Following on from our ‘Beef Cuts from Top to Tail’ we now turn our attention to lamb – the most popular cuts and the dishes ideally suited to each cut. As with all their products, N1 Restaurant Suppliers are fastidious when it comes to the quality of their meat, so whether you’re serving a traditional lamb stew or a more challenging rib crown roast, rest assured that with N1 you will always receive the best food products at competitive rates.

JOINTS

There is nothing better than a classic roast and the shoulder joint or whole leg joint make for delicious roast lamb. The shoulder joint encompasses the arm, blade and rib bones; although it can be slightly more awkward to carve, it does make for one of the tastiest options. This is the cut Jamie Oliver uses for his roast lamb with smashed vegetables and greens. The second cut is the whole leg joint, which contains the sirloin section including hip bone and shank portion with round bone. In addition to the traditional roast, this particular cut is also very popular deboned and butterflied for al fresco cooking like barbecued lamb with Thai green spices.

CHOPS

This cut can come from the loin, shoulder or ribs. Considered to be the finest of all the chops, the loin chop comes from the middle and lower section of the rear quarter. This cut is very popular for braaing, but as its meat is so tender, minimal time should be taken in cooking it. For the best tips and recipes using this and other cuts of lamb for braaing, be sure to visit Pick n Pay’s the Ultimate Braai Master. Next up is the shoulder chop; cut from the blade portion of the shoulder it contains part of the blade bone and backbone. As with the loin chop, this cut is ideal for braaing, grilling or pan frying. And lastly the rib chop, it contains the backbone and depending on the cut can also contain a rib bone. It too is ideal for flash frying – a few minutes either side as advised by Elise Bauer in her Rosemary crusted lamb chops – roasting or baking.

RIBS

Cuts from the rib area include riblets (ribbetjies), rack of lamb and the rib crown roast. Riblets or ‘ribbetjies’ are cut from the breast and are well suited to braaing, braising and roasting – see the Food Network’s Guy Fieri for delicious dry rubbed and roasted lamb ribs. Rack of lamb consists of the rib bones, backbone and thick meaty rib eye or loin muscle. It is usually roasted. And of course the crowning glory is the rib crown roast – cut from half of the rib, curved and secured to resemble a crown when the roast rests on the backbone; it is grand enough to please even the sternest critic. BBC Food does it justice with their triple-crown roast of lamb, accompanied by jewelled fruit stuffing and minted red wine sauce.

And there you have the best of the lamb cuts. If you want to find out more about this or any of the other high-quality products in the N1 range, be sure to call or email – we’d love to hear from you.