Lamb

/ hsoi

On Monday night, Wife pulled some lamb loin chops out of the freezer. Each chop was probably 4-5oz (bone in). So again, small.

Backing up….

The lamb was not an intended purchase. But when we were talking with the farmer’s wife she mentioned lamb and asked if we wanted one. Wife jumped at the opportunity. We’ve only had lamb a handful of times, and it’s never really worked out well. Overcooked or dry or just didn’t taste good. I wondered if lamb was worth it, but I figured it had to be more a matter of how it was cooked… or more appropriately, how it wasn’t cooked. So why not get some and try it ourselves, eh?

While there isn’t much yield of course (the live weight was 85# and the hanging weight 42#, so maybe only 35-ish pounds of meat?), the results?

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Wife did something very simple. Just salt, pepper, some garlic, then a really hot pan. They were cooked to just a hair past medium-rare (tho not quite medium)… flesh was cooked, but still pink with a nice crust on the outside.

And fatty.

And thus, so delicious.

Tender.

And there’s this flavor to lamb… minerally? some might say “gamey”… but it’s not that. But if you’ve had lamb you probably know what I’m talking about. That flavor was there, but mild, and not bothersome at all. I’ve had it before where it was strong and just made the meat not taste so good. But this? This was wonderful.

So yes folks… there’s better out there. You just have to find the right source for it. Once you find it, cherish it, support it, nurture it.

4 thoughts on “Lamb”

  1. We ate a lot of lamb when I was growing up, so it has always been a big favorite of mine, especially leg of lamb. Personally, I think your wife treated it properly in the seasoning. To me, lamb is good enough that all it needs is salt and pepper, and maybe a bit of garlic to enhance its flavor.

    • I forgot to mention… she also brushed it with olive oil.

      But that’s the thing… if a food can stand on its own with minimal seasoning, added merely to bring out or complement flavors, then you know it’s good stuff. This is why I don’t like chicken. Take chicken and cook it plain… tastes, bleah. Take a beef steak or lamb or venison, etc. and cook it plain, it’s great.

  2. A bit of lemon juice before cooking also adds a bit without marring the flavor. I grew up around a lot of Greeks, and they used a bit of wine, olive oil, and lemon juice for basting when cooking a whole lamb on a spit. Before putting it on the spit they used the salt, pepper, and garlic on it quite liberally.

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