Breaking down the Lamb into primal cuts:
- Breast: Start by trimming the breast away from the ribs and belly. You can leave it whole or cut it into smaller pieces
- Leg of lamb: Separate the hindquarters from the rest of the carcass. Trim around the hip joint to separate the leg of lamb. You can further divide it into the sirloin end and the shank end.
- Loin: Locate the loin ( saddle), which is the area along the backbone. Make a cut between the 12th and 13th rib to separate the loin from the rest of the carcass. You can leave it whole as a rack of lamb or divide it into chops.
- Rib: Cut the rib section away from the loin by making a cut just below the last rib. This will give you a rack of lamb.
- Shoulder: Separate the forequarters from the carcass. The shoulder can be further divided into the square-cut shoulder roast and the blade chops.
- From the rack of lamb you cut it into half this will separte the the lamb ribs from the lamb chops
Trimming and packaging:
- Trim excess fat, skin, and connective tissue from the primal cuts.
- Portion the cuts into desired sizes or leave them whole, depending on your preference.
- Wrap the meat tightly in butcher paper or plastic wrap, or vacuum seal it to maintain freshness.
- Label each package with the type of cut, date, and any other relevant information.
