Lamb shoulder: a bargain cut with plenty of flavor

Arm cut, with round bone, most fat along edge

Blade cut, with fat throughout, flat bones

In the more than 10 years since this blog started I've posted at least a dozen items about lamb. Here's another, this time focusing on one of the few remaining bargain cuts: shoulder.

Most of the time I go for shoulder chops, which could be purchased this past weekend at the Reading Terminal Market for $5.49 to $8.99 a pound, about half the price you'd pay for loin or rib (rack) chops.

Martin's Quality Meats & Sausages was the low-price leader, selling lamb from Catelli Brothers, a South Jersey processor and distributor which raises lamb on its own farms in Quebec and buys lamb from producers in the western U.S., Australia and New Zealand. La Divisa Meats sold at the highest price, using meat from Jamison Farm in Latrobe, a boutique producer of Pennsylvania lamb which also supplies top restaurants, including Blue Hill. Giunta's was in the middle, at $6.99, with Colorado lamb distributed by Marcho Farms of Souderton. (Over at the new Whole Foods, shoulder chops from Iceland sell for $7.99. Because it is leaner than most other lamb, it has a milder flavor; for me, that's a negative, but others find that appealing.)

As much as I enjoy a thick loin chop or lamb "lollipops" cut from the rib, the heartiest lamb flavor can be found in the shoulder chops.

The cut is less tender, which is one of the reasons why shoulder is less expensive than loin or rib. Just as in beef steaks, the more tender cuts command a higher price. But what the shoulder lacks in relative tenderness, it more than makes up in flavor. And even though shoulder isn't as tender as the other lamb cuts, it can still be rewarding when simply grilled; it may be a bit chewier than the other cuts, but it's not too tough for the high, dry heat.

Shoulder chops come in two different cuts: arm and blade. Arm chops, as you might expect, are cut from the part of the shoulder closest to the arm, hence the round bone you'll find in this style. The blade cut comes from closer to the neck and features -- guess what -- the shoulder blade bone.

In recipes they are fairly interchangeable. Although some think the arm chop is more suitable to braising than the blade, both can be broiled, grilled or pan-fried. The arm chop will have less fat overall as well as less marbling. The blade looks like a smaller version of the beef chuck blade steak and has more marbling. No matter the cooking method, shoulder needs to be cooked to at least medium, and also holds up to longer cooking -- though if you go beyond medium well you do risk shoe leather.

If you're braising them you can go with a thick cut, but when grilling, thinner is better; I like them cut no more than three-quarters of an inch.

When I stopped by Nick Macri's La Divisa Meats he only had large pieces of shoulder, not chops, but he was more than happy to cut to order.

Before grilling I bathed them in a yogurt marinade. Although the marinade has some ability to tenderize, it won't turn the chop into a tenderloin. Instead, I use the marinade for flavor.

For the two chops (which weighed in at a total of 14 ounces, just under a pound) I mixed about four ounces of full-fat plain yogurt (not Greek) with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, four cloves of minced and mashed garlic (adding a little kosher salt while scraping the cutting board with the back of your chefs knife turns minced garlic into a mash), the zest and juice of a small lemon, and whatever spices or herbs strike my fancy. This time it was cumin and cardamom -- two tablespoons each, ground. I placed the chops in a single layer in a non-reactive baking pan, salted and peppered them, then spread the marinade on both sides of the chops. I covered and refrigerated them for six hours, though you could certainly leave them overnight or cut the time down to four hours.

I didn't bother wiping off the marinade when it was time to hit the grill, I just placed them on the hot oiled grate over a medium fire and cooked about four-to-five minutes a side for medium.

I cooked up a mess of mustard greens with garlic as my side dish. A cold lager or your favorite red completes the meal.

All Lamb, All The Time

New sign boasts Border Springs in nation's only all-lamb butcher

No more lamb tacos for lunch or lamb hash for breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market.

Border Springs Farm has eliminated sandwiches and platters to eat within the market from its offerings. That makes it, in the nomenclature of the market's lease structure, a "purveyor" rather than a "blended purveyor/food court" merchant.

