A friend was asking what is lamb shank? I told him to Google it then he said that I was "handal" in all this cooking stuff and demanded a definition. Well, I Googled it (HAHA) and below is what I got. You should know your lamb because different parts will give you different types of meat to cook with. Personally, lamb is a very nice type of meat to cook, either with curry or roasted, it can be a very sweet and succulent meat if you know how to cook it right!
LAMB info 101:
Lamb, hogget, and mutton are the meat of domestic sheep. The meat of an animal in its first year is lamb; that of an older sheep is hogget and later mutton.
There are five basic major cuts of lamb: leg, loin, shoulder, rack and shank/breast.
Lamb chops are cut from the shoulder, rib, loin and sirloin area. Loin chops and rib chops are the most tender. The less expensive shoulder chops (called blade and arm chops) and sirloin chops from the leg can be just as tender, but they are not as visually attractive because the meat is separated by bands of connective tissue.
The leg of lamb can be the whole leg including the sirloin, or the short cut leg, sirloin of. It is usually roasted, though it can be broiled, grilled and barbecued as well. Some find the rear of the lamb has bolder flavor, but retains the same juicy tenderness as the rib and loin portions.
The loin comprises the ribs between the forequarter and hindquarter (sirloin and leg).
Rack of Lamb
The rack is the unsplit rib of the carcass, which includes ribs 6 through 12 and the thick, meaty rib-eye muscle (the meat).
Lamb Shoulder
The shoulder of the lamb is less expensive than the rib, loin or leg. While the meat is well-marbled and full-flavored, there is more connective tissue. The shoulder yields the following cuts: cubes for kabobs; blade chips, boneless blade chops and arm chops and the boneless shoulder, cushion shoulder and square shoulder.
The sirloin is the section between the back of the loin and the hipbone. The boinless sirlon is the equivalent of the beef tenderloin, tender and flavorful.
Parts of the LAMB:
Please visit: http://www.tvsp.org/sheep/meat/retail-cuts-of-lamb.jpg
COOKING TIME ~ LAMB ROAST
Depending on the size of the roast, whether it is leg, rib or shoulder, and whether you want the meat rare, medium or well done, estimate 15 to 40 minutes per pound at 324°F. A meat thermometer will register 145°F for rare, 160°F for medium and 170°F for well-done. Cover to keep warm and allow the roast to stand for 15 minutes before serving so the juices will settle. Remember that during this time the temperature will continue to rise 5 to 10 degrees, so remove the lamb before the temperature reaches the desired degree of doneness.
Some text from http://www.thenibble.com/
Do check out my next post, it's a recipe and some tips for cooking lamb!
