Lamb fat from frenched ribs

[buckytom]

i bought some gorgeous lamb rib chops at costco the other day, and i'm going to french the bones so as to make "lollipop" chops. there is a good amount of meat in the fatty part that i'm going to cut away, so i was wondering if there's anything i could do with it, like rendring it in a stew or something. any ideas anyone?

 

[Audeo]

Bucky, I know that different cultures use different fats, based upon the animals most prevalent to them. There are lots of recipes, I'm sure, stating the use of lamb fat. We all know that different fats (beef vs. pork vs. goose) yield different flavors and even smoking points. But I haven't a direct clue as to whether you would enjoy using rendered lamb fat in lieu of others, since I have never done it myself.

Where are the Meat Men? Lifter? Goodweed? Bumping for experts!

 

[Lifter]

You could try using it in Audeo's "Genuine Texan Chili" as the "fat base", Bucky!

(Even as a part of the meat base!)

Combined with beef cuts like stripped meat from oxtail, shortribs, neck, etc, you would get some "interesting" results!

Lifter

 

[Lifter]

Another thought...

You could use these trimmings together with some "lesser cut" of raw lamb and grind it to make, well, "lamburger" meat...neat for meatballs and greek style cooking..."lambloaf", "lambstroganoff", or even, for fun, as a "different" cabbageroll filling...likewise ground lamb "balls" work in stews, and the "extra fat" will do much to bring out the meat's distinctive flavours...

 

[lyndalou]

Along with Lifter's second suggestion, I would suggest using the meat in a rolled grape leaf recipe. Yum

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Lamb has a texture very much like pork. The flavor is slightly reminiscent of venison, or goat. That being the case, I would use the fat to flavor stews and savory dishes. It would work well with lean beef to make home-made ground meat that would be great in sweedish meatballs, spaghetti, or in a flavorful veggie soup, especially with some fresh spinach thrown in. I wouldn't use it with beans, or barbecue sauce, or any sweet recipe. I just don't think the flavor would be right. But I might use it with pineapple in a sweet & sour mixture. I would use pungeant and savory herbs with it, like oregano, cilantro, green onion, bay leaves, cummin, etc. I would think the fat would go well with curried dishes as well.

Of course, my recommendations are based on my own likes and dislikes. Others will have more experience with lamb and be able to give you more options.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Lifter]

Add to your herbs, Marjoram, Savory, Basil, and lets not forget "Mint", if we are going with a pure "Lamb" meat composition...

My early comment on using it to make up a Texas Chili recipe is based on some "private" conversations with Audeo, in that the "beef of the day" was "Texas Longhorn" grass fed, almost definable as a "wild" animal, at least by today's standards!

Fresh killed, and hardly "hung" the meat would taste sort of "wild", and a good deal different from today's "aged" beef...but the "wild" tasting lamb fat would "transform" some beef cuts to "back to the 1880's" taste...I think!

Note, too, that the cattle drovers of the day moved very slowly towards Chicago, and traded the "good cuts" of beef to the settlers whose land they crossed, frequently in trade for veggies, if not "relief" in tending the herds themselves, so adding peppers (sweet or hot!), celery, tomato (gasp!) beans, onions, leeks etc is not impossible...it "does" taste better the longer it "sets" and cooks...

Lifter

 

[buckytom]

wow, thanks so much lifter, audeo, lyndalou, and goodweed. great ideas. i think i'll go with the lamb-burger/balls idea, or maybe a lamb stew of some sort. i'll post the results.
thanks again everyone.

 

[luvs]

i always feed it to the cats. it doesn't get thrown out but i don't have to try and figure out what to do with it. you could bask the butcher to french 'em for you. then you pay less for the chops overall.

 

[Yakuta]

O.K. I may be in a minority here but given that us Indians eat a lot of lamb and goat I will give my 2 cents.