Owner Craig Rogers may be able to convert the change into a little break on his rent when his lease comes up for renewal, since the market gives a discount to "purveyors" when compared to its "food basket", "mercantile" or "food court" businesses, each with its own rent structure.

A few customers complained when they couldn't get their fix of lamb taco, according to Nick Macri, the former Southwark chef who manages the RTM operation. On Twitter, @foobooz remarked: "...it was a good spot for an excellent sandwich without the wait." Sure, but maybe that's why they don't offer sandwiches anymore. Not enough people bought them.

Since the overwhelming majority of customers come for the butcher operation, Macri isn't concerned. And he's happy to offer a broader line of prepared foods to take home as well as fresh lamb.

Lamb hash off the menu at Border Springs

What the change does accomplish is open up space for more room to create prepared foods, like the new lines of meatballs, vacuum packs of formed and sliced gyro meat, and lamb liver terrine in Border Spring's refrigerated display cases.

Selling uncooked meat has always been the biggest part of Border Springs' business since it opened at the market in May 2013. Rogers, whose lamb farm is located in southwestern Virginia near the Blue Ridge Mountains, had already established a wholesale business in Philadelphia, hauling his lamb north to local restaurants, including Zahav. By opening the stall at the market Rogers not only created a base of operations for his wholesale business, but an outlet for lesser cuts —like necks and breasts — that he couldn't otherwise sell.

Livengoods Return to City Market

Joyce Livengood with lilacs at Reading Terminal Market in 20089

Livengood Family Farm, which for years sold organic produce at center court in Reading Terminal Market on Saturdays until 2009, abandoned city markets entirely last year. But this past winter son Dwain Livengood brought back the stall to the Saturday market on Clark Park.

The Food Trust, which operates Clark Park, has asked the Livengoods to limit its produce offerings at Clark Park and instead concentrate on meat. That suits Dwain just fine, since he's been concentrating on raising beef cattle, hogs, chicken and now lamb around the bend from dad Earl's and mom Joyce's vegetable farm just outside Lancaster's city limits.

Lamb is the newest addition to Dwain's production, which he started about 10 years ago with some beef cattle. The lamb, pasture-born and raised, is fed exclusively on grass. That's possible because the Dorper breed Dwain is raising (a South African originated cross of Dorset Horn and Blackhead Persian sheep) grows meaty on just grass, even in winter. And since it's a "hair" sheep variety, it doesn't require as much labor-intensive shearing as "wool" sheep do.

Dwain's current lamb offerings are currently limited to ground meat, shanks, necks, bones, kidney and head. But he also slaughtered a three-year-old ewe which has produced a bonanza of mutton cubes. Mutton is usually very strong in flavor, too much so for most American tastes. But Dwain said that this animal is rather mild in flavor. I bought a pack of rather lean-looking cubes (the strongest flavor is in the fat, which Dwain also sells) and plan to braise it as a curry tonight.

The young rancher soon will purchase some piglets to restock his pork offerings. But he warns prices will be higher this year because of a viral epidemic that started in the U.S. last year, causing millions of piglet deaths. The disease causes no threat to human health or food safety, but it is already increasing prices.  With beef prices already in the stratosphere because of drought and poor feed crops, chicken looks to be the least expensive of America's favorite animal proteins.

His lamb prices yesterday ranged from $9-$14/pound, depending on cut; the mutton fat is about $2.50.

Lamb Man Working Spit

Shepherd Craig Rogers, proprietor of Border Springs Farm, works the spit with a 52-pound lamb roasting for today's Sidewalk Sizzle and Ice Cream Freeze at the Reading Terminal Market. Although they started serving lamb tacos from previously cooked lamb about 10 a.m. today, Rogers didn't expect to be able to carve from this carcass until about 1:30 p.m., after cooking for about six hours.

Lamb Hash

Why settle for plain hash, when you can get lamb thrown into the bargain. The lamb hash, oniony with a touch of pepper heat and topped with a fried egg, is a popular breakfast item at the Border Springs Lamb Farm stall at the Reading Terminal Market. An even bigger seller is their lamb taco for lunch; they'll be serving it from a whole animal they'll roast at tomorrow's Sidewalk Sizzle and Ice Cream Freeze along Filbert Street.

More About Border Springs

Those riblets from Border Springs Lamb Farm I wrote about two weeks ago were every bit as good as hoped. Meaty but still enough tasty fat. They were among the hits of the Memorial Day block party. I simmered them in plenty of salted water for about half an hour then drained and stuck them in the 'fridge until the next day when I charred them over the fire, constantly basting with a glaze and turning until nicely browned but not burned. The glaze was a cup of orange marmalade, half a cup of Dijoin mustard, two tablespoons of red wine vinegar (apple cider would work, but I wouldn't use an expensive balsamic or sherry vinegar on this), and two teaspoons of whole cumin seeds which I then ground after toasting.

Border Springs now has its kitchen up and (mostly) running. I haven't tried any of the lunch dishes, and whether or not they serve breakfast was still a bit hit-and-miss as of yesterday. But the taste of biscuit with gravy and sausage Aaron offered last Saturday was superb, almost like a cream of lamb sausage soup. The only off-note was a too heavy hand with the black pepper, which Aaron said he'd be lightening up. This version of Rich Man's Gravy needs black pepper, it was just a tad too much when I tasted it.

At least one of the market's other butchers has already responded to Border Springs by lowering its price on shoulder chops. Martin's, which until recently charged $6.99/pound, was selling them for $4.99 last weekend, vs. $7.50-$8 at Border Springs, depending on the particular section of shoulder used. Martin's Brother Charles Giunta (Giunta's Prime Shop) was selling them for $6.99, while BJ's Warehouse had them for $5.99. Martin also dropped his price on ground lamb. Border Springs' loin chops are priced at $15, about two bucks more a pound than at Martin's and Giunta's. 

Lamb Shop Arrives at Reading Terminal Market

Breast of lamb, cut into riblets, a.k.a. Denver Ribs

Border Springs Lamb Farm opened its Reading Terminal Market retail outlet about a month later than planned, but the Virginia sheepery appears to be worth the wait, based on the fresh breast of lamb I purchased this morning.

For the moment they are only selling fresh lamb and sausages, but they hope to offer prepared foods sometime next week. And the prepared foods have me salivating -- see the menu synopsis at the end of this post.

I was taken aback when I asked the price of the lamb breast, a cut I adore. At Martin's and Giunta's the going price is less than $4/pound; Border Springs charged nearly $8. But before walking away I asked Aaron, one of the folks behind the counter, to open up a pack so I could examine it. Upon inspection I quickly agreed to purchase two breasts (four pounds) for my Fairmount block's Memorial Day party. These were the meatiest breasts of lamb I've ever encountered, but with still enough fat to endear them to me. Just look at the accompanying photo and see if you agree. On the package the whole breast is identified as "short ribs". When cut into riblets they're often called Denver Ribs, since much of the U.S. lamb industry is based in Colorado.

Since lamb ribs, even these relatively lean ones, tend to flare up on the grill, I'll be simmering these in water to pre-cook. Once the block party begins I'll finish on the grill with a sweet cumin-inflected sauce to give them the desired char.

Boneless, the breast of lamb (a.k.a. lamb belly) is an excellent meat to baconize, something I did a few years go with success. But since Border Springs will be selling lamb bacon, I may let them do the curing and smoking in the future.

Other than the breast, overall prices at Border Springs are close to what you'll pay for the commodity lamb found at supermarkets and most butchers. (And I'm not disparaging the "commodity" product; lamb from high volume producers is one of the best quality and least processed red meats you can find.) The rack of lamb and loin chops are $15/pound, about what you'd pay elsewhere. Bone-in leg is $9, also competitively priced. Shoulder chops are $7.50-$8, vs. $7 at most other establishments. So the premium, where it exists at all, is negligible if the quality is as good as it looks to be.

When they start cooking next week, Border Springs will even offer breakfast dishes:
lamb hash with potatoes, onions, peppers and friend egg or lamb sausage with gravy and biscuits, $6.50. Lunch sandwiches will include gyro or sausage at $7.25-$7.50, or meatloaf, pulled shoulder, or smoked leg at $9.50, lamb burger for $11. Eat-in or take-out items will include pot pie or lamb rice and chick pea bowl at $11, lamb stew at $10, and kebabs in Korean marinade at $5 apiece or two for $9.

