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Lamb?

I have a couple cook books that each have multiple lamb recipes listed as if this is normal. I don't think anyone in my entire family has ever cooked lamb at home. Is this a normal meat to cook in your area? Is it easy to do?

Re: Lamb?

  • Mmm I love lamb! I have a lamb leg in my freezer just waiting for the right occasion!

    It's pretty easy to cook, but its also very easy to overcook. I like lamb medium rare - medium. Lots of people eat it with mint, but I think that's too weird haha.  

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  • I LOVE lamb.   It's delicious but expensive.  

    I think I was in my 20s before I ate it and if I did eat it when younger, I don't remember it.    Now DH and I will eat it only for special occasions.

    The way to cook lamb is generally simple but as @teddygirl9  said, it's also easy to overdo. 
  • I almost never cook lamb at home because it tends to come in pretty large quantities that cost a lot per pound.  A 5 pound roast at $30 per pound is $150 and a lot more meat than just the two of us can reasonably use.  But I love ordering lamb at restaurants, and if it was more readily available in smaller quantities I would cook with it a lot more.
  • We love lamb! We have lamb burgers and shanks in our freezer right now.
  • My brother cooks a leg of lamb a few times a year for parties.

    While I like lamb, we never cook it at home.    To be fair, DH has it on his menu, so if I really wanted some I could just get it from him.






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  • TNDancer said:
    I have a couple cook books that each have multiple lamb recipes listed as if this is normal. I don't think anyone in my entire family has ever cooked lamb at home. Is this a normal meat to cook in your area? Is it easy to do?
    Lamb is much less common in the US than most other parts of the world, but yeah it's a normal meat to cook at home. No harder than any other meat. 
  • I like lamb, when it's done well.  But personally, I find most restaurants here don't do it well and I don't like it then.  Never cooked it though.  

  • It sounds like this will continue to be a restaurant only food.
  • I like lamb prepared as gyro meat, but have only had it that way made by restaurants.

    Other than gyro meat, I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten lamb shanks.  I can eat it, but don't especially care for it.  As such, I have never cooked it at home and probably never would.

    I've heard it is a traditional Easter dinner choice, even in the U.S., though none of my family makes it for Easter.

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  • SP29SP29 member
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    Not as common here as other countries, but not uncommon.

    My Greek mother in law makes lamb. I've had it once and it was very good. I think someone in my family has made it once.
  • We cook lamb at home all the time- Trader Joe's has a pre-seasoned rack of lamb in their freezer section that is literally the easiest and most delicious thing ever. Would highly recommend if you want lamb at home but don't really know how to cook it.
  • LOVE lamb. It doesn't seem like a common thing to cook in our area/friend circle, but H cooks it a couple of times a year. Costco sells a boneless leg of lamb at a decent price, and H marinates it in garlic, rosemary, thyme, and some other herbs and then grills it (since it's boneless, you can open it up so it lays flat on the grill. We eat it with pita, tomatoes, cucumber and tzatziki. It's delicious.
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  • Bed of fresh garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs in a roasting dish, lay lamb on top. Score the meat, push fresh garlic and rosemary in the holes, drizzle olive oil over it then slow roast on low heat for around 3-4 hours. With roast potatoes and honey roast carrots!
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  • Partner hates lamb so we don't eat it at home. Growing up though I would be surprised if we had it less than once a fortnight. Though to be fair lamb makes up one of the biggest exported goods for our country so it is a classic family meal. 

    I had an amazing lamb tagine last month, would definitely recommend trying to make one if that's your sort of thing. Lamb sausages, lamb mince, lamb shanks... Getting hungry now, 
  • I don't eat lamb, so I've never made it, but my grandfather makes it pretty regularly.  


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  • My family ate lamb once a week growing up. I don't make it as often as I should, but it really isn't that hard. Rack of lamb is my favourite. My Mom experiments with sauces a lot and I loved her rack of lamb with a raspberry mint sauce. Delicious.
  • Thanks y'all. These recipes sound great. Do your grocery stores have lamb (mine doesn't), or do you have go to a real butcher?
  • No, I've never bought it, and we never had it growing up either. Part of that is because, being hunters,we rarely buy meat because we're usually eating deer or moose or caribou or fish or whatever we harvest ourselves. I have had mountain goat, but I have no idea if that's at all similar. 
  • TNDancer said:
    Thanks y'all. These recipes sound great. Do your grocery stores have lamb (mine doesn't), or do you have go to a real butcher?

    I've always gone to a butcher. You can often get great deals by getting to know the butcher. I know that my Mom would find out when he would put certain cuts on sale and buy then. The butcher also helps with recommendations for cooking and sauces. I also like that you know where your meat comes from. We get all of our meat from a butcher.
  • TNDancer said:
    Thanks y'all. These recipes sound great. Do your grocery stores have lamb (mine doesn't), or do you have go to a real butcher?
    Interesting, all the grocery stores around me sell at least leg of lamb, if not other cuts. Even your basic Food Lion/Farm Fresh-type stores here sell it, I never realized that was a regional thing!
  • We get lots of cuts at the grocery store.  Not even sure where there would be a butcher in the city, or if we even have them.  I assume we would though.  

  • We get lots of cuts at the grocery store.  Not even sure where there would be a butcher in the city, or if we even have them.  I assume we would though.  

    I know that there are some grocery stores that will also cut right at the time for the shopper. Just depends on where you go and how you approach it.
  • ernursej said:
    We get lots of cuts at the grocery store.  Not even sure where there would be a butcher in the city, or if we even have them.  I assume we would though.  

    I know that there are some grocery stores that will also cut right at the time for the shopper. Just depends on where you go and how you approach it.
    Yup.  Mine will cut for you there if they have it and you ask.  

  • We get our lamb at Costco or Sam's Club. We buy lamb brats (the only kind of brats I will eat) at our farmer's market.
  • I don't think my Costco or Sam's has lamb year round (though they might), but my local grocery stores and Walmart usually do.  It isn't a large assortment, usually just one type of cut from only one company.

    I've never seen lamb sausage, though.  Alligator sausage, yes (now that's regional!).  Lamb sausage, no.

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  • @short+sissy lamb sausages are delicious! 
    Good website for inspiration for beef and lamb:
    http://www.recipes.co.nz
  • @short+sassy I wonder if different Costcos/regions have different inventory. I think the Costco near us has lamb at least all spring and fall/winter. But to be honest I haven't really paid attention to what times of year we usually buy lamb.

    There is a produce market near us with the best meat counter ever. They make 30+ kinds of sausage in-house, and it's the only place I've gotten lamb sausage that was really good. 
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