A primer on meat cuts

Easter celebrations often feature leg of lamb or a crown roast, but there also are lots of other lamb cuts to consider for your year-round dinner table.

The lamb, or for that matter any animal, is separated into primal cuts, such as the breast, loin or leg, then further divided into subprimal cuts, such as spareribs, eye roast or shank.

Some supermarkets and butcher shops have a wide selection of lamb. Special order cuts to get exactly what a recipe requires, or ask the butcher to suggest a similar cut.

When we choose cuts that best match a recipe's cooking technique, we're getting a leg up on putting the best dish on the table.

Leg

Only the two hind legs produce the cut referred to as "leg of lamb." It's a large, lean and tender cut that's sold whole or divided into smaller cuts. A whole, bone-in leg can weigh from 5 to 9 pounds and may be sold American style, which has no shank bone attached, or French style with the shank bone left on. A whole, boned leg can be stuffed, rolled, tied and roasted. The meat can also be butterflied (the deboned, flattened leg resembles a butterfly's shape) for grilling.

Cuts from leg

The sirloin half produces an excellent roast that is meatier and more tender than the shank half and weighs 3 to 4 pounds. It can also be boned. The sirloin chop is very meaty and makes a larger, less expensive chop than either the rib or loin chop.

The shank half yields a roast which is leaner but tougher than that from the sirloin half, with a higher percentage of bone. It weighs about 3 to 4 pounds but needs to be braised, a cooking method that calls for the meat to be browned, a small amount of liquid added to the pan and the lid put on the pan and the meat cooked slowly in a 325 degree oven 2 to 2-½ hours.

Crosscuts

Center leg roasts are cut from the center of the rear leg and include a portion of the sirloin half and a portion of the shank half of the leg.

Leg steaks are cut from the center of the leg and are identified by a crosscut section of the round leg bone within the meat.

Kebab meat should be free of fat, bone or connective tissue. Whereas stew meat is most often cut from the shoulder, kebab meat should be cut from the leg so that it's tender enough for grilling or broiling.

Loin/flank

The loin primal cut is the section along the lamb's back from the 13th rib to the hip. It contains the most expensive and tender meat. But it's leaner than the rib cut, so if cooked too much it will seem dry. This cut should be served medium-rare or rare.

The loin includes the flank or belly section, which is much tougher than the loin.

Loin cuts

The loin roast is taken from one side of the backbone. It's not a large cut and should be roasted in a 325-degree oven 20 minutes per pound to keep from drying out.

The loin eye roast is a small, boneless cut weighing about 2 pounds. It's one of the more expensive cuts of lamb. Roast 20 to 25 minutes per pound in a 325-degree oven.

The saddle of lamb is a double loin roast, cut from both sides of the backbone. It's expensive, but the quality is excellent and, when boned, is easy to carve. (This cut may need to be special ordered from the butcher.) Roast in a 325-degree oven 20 minutes per pound.

The loin chop is sliced crosswise into individual chops, which are identified by the T-shaped bone. These are the most tender, leanest and most expensive of the various lamb chops and are best broiled or grilled 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. If cut from both sides of the backbone, they're called double chops.

The medallion or noisette are the crosswise slices of the boneless loin and are excellent for quick sautéing over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve with a pan sauce.

The tenderloin consists of the other muscle in the loin and is very tender and small, about 6 ounces. It's best when grilled or sautéed about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare meat.

The flank is usually ground because of its toughness.

Rib

The section of the lamb carcass on either side of the backbone between the shoulder and the loin, and includes ribs 6 through 12. Rib meat is expensive, mild in flavor, and tender. The rib cut has an outer layer of fat which can be trimmed but will baste the meat if left on. Dry heat methods such as broiling, roasting or grilling are best.

Cuts from rib

Rib roast includes the rack of lamb and crown roast. A whole rib roast, or rack of lamb, has 7 or 8 ribs. When "Frenched" the upper ends of the rib bones are trimmed. Two or three racks are combined end to end and curved to make a crown roast, or a pair of racks can be roasted with the rib ends interlaced. The chine bone should be cut through for easy carving.

The rib chop, along with the loin chop, is the most tender cut. It has more fat than the loin chop and is more flavorful. Broil or grill 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Shoulder

A whole shoulder is very flavorful and more economical than a leg of lamb, but it also has more fat and connective tissue and is much tougher. Because of its complex structure, a bone-in shoulder can be difficult to carve. A boned shoulder is most often rolled and tied to keep its shape; it is good for stuffing. Roast in a 325 degree oven about 20 minutes per pound.

Cuts from the shoulder

The neck is a small, tough, flavorful cut usually sold whole or cut into crosswise slices. Cook with moist heat such as an oven or stove-top braise or stew.

The blade includes the blade roast and chuck eye roast, which refers to the boneless center roast obtained from the blade portion of shoulder. These roasts can grilled, oven-roasted or braised. The blade chop is the most flavorful and economical chop from the shoulder. It can be grilled, broiled or pan-fried 3 to 4 minutes per side.

The arm includes the roast, which can be roasted or braised, and chop, which is less tender than the blade chop. It's best when cooked with some liquid.

Breast and foreshank

The breast is the lower part of the front half of the lamb's carcass, and is fattier and flavorful. The foreshank is the front leg from the knee to the shoulder.

Cuts from breast and foreshank

Whole breast is often boned, stuffed and rolled, then braised.

Spareribs, which contain more bone and fat than meat, are sold as slabs or smaller riblets. Denver ribs have been trimmed of fat and connective tissue.

The foreshank, or lamb shank, is the leanest cut of lamb and requires long, slow braising, about 2 ½ hours in a 325-degree oven.

(Scraps from the breast and foreshank are often ground into lamb burger.)

Sources: mealsforyou.com; hormel.com; "How to Cook Meat" by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby.