cut it to my specifications. I had to make sure they gave me lamb and not goat meat. The butcher asked if I wanted him to slice it into chops. I'm wondering if I should have, because I had so much waste once again.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Ask the butcher if he has lamb racks. Or even better, boned lamb racks (known as backstraps). The rack is what is normally turned into cutlets by cutting between the bones. You might have success by asking if he can do cutlets, then talking to him about getting the piece of meat before he cuts it into individual cutlets. When you cut the meat from the bone in one piece you get a lovely piece of lean meat which can be grilled like steak, or stir fried etc. The trimmings feed the cats!
If you get your leg cut into chops, you can cut it into smaller pieces and skewer it to make shasliks or kebabs or satays (depending on what spices you flavour it with). Think marinade with oregano, sage and a pinch of cumin with lemon juice and olive oil, then skewer and grill (broil?).
The trick with lamb is to cut the fatty bits out before you cook it, rather than afterwards.
Gloria
i still buy the lamb shank bones and slow cook them to get the stock (natural gelatin etc)
like you - i found the retreiving the meat from the bone very time intensive.
i keep what is easy to retrieve (while the meat is warm)
for me to retrieve the meat and do the clean up after all the cooking etc takes me about 1 - 2 hours!
lately i have been doing this fortnightly instead of weekly so the task is not as tiresome
While i am slow cooking the lamb shanks i add into the pot, lamb rump steaks (or other cuts that are on special) so the meat mix i use for meals is about 50/50 shank meat and other meat.
other than chicken or fish, well cooked lamb is what suits my body best.
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
I go to Sams and get a boneless leg of lamb. That way I can roast it or cook it on the grill. No bone or gristle. I can also cut the outer layer of fat off before I cook it.
Good luck with your experiments.
Jan
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. - Saint Francis of Assisi
Gabes: I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks trimming it is tedious. I think lamb is very easy on my gut, too, which is why I still eat it.
Lyn: I'll try to trim it better before I cook it. I'm not sure the Mexican grocery will understand what lamb racks are, but Whole Foods probably would. I'm still limiting my spices, but will consider your recipe for the future.
Jan and Ginny: Do you mean Sam's Club? I have a membership there, but seldom use it. If you mean Sam's Club, I'll happily go there and buy it. How much do you pay per pound for the chops and the boneless leg?
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
i have set up a mirror so that i can see the TV from the Kitchen
i move one of the speakers into the kitchen, put on my favourite tv program while i stand there and get the warm meat off the bones
In my cook up, i do two big pots with at least 8 sometimes up to 10 shanks. mixed with the other cuts of lamb this gives me at least 2 weeks of meat for meals and enough stock for all my other cooking for the same period.
the effort on the sunday afternoon is worth it.... it makes my week much much easier,
i also learnt that by the time i finish all the meat retrival and clean up that i dont feel like lamb for dinner, so tend to cook a small piece of salmon steak
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Gloria, yes we mean Sam's Club. The chops are expensive but considering I don't eat out anymore...............I'm saving money Honestly, I can't remember the price per pound but for about 8 chops (they are small but thick and all meat) it is around $10-12 total. I broil mine on foil so I have no clean up. I think you said you can't use EVOO so if you can tolerate lemon, that will work as well with lots of mint leaves.
Gabes, I do the same thing on Sunday afternoon; cook for the entire week of breakfast, lunches and some dinners. It is really the only time I have with work and other obligations.
Ginny
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change those things I can, and WISDOM to know the difference
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The butcher asked if I wanted him to slice it into chops. I'm wondering if I should have, because I had so much waste once again.
Honestly, I can't remember the price per pound but for about 8 chops (they are small but thick and all meat) it is around $10-12 total. I broil mine on foil so I have no clean up. I think you said you can't use EVOO so if you can tolerate lemon, that will work as well with lots of mint leaves.