What you need to know about buying and preparing lamb

Now that we’re well into spring (just look outside; sunshine! Hail!), you’re probably seeing lamb more often on restaurant menus (for takeaway and delivery too). It’s delicious when a chef prepares it for you, but you can also easily prepare delicious lamb at home, especially with these tips on which cuts to prepare in which way.

Lamb is very lean and has a flavor all of its own. You can prepare it in various ways: grilling, frying, roasting and stewing. Still, many people find it intimidating to cook with lamb, avoid it because they’re afraid the flavor will be too ‘strong’, or feel sorry for the animal. The latter is understandable, but if you eat meat, you’ve already accepted that you eat animals. Besides, lambs are slaughtered when they’re between about four and twelve months old – considerably older than most chickens raised for slaughter.

And that ‘strong’ flavor is exactly the appeal for many foodies; in southern countries, people are much more accustomed to it. And is preparing it intimidating? It doesn’t have to be, as long as you have the right recipes! And naturally, you can find those with us too…

Lamb chops

The easiest cut to start with when you’re preparing lamb for the first time, with a mild flavor. Simply fry or grill them in a pan as you would a pork chop, not for too long and over high heat for a delicious Maillard reaction and a lightly pink center.

Rack of lamb

One of the most special and fancy-looking ways to prepare lamb. Ask the butcher to clean the bones thoroughly (although this will usually already have been done for this cut) and use a meat thermometer to cook the seasoned meat in the oven to no more than 60° C; that will leave it beautifully pink.

Lamb shoulder

Shoulder chops aren’t as tender when fried in a pan as the chops mentioned above, but a good piece of lamb shoulder (fillet) can be wonderfully cooked in the oven or stewed. Cutting it into small cubes and briefly stir-frying it also works, although you do need to enjoy meat with a firm texture.

Lamb tenderloin

Lamb tenderloin is the most tender cut of meat. It is cut from the lamb’s back. You only need to fry the meat very briefly: about 4 minutes. It can still be somewhat pink inside. Lamb tenderloin is delicious with thyme, rosemary and mint.

Leg of lamb

With a leg of lamb, taken from the lamb’s hindquarters, you can also go in any direction. You can roast, grill, barbecue or oven-cook a leg of lamb. For example, make a lamb curry or go all out with a Danish leg of lamb.

Ground lamb

Perfect, of course, for lamb meatballs or lamb kofta. Season the meat with appropriate herbs and spices (delicious with Middle Eastern spice blends such as za’atar or dukkah, but also with fresh parsley and lemon zest), shape it as desired and briefly fry it in a pan or bake it in the oven. Super delicious in a pita with plenty of garlic sauce, but also alongside a beautiful bowl of tabbouleh.

Lamb shank

Another cut of meat that you can make look quite spectacular with little effort (and a smaller budget). It has a distinctive, conical shape, with a bone sticking straight up from the center when you prepare it in a roasting pan in the oven. You do need to give it enough time; otherwise, the meat will become/remain tough. Stew it in wine or stock, and after a while you’ll have beautiful, lean, tender meat that falls right off the bone.

Read also:

• How to make dukkah yourself
• 13 things you can do with mint (other than putting it in your tea)
• What should you buy at the Turkish supermarket?