snousle

We did a very country thing, and bought a lamb from the neighbor down the road. It was a Jacob sheep, a breed whose adults have huge horns that make them look like goats. They were very cute, and, as it turns out, quite delicious as well.

She had a traveling butcher come by to kill and clean them, something I have no stomach for myself. Totally worth it at $40/animal. He also cuts them up, but I elected to take mine whole so as to prepare it in my own style, which is all boneless cuts. The going rate for whole lamb carcasses is $4/lb, so I gave her $160 for 35 lb. I hung it for a couple of days in the shed and dove into the project this morning. Boy, prepping a whole animal takes just about forever! It was an all day job, repeatedly interrupted by booze and sodomy. I can totally understand why butchers have a reputation as crazy sex fiends.

I have a favored break-down method which would ideally remove each individual muscle without any chewy gristly bits. When there are no cuts going against the grain, the meat stays much juicier. Cooked whole and sliced against the grain just before serving, it's far better than American-style steaks. It's clear I've got a long way to go in this department - it's really hard figuring out just where to cut so as to get that result. The legs are greatly improved by this method, but when it comes to the other parts, it's so freaking hard it's not really worth the trouble.

Anyway, we grilled up the sirloin and tenderloin for dinner, and I've frozen a bunch of leg cuts and made quite a bit of stew base. Glad to have that over with!