Lamb meat refers to the meat of a seep younger than one year old. Meat from older sheep is called hogget and from even older sheep is called mutton. It is important to clarify this as people often ask me this question time and again.
Lamb meat is considered a delicacy and is often the star item in restaurant menus and prepared with great care, which is also reflected in its price. There are several cuts of lamb used for different food items, like rib chops, loin chops or shoulder chops and whole leg of lamb and lamb cubes.
So now the next question that you’ll ask me is how healthy is it to consume lamb. The answer is yes, it is healthy in moderation. It is a good source of protein and vital nutrients like Iron, Zinc, Selenium, and Vitamin B12. Some of you might ask how can lamb be healthy being red meat. Yes, lamb is a type of red meat and you know about the bad reputation of red meat, but high quality meats like grass fed beef and grass-fed lamb are excellent and truly healthy protein sources in moderation.
Let’s understand how meat is classified as red meat and what makes it red in colour. The amount of myoglobin in animal muscles determines the colour of the animal’s meat.Red meats have a high myoglobin content, which is a protein found in muscle that changes to red when it’s mixed withoxygen. As a red meat, lamb inherently contains more zinc and iron than non-red meats. One ounce of regular lamb (not grass-fed) has the same number of calories as grass-fed beef but has more health-promoting omega 3 fatty acids.
People also get worried about lamb’s fat content, but lamb can have less marbling of fat within the meat compared to beef. Most of lamb meat’s fat is around the outside and can easily be trimmed off.
How to choose, use and cook lamb meat.
Lamb meat is available fresh or frozen in almost all the grocery stores. Always try and buy locally sourced lamb or lamb from reliable sources with certification. It is better to buy organic and grass fed to get the highest quality lamb meat possible. Just like gras fed beef has increased number of nutrients and health benefits, so does grass fed lamb meat. Every cut of lamb is different in fat content. So, if your goal is to get lower fat content from the lamb, you eat then opt for lamb leg or the loin. Also, it is easy to trim off excess fat from lamb as compared to beef where in it is marbled within the flesh and difficult to separate.
I would easily state that the most favourite part of lamb preferred by lamb lovers is the lamb loin chops. These are one of the most tender cuts of meat. In the culinary world, lamb loin chops are sometimes referred to as “the porterhouse steak of the lamb”.
New Zealand and Australia are the leading lamb exporters of the world followed by United Kingdom. On a per capita basis, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Uruguay and Ireland are the topconsumers of lamb and mutton.
If you see“spring lamb” on a lamb meat label, it means that the lamb was slaughtered between March and October.Lamb meat is often paired with mint jelly, especially in British cuisine. French recipes tend to advise cooking lamb for less time and prefer to serve them medium rare or medium to best enjoy the taste and texture of the lamb.
But a word of caution: Lamb, like other red meat, does contain a significant amount of cholesterol so it should be enjoyed in moderation, especially if you have high cholesterol. Trimming lamb fat can help keep the cholesterol levels of lamb meat down. Also, the consumption should also be limited to one or two servings per week.
Honey mustard Lamb Chops
Ingredients
Lamb Rack 1 no.
Honey 3 tbsp
Dijon mustard 5 tbsp
Garlic powder ½ tsp
Onion powder ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Crushed pepper to taste
Oil 3 tbsp
Butter 50 gm
Method
Clean and fringe lamb chop
Remove the fat cap and scrape off excess fat from the bones
Cut along the length of the bone keeping two lamb chop bones together with the meat
Remove one lamb chop bone, keeping one bone intact with the meat
Wrap the bone with aluminum foil to avoid burning it while cooking it, keep aside
In a separate bowl, combine honey, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and combine to make marinade
Marinate the fringed lamb chops with the prepared marinade and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (preferably overnight)
Heat oil and butter in a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat
Sear the lamb chop in the skillet, turn to cook from other side
Pour the butter over lamb chop to keep it moistened and cook it evenly
Cook till it reached an internal temperature of 65-70-degree Celsius, remove from flame and allow to rest for 2 minutes before serving
Serve hot with choice of potato and vegetables on the side.
* Chef Tarun Kapoor,
Culinary Mastermind, USA. He may be contacted at [email protected]
FAVOURITE: The most coveted part of lamb preferred by foodies is the lamb loin chops. Photo by the author