I personally think lamb has a strong smell compared to goat, beef and probably any other animal ( I don't eat pork so can't comment on that). I find most of the smell is contained within the fatty parts of the lamb. I trim most of the fat from the lamb so that the meat is not as pungent after it's cooked. So I would say lose it or as some one said feed it to your pet.

Since I normally cook it with a gravy or marinate it in yogurt before I grill or roast it, I don't need the fat to keep the meat moist.

 

[buckytom]

thanks yakuta, minority opinions given equal attention here. i ended up frenching the lamb, all the while thinking, "ok, so what do those cheese eatin' surrender monkeys (the french) know about lamb as to remove the extra fat on a prime cut of the animal to make it better".
i think you've just answered that. the meat was beautifully moist and tender, since it was only onder the broiler a total of 12 minutes. the pieces that i completely cut the fat off for dw were nice; so were the bigger ones i frenched for myself, but i left more fat on mine. there was a distinct difference in the fatty flavor of the meat, but i wouldn't call i more juicy. just a bit fattier. not that there's anything wrong with that,m imho

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Yakuta; You may well be the minority voice on this one, but you speak with wisdom. With both goat and venison (members of the same family as lamb and sheep), much of the gamey or wild flavor comes from the fat. as a rule, most fat is cut from venison and goat to remove as much of that flavor as possible. Here's where I'm the exception. I like that flavor, but within reason of course (My B.I.L. gave me a venison neck roast one time that was so strongly flavored that it was inedible).

The flavor is also somewhat dependant on the animal feed. Grains such as alphaha, and plants in the pine family will give the lamb meat a strong flavor. I'll be happy to follow your lead. My suggestons were educated guesses based on my eperiences with venison, and again, I like some wild flavor in meat.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[pdswife]

You guys are making me so hungry!

Greek Easter is so long from now... Yes.. we roast the whole lamb in a pit in the front yard! lol., just like the movie. Boy is it good. Goat is better but, it's hard to convince even the "American Greeks" to eat it .


I need to find some good lamb much sooner than May!!

 

[Michael in FtW]

I LOVE the flavor of lamb - the more gamey the better! Heck if I wanted it to taste like beef I would eat cow, if I wanted it to taste like chicken I would eat a chicken, etc.

Yep - the flavor is in the fat .... no matter what beast it comes from.

Whenever I cook lamb I do two things .... save the trimmed fat and save the pan drippings - and freeze them. Then, when I can't afford lamb, I can brown some ground cow, drain the fat, add the lamb fat or drippings, and it tastes like lamb! I even fooled a couple of "off the boat" Greeks this way - they swore it was lamb, it was cow.

 

[pdswife]

I LOVE the flavor of lamb - the more gamey the better! Heck if I wanted it to taste like beef I would eat cow, if I wanted it to taste like chicken I would eat a chicken, etc.

Yep - the flavor is in the fat .... no matter what beast it comes from.

Whenever I cook lamb I do two things .... save the trimmed fat and save the pan drippings - and freeze them. Then, when I can't afford lamb, I can brown some ground cow, drain the fat, add the lamb fat or drippings, and it tastes like lamb! I even fooled a couple of "off the boat" Greeks this way - they swore it was lamb, it was cow.

You can also use it while roasting potatoes.. just baste it on with some lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano! SUPER DELISH

 

[Raine]

Here is a picture of a crown roast of lamb we did in the smoker.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Rainee: I wish I knew how to post a picture. That colorful avatar I use is a miniature of a crown roast of pork. It sits on a bed of flowering kale and grilled bell peppers accent the platter. I'm envious of your ability to post your pictures, but envious in a good way. But this thread is about lamb so I'll shut up now.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Raine]

Goodweed, the picture has to be on a website somewhere. There are a few free online photo albums you can use.

Then just use the IMG buttons at the top of your reply page.

 

[buckytom]

that looks fantastic rainee! what was in the stuffing? i never thought of it before, but can you cook stuffing in a smoker? was it added to the crown roast later?

 

[Raine]

It was a wild rice stuffing. We cooked it with the stuffing in. If I can remember, I'll dig up the recipe and post it.