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NFT: Question for our chefs, etc. re: leg of lamb

Bill in UT : 6/24/2022 6:55 pm
I can't readily find lamb shanks here. I know I can find it online if I have to. My question is, can I use/braise boneless leg of lamb in a recipe that calls for lamb shank to make an osso bucco or a ragu? TIA
Bill i don't have an answer but can I visit  
gtt350 : 6/24/2022 8:34 pm : link
.
It May Not Have Quite the Osso Bucco Consistency,  
OntheRoad : 6/24/2022 8:45 pm : link

but it seems like it would work. The biggest obstacle might be that a leg of lamb is a much larger piece of meat.
might work for the ragu but in my mind  
Del Shofner : 6/24/2022 8:48 pm : link
lamb shank is needed for osso buco. The bone is part and parcel of the dish IMO. I think it affects both flavor and texture.
RE: Bill i don't have an answer but can I visit  
Bill in UT : 6/24/2022 9:25 pm : link
In comment 15740874 gtt350 said:
Quote:
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Just start driving south and give me a heads up :)
RE: It May Not Have Quite the Osso Bucco Consistency,  
Bill in UT : 6/24/2022 9:25 pm : link
In comment 15740886 OntheRoad said:
Quote:

but it seems like it would work. The biggest obstacle might be that a leg of lamb is a much larger piece of meat.


Yeah, for sure. I would cut it down into steaks or cubes.
RE: might work for the ragu but in my mind  
Bill in UT : 6/24/2022 9:28 pm : link
In comment 15740890 Del Shofner said:
Quote:
lamb shank is needed for osso buco. The bone is part and parcel of the dish IMO. I think it affects both flavor and texture.


The bone is definitely a plus. But these dishes have so much flavor, I don't know if it would be a disqualifier. And I use Better Than Bullion paste for my stock, so I could increase the intensity with more paste. But I don't know :)
RE: RE: might work for the ragu but in my mind  
Del Shofner : 6/24/2022 9:43 pm : link
In comment 15740920 Bill in UT said:
Quote:
In comment 15740890 Del Shofner said:


Quote:


lamb shank is needed for osso buco. The bone is part and parcel of the dish IMO. I think it affects both flavor and texture.



The bone is definitely a plus. But these dishes have so much flavor, I don't know if it would be a disqualifier. And I use Better Than Bullion paste for my stock, so I could increase the intensity with more paste. But I don't know :)


It could very well be delicious. Just not sure I'd call it osso buco. I'd call it braised lamb cubes... :-)
RE: RE: RE: might work for the ragu but in my mind  
Bill in UT : 6/24/2022 9:48 pm : link
In comment 15740924 Del Shofner said:
Quote:
In comment 15740920 Bill in UT said:


Quote:


In comment 15740890 Del Shofner said:


Quote:


lamb shank is needed for osso buco. The bone is part and parcel of the dish IMO. I think it affects both flavor and texture.



The bone is definitely a plus. But these dishes have so much flavor, I don't know if it would be a disqualifier. And I use Better Than Bullion paste for my stock, so I could increase the intensity with more paste. But I don't know :)



It could very well be delicious. Just not sure I'd call it osso buco. I'd call it braised lamb cubes... :-)


That could be cool- I could name the dish after myself :)
^^^^^  
Del Shofner : 6/24/2022 10:49 pm : link
'Braised Lamb Cubes a la Bill'

Talk about guilty pleasures - I don't know if you watch 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives' - I love that show. Just regular people doing amazing cooking.
''The way people talk about food intrigues me  
BigBlue in Keys : 6/25/2022 5:39 am : link
Turkey leg. Chicken leg. But when it comes to lamb, leg gets front loaded for some reason. I've never understood why. What's tonight's special? Oh, ha ha ho, tonights special is ... leg of lamb! Oh, lamb leg! I don't think you understand the magnitude of this. What's so special about their legs? So I stared with some wing of chicken" Brian Regan
Sure, you could call it Braised Lamb Cubes...  
Klaatu : 6/25/2022 6:16 am : link
Or you could just call it Lamb Stew. Shanks are a must for Osso Buco. It's the bone marrow that defines the dish.
I agree with Klaatu 100%  
Jimmy Meatballs : 6/25/2022 7:11 am : link
You can’t make osso bucco without the bone in shank. Two suggestions for you:

1) Have you talked to your butcher? If they have lamb steaks or make their own ground lamb they can probably set aside some shanks for you. I would talk to your butcher or look around for other speciality stores. There’s an Italian deli by me in PA that will get you almost any cut of meat if you ask.

