Meatology - Cuts of Lamb

Meat of lamb isn't as prominent used for grilling as in comparison to beef or pork. We think that's a shame because lamb is also perfect to be used by most grilling methods. Which advantages each cut provides is listed below.

Overview of the most important pork cuts

Neck

Due to grazing lambs always strain their necks which heavily affects this cut of meat. This grants lamb neck an intense inherent flavor and a marbling with fine but firm fat. Lamb neck is because of that perfect to grill or sear as aromatic steaks but can also be low-and-slow cooked as a whole roast resulting in pulled lamb.

Shoulder
Shoulder is a quite tricky cut of lamb. It has a special fat marbling and a quite high number of bones and though less used. Which is quite unfair towards the cut because it has still the typical lamb taste and is rich in flavor. Cut it in steaks to be grilled or low-and-slow cook it as a roast to incorporate all of its flavors. But always pay attention to the amount of fat and feel free to remove excess fat. Lamb fat needs more time to be fully cooked than lamb meat. While the meat could be well-done the fat is far from finished and when the fat is well-done the meat is probably overcooked.

Ribs
Lamb ribs are also perfect for grilling. They are cut from the chest of the lamb and seven to eight in number. But in comparison to ribs from other animals lamb ribs are way smaller and don’t have vast amounts of meat. They are still a delicious cut of lamb and have a pleasant ratio of meat to fat marbling. Due to that ratio if you want to grill lamb ribs you should stick to slower cooking methods like indirect grilling.

Rack
Cut from the back a lamb rack is considered a higher-grade cut and only outclassed by filet. This is no surprise, since the rack is a tender piece of meat with the typical lamb aroma and due to a small fat cap, it gets nice additional flavors. It is only served with bone in. To grill lamb rack, you have several possibilities. Separate it between the bones to get small cutlets of lamb perfect for searing or grilling. Or cook lamb rack whole combining all eight ribs into one bigger piece and best suited for roasting. And last but not least the fanciest way: a crown of lamb. This way several lamb racks are bound to a circle and cooked together.

Valentine Steak
The valentine steak: what a lovely cut! This is mostly because a valentine steak resembles a heart but also due to its hearty and vigorous flavors. To get the heart shaped cut you need a piece big as two cutlets from the lamb rack still attached to another. Trimmed from excess fat and bone out this meat will be cut with a butterfly cut into a a wider cutlet, resembling aforementioned heart shape. A valentine steak is perfect to be seared.

Filet
The filet is the highest quality cut of lamb and is as usual cut from the tenderloin. In comparison to other livestock filets the lamb’s filet is quite small. Regardless of its size the filet of lamb is a lean and tender piece of meat, but surprisingly not the leanest cut. Nethertheless a lamb filet is still a delicious, flavorful and tender cut perfect to be seared or grilled.

Leg
The biggest cut of lamb is the whole leg. The meat of the leg is the leanest of the lamb, tender and yet aromatic. To serve it from the grill you have different options. You can grill it whole with bone in and out. Or separate it in steak like cuts to sear them or dice the meat ready to be skewered for kebab.