I bought a lamb at a 4-H Junior Livestock Auction. A friend referred me to a butcher to have it broken down. A few of the cuts have looked a little strange from what I'm used to seeing in both regular grocery stores and butcher shops. These were simply labeled lamb chops. They are over 1.5 in (4 cm) thick. I'm in the US, but I spent almost three months in Australia once and I have never seen this much fat on any type of lamb chop. Granted, I've also never given a whole animal over to a butcher to be broken down. Is it common for them to leave this much fat on to let the customer decide or is this unusual? I'm also guessing I should probably trim the fat down to a more reasonable amount before I sous vide them? Does anyone have any experience with this?
by Shadow_in_Wynter
13 Comments
I think you got robbed by a butcher.
If you buy a whole animal and have a butcher break it down for you they’re not going to trim off things that wouldn’t normally be sold. For a lot of people, that’s the whole reason to buy a whole animal.
As for what you should do with these chops, it’s entirely personal preference. I personally wouldn’t want this much fat on a lamb chop but maybe somebody does.
Cut off the majority of the fat and make lamb tallow. Great for stir fries and searing any kind of meat.
He left way too much on, having said, trim it and save for many uses.
Cut the fat, render it and pour it into the sous vide bag
Trim, make tallow, and eat the crunchy bits left over. I do this with beef and pork too. You get the oil and a snack!
I’m a sous vide rookie but faced a similar situation myself yesterday with some pork loin chops that I cut from a whole loin. The chops had some pretty huge fat like your lamb chops do. I did the sous vide with all the fat on then finished them on charcoal. I think the fat kept things moist and they got a lovely sear. I’d try it with the fat on and trim it off after at the table.
So if I were you I’d trim these down to 1/4 inch fat, season and grill. That fat is insanely tasty when it gets rendered and browned under actual fire.
Left over fat I’d freeze and use it for kebabs etc.. It is very valuable and almost impossible to find alacarte.
French trimmed lamb chops are what you usually see at grocers. These chops are not trimmed.
A lot. Lamb fat sometimes tastes too strong. Depends on the animal.
Trim some of the fat and use it for kebabs interspersed with beef , amazing way to flavor grilled meats
All of it and then get a grill because sous vide is just an abomination.
Did that lamb die of cardiac arrest?!