2) you also could buy the whole leg of lamb and cut off the shank. If you’re open to a butchering experiment, it’s not that difficult. I learned a ton from butchering my own deer. It basically like using the calf muscle. You just cut at the knee (sorry if that grosses anyone out). Look up venison “osso bucco meateater” on YouTube. He does a great job showing you how to prep that cut using a sharp knife and a hacksaw. You might need two legs for the dish. The “downside” is that you’d have a lot of extra meat from the rest of the leg(s). You could either cut those into steaks or cook them later like you would a whole leg of lamb. Won’t be that much different. But if you’re open to a little butchering experiment, you’ll learn a ton about how meat is prepped and it will make you a better cook. I promise.
Do you plan  
Big Al : 6/25/2022 7:48 am : link
to use leg of lamb as Roald Dahl suggested?
Big Al  
lono801 : 6/25/2022 8:53 am : link
Fantastic short story…

An amazing writer
The muscles that do the most work  
A-Train : 6/25/2022 9:42 am : link
Are the best to braise. Leg or shoulder are eligible cuts for this. Of course, always more flavor with the bone. Bone-in necks are great for braising as well if you can get them. They are cheap too.
I can help with the shanks if you are willing to buy by the case and pay shipping costs. Email in profile.
Ha! ATrain with the win.  
ColHowPepper : 6/25/2022 9:52 am : link
But I agree with Del, my sense being that most of the leg of lamb (long and slow in the oven) is going to be tougher than the shanks, just as meat that's closest to the bone is usually the most tender and savory because it's less so the working part of the muscle. Does that make sense?
Hey Bill  
bigblue1124 : 6/25/2022 10:09 am : link
The translation of osso buco is bone with a hole meaning the marrow bone. You can still obviously use the same recipe you would with chunks I would suggest using a good quality stock or demi-glace to get the richness and depth of flavor you are looking for it just won’t be osso buco. As said above just rename it ragu’s are generally served with pasta I suggest just calling it lamb ragout. A ragout is basically a stew which sounds like what you are going for?
not that there's anything wrong with lamb stew -  
Del Shofner : 6/25/2022 10:45 am : link
I make a mean Irish Stew with lamb. (It's actually very simple if you make the traditional recipe.)
Short answer - yes.  
smshmth8690 : 6/25/2022 12:09 pm : link
Pretty much most cuts of lamb are ok to use in a braise. I personally would avoid braising any cut that you can serve rare, or medium rare. Chops, loins, and maybe even the larger end of the leg.
Are you planning on cutting the leg into cubes, of just a couple of large pieces? As posted above, lamb neck is excellent braised, as well as the shoulder. I know that deboned, and rolled shoulders, and necks are available near me, but so are shanks, so I'm not really sure what is available to you.
Thanks for your responses and let me try to address  
Bill in UT : 6/25/2022 1:00 pm : link
some of them. Frist and foremost, as it seems, osso bucco means with a bone, so boneless would disqualify using that name. That said, if I could pretty much reproduce the flavor, the name isn't important to me. I'd probably add some BTB beef base and some tomato paste for more richness. As far as muscle toughness, boneless leg of lamb had a bone until it was removed, so the toughness of the muscle should not be altered. Those muscles still did all the work when alive. The funny thing is, the recipe I use for my osso bucco is actually a ragu recipe from Kelsey Nixon, which I've made like an osso bucco. The braise contains onion, celery, carrots and tomatoes. After reaching desired tenderness, she removes and meat from the bones and shreds, then drains the broth and discards the vegetables. She adds the meat back into the broth for her ragu. I dice the veggies large at the start and keep them and the lamb intact, as you'd do with an osso bucco. As far as trying boneless leg, I'd probably do an experiment and cut it into both steaks and chunks, cook together and see if there's a difference. And one of these days I've gotta try bb1124's Ossobuco alla Milanese recipe.
Bill the one thing I would highly recommend as passionate  
bigblue1124 : 6/25/2022 2:13 pm : link
as you are cooking Is building relationships with your local butcher and grocery store meat department butchers. They can be a great resource not only for off cuts but also quality cuts you may seek. At least in this area most of the butchers fabricate all their meat and sadly I guess due to lack of demand a lot of products is either thrown in the trash or compost.

If I can’t buy directly from my purveyors or local Co-op, I ask my butchers to save different items for me and they are always happy to oblige. I get marrow bones, shanks, and really any off cut I want. They can be a valuable resource.

