greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Whats nicer/better quality a leg or shoulder of lamb its going to be roasted in lamb stock

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Leg of lamb is far leaner than the shoulder

Bubba po

There are good reasons for choosing either. Possibly leg, as the shoulder's a bit more fatty, although the shoulder has more flavour and is a bit cheaper. Based on your proposed method of cooking, I reckon shoulder would suit slow cooking better.

You choose.

Chip

Firstly roasting uses dry heat whereas if cooked in stock it will be braised.

Anyway I would use a good quality shoulder from a butcher. Robert & Edwards in Reigate is good. Ask him to bone and roll it if you wont which makes carving much easier. Keep the bones for the stock though, If you like it really tender then cook it in a roasting bag for about 4 hours with the bones and it will just fall apart and be really tender and full of flavour. The bag will also retain all of the juice for you to make a lovely gravy.

Chip

Chip

And make sure its British lamb , preferably Welsh and not from New Zealand

Chip

Chip

Therefore giving it less flavour.

Chip

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

Depends how it is cooked and your preference quality wise leg of lamb is much better, new season lamb has not kicked in yet an the British lamb shoulder this time of year can be rather fatty.
I'd stay away from " fresh new zealand lamb" This stuff can be upto 3 months old andsome of it stinks when it gets here, trust me I have boned it for a well known supermarket.

Will

EFA

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Did a couple of lamb shanks in the slow cooker a fortnight back, they were outstanding, the meat just fell off the bones. Made a lovely gravy too.

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies lads off to the super market now! think I will go for the leg as the wife turned her nose up at the shoulder due to it being more fatty. I'm making a Greek dish with garlic, tomatoes,Pasta and Oregano mmmmmmmm...

Chip

If cooked long and slow as I said then the fat just melts away. The fat can be skimmed off the top of the stock then used if required for the gravy though the stock will taste good enough on its own.

Chip

Chip

So your making more of a casserole then I guess. Again I would buy a shoulder then just cut it up and remove most of the fat at the time.

Chip

Will

David Lock

1) Shoulder of lamb has much more flavour

2) Almost impossible to carve neatly with bone in. Boned and rolled is much easier

3) More meat on a leg. I reckon a shoulder is only big enough for 4 adults but a leg at least 6-8 people.

4) Not the time of year for really succulent lamb. Spring/early summer it is much tenderer.

5) Nicer from a proper butcher but getting expensive. A whole leg around here is £20 upwards. Tesco meat is awful - bright shiny steaks etc. Marks is much better as you won't get to a butchers on a Sunday.

6) Some good on-line sources for lamb straight from a decent Welsh farm or try that marsh lamb that grazes in salty areas (sorry forgotten the name?

If I am going to be executed a shoulder of lamb will be requested for my last meal

dl

Jamie

Lamb shanks very nice with red wine

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Well all I could get was a Welsh half leg of lamb from Waitrose, It looks lovely and should be enough to feed 2 adults and 2 kids (who don't eat anything anyway)

Chip

If you have to buy from a supermarket then Waitrose is good but pricey. At least you bought Welsh

Chip

Chip

David,

A shoulder from Benni would be good for that last meal.

Chip

Account deleted by request

A big shoulder. Cook at 150/160 for 5 hours cover for the middle 2 hours. All the fat cooks out and you are left with the best lamb you could imagine.

zip106

We've just had the best tasting, possibly the freshest leg of lamb ever today.

On Monday 'Rambo' was residing on my field, gaily galavanting around it eating as much of the un-polluted grass as he liked, getting nice and fat.....a life of just about 10 months cut short....

Today, part of him was on my plate and now in my tum..... very, very nice.

Baa.



The kids enjoyed it even after I'd told them who they were eating

thesyn

As I understand it muscle that actually does some exercise and works has greater flavour than that which does not which can be bland. Downside is that it needs to be cooked long and slow. Also marbled ( fat containing meat ) is more tasty.
Thinking of beef I always prefer a bone in rib roast to a fillet.
I do not like the thought of smelly lamb from New Zealand though . Anything gamey should be a pheasant etc

Adrian F

So is Welsh Lamb safe to eat now?

I thought some was still unfit to eat as it is irradiated due to Chernobyl and there were questions over a new version of VCJD that some one died of that could come from sheep in the UK which the Government was trying to trace back to see if it was Sheep or Cow in origin a couple of years back.