After roasting the lamb to perfection, you need to serve it on the table. And here’s where you need to carve the lamb. How well you carve the meat results in how well your pieces are. If you cut haphazardly, the pieces will look less appealing. To impress your friends and family at the dinner table, it’s important to carve the lamb to perfection too.
In this article, learn the best technique to cut your lamb for perfect pieces.
Get a Proper Knife
The first thing you need to do is get a proper knife to carve the lamb meat. Lamb meat can be tricky. It is tender than beef and hence should be handled accordingly.
Ideally, you should get slicing knives for the best results. These knives feature long, straight blades specifically designed to slice meat. The Granton edges ensure the meat doesn’t tear apart when cutting.
You may also use butcher knives, utility knives, or chef knives. Whatever the type might be, ensure the blade is sharp.
Carving the Leg of Lamb
Carving the lamb is parts-specific. The process for carving a leg piece will be, more or less, different from carving the rack. In this section, learn about carving the leg of a lamb.
Carving the leg piece is going to be easy and straightforward. Get a cutting board on which to cut the leg. Otherwise, you can use a large platter too.
Once you’ve decided on the surface, here are the steps involved:
- Transfer the roast from the current container to the board or platter with the fat content side up.
- With the help of a meat fork, hold back the roast. Even better, attach a manche à gigot to the leg bone. It is a type of tool used to grip leg bone without directly touching it.
- Begin slicing the rounded parts of the leg and slice parallel with the bone.
- Slicing is done best at half-inch intervals until you reach the large end of the leg, also known as rump bone.
- Now turn the leg to the other side, exposing the leg’s inner side, and carve similarly.
- Cut from the shank end to the leg bone by running the knife in a parallel pattern. Compared to the central part of the leg, the shark end is smaller. Thus, the meat has more doneness.
- Finally, place the pieces on a platter and serve.
Carving the Rack of Lamb
Also known as the rib roast, carving the rack is a bit different from the leg. Here’s the complete process:
- Place the rack on the cutting board.
- If it’s a guard honour or crown roast, remove the strings first.
- Using the knife, cut down between the ribs. If you’re cutting between ribs of a guard of honour, you’ll carve two single rib portions at a time.
Carving Rolled Lamb Shoulder Roast
People use boned rolled shoulder roast for stuffing and rolling. For carving such pieces, you need to place them on a board and remove the strings. Then slice through the meat with slices being ½-inch apart.
The key to presenting sliced pieces like a pro is cutting evenly and once. So, you shouldn’t go back and forth while cutting the parts, which will affect the appearance.