If you are looking for presentation value with the look of osso buco you can always butterfly the leg a little more stuff it with either parsnips, fingerlings or something that matches the flavor profile you are looking for and them butcher tie it to give it a bone in lamb look basically a roulade. This way you can control the temperature of the meat rather than braising for serving.
RE: Bill the one thing I would highly recommend as passionate  
Bill in UT : 6/25/2022 2:29 pm : link
In comment 15741141 bigblue1124 said:
Quote:
as you are cooking Is building relationships with your local butcher and grocery store meat department butchers. They can be a great resource not only for off cuts but also quality cuts you may seek. At least in this area most of the butchers fabricate all their meat and sadly I guess due to lack of demand a lot of products is either thrown in the trash or compost.

If I can’t buy directly from my purveyors or local Co-op, I ask my butchers to save different items for me and they are always happy to oblige. I get marrow bones, shanks, and really any off cut I want. They can be a valuable resource.

If you are looking for presentation value with the look of osso buco you can always butterfly the leg a little more stuff it with either parsnips, fingerlings or something that matches the flavor profile you are looking for and them butcher tie it to give it a bone in lamb look basically a roulade. This way you can control the temperature of the meat rather than braising for serving.


Thanks, you're always a great resource. I probably don't buy enough meat in any one place, especially not at the counter, to really develop a relationship. Safeway would be my best shot. But I've found that supermarket butchers don't usually want to go out of their way. I've asked to have a bone-in leg of lamb sliced and they wouldn't do it. Back in Utah, Smith's used to sell bone-in leg of lamb only at Christmas and they were willing to slice it for me, so I'd freeze it and make osso buco a few times a year. My dtr wants to get me a birthday present, maybe I'll suggest a hacksaw :)
RE: RE: Bill the one thing I would highly recommend as passionate  
bigblue1124 : 6/25/2022 4:16 pm : link
In comment 15741143 Bill in UT said:
Quote:
In comment 15741141 bigblue1124 said:


Quote:


Thanks, you're always a great resource. I probably don't buy enough meat in any one place, especially not at the counter, to really develop a relationship. Safeway would be my best shot. But I've found that supermarket butchers don't usually want to go out of their way. I've asked to have a bone-in leg of lamb sliced and they wouldn't do it. Back in Utah, Smith's used to sell bone-in leg of lamb only at Christmas and they were willing to slice it for me, so I'd freeze it and make osso buco a few times a year. My dtr wants to get me a birthday present, maybe I'll suggest a hacksaw :)


I get it a lot of the staff are clock punchers
And just want to get there day done not judging them just the way of life. And I am not going to lie I had to grease a few palms in the beginning nothing crazy just a Christmas card with a girt card for the department enough for a lunch for everyone. Now I just give them a card every year to show appreciation. The back of house staff never gets appreciated and most of the time showing that pays off big time.

I would avoid the hacksaw not worth the risk I’m fortunate to have a band saw at work but anytime my staff use it I get chills down my spine. I have seen way too many injuries from it.

I am not sure what part of AZ you are in but just a quick google search showed a few Co-ops not just for local meat but veggies as well this is also a great option if you are in the areas.
Bill I realize I’m late to the party.  
CRinCA : 6/25/2022 8:16 pm : link
No offense to Safeway, but their business model simply does not offer “butcher” services in the traditional sense. They are essentially meat-stockers, whatever is on the order list from on high goes on the shelves and in the display cases.

I’m fortunate to have a non-conglomerate grocery market in town with a full-on butchery where I can custom order and what-not to my hearts content.

Blathering aside, I realize I may be in a somewhat unique and perhaps dwindling position, but I always look forward to your posts and recipe ideas along with everyone else’s comments.

Once again, these threads have me starving.
RE: Bill I realize I’m late to the party.  
Bill in UT : 6/25/2022 9:04 pm : link
In comment 15741277 CRinCA said:
Quote:
No offense to Safeway, but their business model simply does not offer “butcher” services in the traditional sense. They are essentially meat-stockers, whatever is on the order list from on high goes on the shelves and in the display cases.

I’m fortunate to have a non-conglomerate grocery market in town with a full-on butchery where I can custom order and what-not to my hearts content.

Blathering aside, I realize I may be in a somewhat unique and perhaps dwindling position, but I always look forward to your posts and recipe ideas along with everyone else’s comments.

Once again, these threads have me starving.


Out West, there are very few independent butchers, fish stores or pharmacies. Safeway is probably the best for customer service and higher end products, but they still aren't much
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