Aren't All Lamb Chops the Same?
EDITOR’S Note: There is an updated version of this blog post here!
There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to lamb steaks, or are they chops? Step into a butcher shop or grocery store, and you might find a blade chop, leg steak, lollipop or saddle chop. Have I already got you confused?
But not every lamb steak is created equal. What most people don’t realize is that lamb steaks come from different parts of the animal with very different textures, flavors, cooking techniques, and pricing. Here’s a list of the best searing cuts Electric City Butcher offers every time our 100% Grass-Finished Emigh Lamb shows up. I’ll all help you navigate how to order them—and more importantly—how to cook them, including a few secret butcher tips.
The Rib Chop — I’ve never been asked for a lamb ribeye, but that’s what you’re getting when you order the most popular cut of lamb. Known as the “rack,” rib chop, or lollipop, rib chops are made up of a large, single loin muscle and a slender rib bone. Mild in flavor, the entire rack can be roasted whole on high heat, or seared quickly in a pan as individual chops. Expect at least two chops per guest. It’s also likely “Frenched.” No we’re not assaulting our chops. “Frenched” simply means skillfully removing the meat from a portion of the bone, basically because it looks cool. A delicious alternative is to remove the bones entirely, and roll the loin into a cylindrical noisette. If you want to be super badass—if not a little snooty—interlace two full racks together into an elegant table centerpiece, the Guard de Honour.
Butcher’s Tip #1: The rib chop is the OG Tomahawk Steak. But what most guests don’t realize is that you’re paying a lot more for basically…bone. The butcher’s not ripping you off. It takes time to properly “French” a rack, and we’re making the cut lighter, so we have to charge more. To save some money, buy your racks “trimmed” not “Frenched.” This exposes only about an inch of bone. The cut still looks elegant, but has larger portions for hungrier guests, and saves some dough.
The Loin Chop — This one is a bit of a misnomer, as the rib chop mentioned above is also technically made up of loin meat. A more accurate term would be porterhouse, T-bone, or short loin chop—but I don’t make the rules. If you look closely, you’ll see the loin chop does look like a baby beef Porterhouse with a generous portion of strip loin and tenderloin (the most tender cut of lamb), separated by the chine bone. The loin chop actually starts as a saddle, which gets its name because it looks like…a saddle. When crosscut, the saddle makes the very rare, double chop, or saddle chop—two lamb porterhouses end to end, yum! Cut in half, you get the more common loin chop.
Butcher’s Tip #2: The loin chop is home to my favorite cut on the lamb. Instead of cutting the saddle into chops, I debone the entire short loin into a boneless saddle roast. Basically a deboned lamb porterhouse, the saddle roast is a cylindrical slab of tenderloin and strip loin wrapped in a generous fat cap. Seared and roasted—or rotisseried over a wood fire at my house—the boneless saddle slices out into incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful medallions of the best parts of the animal. If you haven’t tried it, you must!
The Shoulder Chop — Also known as a blade chop, this is a cut I often see in the grocery store, and one that disappoints many would-be lamb lovers. One of the most economical of chops, this crosscut steak can be very flavorful. Unfortunately, what you gain in flavor, you loose in texture. There is a lot of chew on this steak, due to the intense ribbons of fat and connective tissue common to the hard-working shoulder muscles. I prefer to leave this cut in the crockpot, or roasted whole on the bone, or better yet, made into carnitas for my family favorite, lamb tacos!
Butcher’s Tip #3: There are one or two good searing steaks off the back of the shoulder (closest to the rack, and furthest from the arm). If you need two steaks in a pinch, ask your friendly Electric City Butcher to cut from the loin end of the shoulder. They aren’t the prettiest chops, but they’ll get the job done in a pinch. However, when you get home, don’t undercook these guys. Rare is for the loin. The Shoulder chop is an ideal candidate for a reverse sear or sous vide to allow the thicker pieces of fat to render, and the chewy bits to break down. Finish each chop with a quick sear in a scorching pan until they read 135-140 degrees internally. Otherwise, you’ll be chewing for days.
The Leg Chop — Butcher’s never tire of new ways to give Americans more of what they want when it comes to meat—a BBQ-friendly, searable steak that is also delicious. Leg steaks (I’ve seen them referred to as Leg Chops at Vons) are one of those inventions. The largest lamb steak, these are typically cross cut slab of meat with a perfectly round leg bone just off-center. Although these chops offer generous portions, and deliciously flavorful meat, they do require a little finesse when cooking. A rare, seared leg chop will probably disappoint, but cooked on the grill to a good medium (130-135 degrees) and finished with a drizzle of olive oil, a dollop of yogurt and sprinkled with za’atar, this is one of my favorite ways to serve the largest of lamb steaks from the grill.
Butcher’s Tip #4: For the best cut of leg steak, ask for a sirloin chop. This is commonly lumped in with the leg steak, but actually isn’t part of the leg at all. Surprise, surprise, it’s from the…sirloin, which is just in front of the pelvis, but separated from the carcass with the leg. Any good butcher can make two or three sirloin shops once they remove the aitch bone. The sirloin chop is probably the most tender and flavorful cut on the animal, after the true “chops” (rib and loin that is).
The Arm Chop — Lamb are of the four-legged variety, but in Butcher Land, our animals have arms. On larger lamb, like in the spring after healthy winter rains, the front legs—I mean arms—has some good steak-worthy meat on them before the muscles turn into the more slender and tougher lamb shank (strictly braising meat). These foreleg chops tend to be much smaller in size and structure than the more common leg steaks. In my opinion, these steaks are even chewier than shoulder chops, and the portions smaller. If this is your only option, or you’re trying to save a few bucks, make sure to cook them like a shoulder chop (see above).
Butcher’s Tip #5: The arm quickly becomes more bone than meat as things move down towards the shank. Because this is a working muscle, what meat there is, can also be very tough. Don’t accept an arm steak when the bone is any larger than a quarter (about 1” in diameter). The bone should also be circular in shape, and offset to one side of the chop. Any steak with bone larger in diameter, irregular in shape, or in the middle of the steak means that it’s from too far down the leg, and should be saved for stew.
