The torment of Christmas shopping requires us to do the math in front of the butcher’s counter while we see the different prices that make us dizzy when talking about lambwhether suckling or recental.
Check if it is worth our while to get a whole lamb or half a lamb to the detriment of buying only a shoulder blade and a leg is a complicated decision and for which, obviously, there are answers.
There are no tricks or secrets, but also be clear about how much weight we are buying for each lamb And if it really is more convenient for us to buy half or quarters rather than just buy one piece in question. Especially when the shoulders are the most expensive cut, followed by the chops and, finally, the leg.
So it is also convenient to know how much does a suckling lamb usually weigh and its most demanded parts before checking if it is worthwhile to buy it whole or in part. Although it is a purchase decision that will also depend on how many of us are at home and how cooks we are.
For this, we asked the chef Javier Robles, of Grupo Pastores and one of the people who know the most about lamb in our country to help us in this Christmas garden.
“When you buy a whole suckling you have to attend if it is with head and offal. With the recental this does not happen because it is always without head or offal”, he comments. “This means that, generally, when we talk about a suckling pig on the carcass it is an animal without wool, without trotters, without entrails and without a head, but you have to make sure of the latter two,” he adds.
“A suckling pig with a head and offal It can weigh between six and seven kilos“He points out, while synthesizing the rest of the weights, which we break down for you so that you do not get lost. In addition to pointing out that the shoulder, leg and rib should be multiplied by two.
- Head: about 500 grams.
- Offal: between 800 grams and 1.2 kilos.
- Blade: between 400 and 500 grams.
- Leg: between 500 and 600 grams.
- Ribs: between 800 grams and a kilo.
- Neck: 300 grams.
“If it is bought whole, it may come with its head and offal, although it is not usual either. If it is by means and quarters, it will always be headless and offal“, he indicates. In addition, it is evident that they are parts of the lamb that do not always convince us unless we are lovers of offal. In addition, the head and offal can weigh 25% of the total weight of the animal.
Buy half or whole: good or bad decision?
The purchase decision is in How many of us are at home and how we want to let the lambs outmore than for a question of price, because they are usually very tight and really buying half or whole is not worth it if there are few of us at home.
“Families that are small of two or three people, you can look at a shoulder and a leg, or a pair, or a rack; However, when you are talking about a family of four, from then on it is not much effort to save half a suckling pig, which is two kilos of meat, and if you buy half you can easily dispose of it, “he considers.
“I think that it always pays off most of the time taking the half or whole sucklingbut it is also true that buying something that is going to cost you to store always ends up being expensive because you force consumption by having to get rid of it,” he points out.
How to write off a whole lamb
“There is no reason to always cook the lamb the same way or why just reheat it,” he considers. “If we have a roast lamb, the best recipe for take advantage of it the next day is to make some croquettes or some cannelloniwhich I find delicious,” he says.
In any case, if we are going to reheat the lamb, Javier Robles It is recommended to change the presentation a little and make a kind of couscous and mix it with bits of roast lamb or a grill of vegetables.
“If we reheat the already roasted meat in the oven, whatever part it is, it should not be too hot (at about 140º C) and moist and with a tray with water for the meat to rehydrate“, he explains. “When we eat a regenerated roast it is important that there is no lack of moisture, either in the form of water or with a tomato sauce or a little oil and salt. We can also do it as a meat in sauce, adding a pumpkin cream or a carrot cream”, he comments.
Another cut that gives a lot of play and that goes unnoticed is the neck. “The best thing is to cut it into thick medallions, what we call the collars, and we make two or three medallions resembling the cut of an oxtail. So you can cook it over low heat with red wine, like an oxtail, for an hour and a half,” he adds.
For less noble cuts, but maximizing the use, advises “using the bottom or end of the breast as bacon, cutting it small and well fried, because they have meat and bone”. Regarding offal, he also advises separating the liver from the lung, trachea or heart, recommending “grilling or breading the liver”.
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Lastly, the rest of the offal He would make it small “sautéed with garlic or in pepitoria” and the heart invites to do it “open in half, cooked on the grill and well done”.
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