Having decided to cook a delicious lamb dish, you should remember some rules for choosing this type of meat. To begin with, lamb is the meat of an animal up to one year old, and the younger it is, the more tender and tasty the dish will turn out. Dairy lambs from birth eat exclusively milk, and therefore their meat is so fragrant and literally melts in your mouth.
How to determine age
Determine the age of the lamb meat primarily by color. Dairy meat is very light, pinkish-white, the meat of fattened lambs is more intense in color, and young lamb is dark red with coarse thick veins.
The fat on young lamb is elastic and easily separates from the pulp, but yellow or white crumbling fat indicates frozen meat.
Scents
The smell of lamb should be tolerant, not cause rejection and rejection. The more pleasant the smell, the fresher and younger the meat. If you simply cannot stand the smell of lamb fat, then it is better to be guided by the leaner piece and its color.
You can also ask for a small piece of meat in the market and set it on fire with matches or a lighter. Stale old meat will smell unpleasant, since lamb fat at high temperatures has a rather unpleasant aroma.
Which part of the lamb to choose
Each part of the lamb is different in taste and is suitable for a different processing. To make the dish as tasty as possible, choose the right lamb meat:
- for extinguishing – shoulder blade, neck, hind leg,
- for grilling – loin, ham,
- for chops – the back and back of the carcass,
- for steaks – hind leg,
- for cutlets – shoulder blade, neck part,
- for roasts – neck, hind leg, kidney,
- for baking – hind leg, kidney part,
- for frying – hind leg, shoulder blade, brisket, shank,
- for barbecue – ham, dorsal-scapular and rear parts of the carcass,
- for pilaf – shoulder blade, tenderloin, chest,
- for stew – drumstick, neck, brisket,
- for cooking and soups – neck, brisket, shoulder blade.
Before heat treatment, the lamb must be processed: remove the thin skin from it.
Lamb is especially tasty with a variety of sauces that complement the delicate taste and add piquancy and interest. It is important that the sauce only sets off the taste of the meat, and does not interrupt it.