I plan to work my way through the menu with gusto.

Border Springs Plans May Opening

Rendering of Border Springs Farm's new stall

Border Springs Farm hopes to open its Reading Terminal Market stall selling fresh lamb and prepared products before the end of May. Its website is still saying April.

It doesn't look like much is happening in the stall, across from Godshall's Poultry and Franks-a-Lot, other than the plastic sheeting covering the spot. But RTM General Manager Paul Steinke said that's because all the millwork is being built off-site for installation when completed.

Lamb Man at Reading Terminal Market

Craig Rogers, Shepherd

Craig Rogers, whose business card identifies him as "Shepherd", is rarin' to go with his forthcoming Reading Terminal Market stall. Last Saturday he was behind the counter with future staffers for his Border Springs Farm retail outlet.

The necessities of dealing with designers and architects as well as city building and health officialdom means it will be a while before the first little lamb part is exchanged for cash at the stall, located where the Basic Four vegetarian lunch vendor had held court.

Rogers raises two types of sheep: Katahdin and Texel. Katahdin is a "hair" sheep which sheds its wool, which makes the breed ideal for warmer climates. Texel is a breed which produces excellent wool. Both, however, offer good, lean meat yields.

Border Springs' RTM outpost will sell lamb for cooking at home as well as prepared lamb dishes, including sausages. Lamb bacon will also be available, Rogers said.

The stall is being designed by the same firm responsible for Zahav restaurant, where owner/chef Michael Solomonov's lamb shoulder banquet is likely to have its centerpiece originate at Border Springs' pastures.

More Lambs Come To Market

Vegetarian Stall Gives Way to Red Meat

Valley Shepherd added Krispy Kreme-like
 neon sign above its cheese-making room

 

There's an ovine outbreak at the Reading Terminal Market.

In addition to the soon-to-open Valley Shepherd Creamery in newly created Avenue D retail space, a southwestern Virginian sheep meat and wool operation will take over the space vacated by the Basic 4 vegetarian lunch counter.

Border Springs Farm will set up shop selling fresh and frozen lamb as well as prepared lamb-based foods (sausage, shepherd's pie, etc.). Owner Craig Rogers operates a similar stall at Union Market in Washington, D.C., but primarily sells meat to restaurants. The farm is located about halfway between Roanoke, Virginia, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

The Philadelphia store will allow Rogers to expand his retail presence and extend his restaurant-supply business into the Philadelphia market.

Two existing butchers at the market -- Charles Giunta of Giunta's Prime Shop and his brother Martin of Martin's Quality Meats -- offer good lamb selection, including three different types of chops, as well as leg, neck and breast cuts. They primarily use domestic sources for lamb, whereas supermarkets use both U.S. and Australian/New Zealand meats. The Fair Food Farmstand sells lamb from producers in both eastern and western Pennsylvania.

St. Louis Landmark

My week in St. Louis ended this past Wednesday, but not before a visit Ted Drewes, the landmark custard stand in the city's south side on Chippewaw Avenue, a.k.a. Route 66.

Since the temperatures were in the low 80s, the frozen dessert hit the spot. Only one flavor, vanilla, but you can have it mixed with a couple of dozen different flavors, or build various sundaes. Along with gooey butter cake and "toasted" ravioli, Ted Drewes is one of the Gateway City's great contributions to the American culinary tradition. (Wisconsin is big on frozen custard, too, and I'll try that late next month.)

The other culinary high points of my visit: chicken feet at dim sum at Lulu's (as good as any I've had in Philadelphia's or Vancouver's Chinatowns) and a lamb burger at the Schlafly Tap Room, a brewpub downtown, which makes a far better brew than its larger St. Louis competitor.

A decided miss was the pastrami served by Lester's Sports Bar & Grill. I was sent there by a local who original hails from central New Jersey. He claimed Lester's pastrami was better than Carnegie Deli's. I doubted that, but I still should have known better. Even though the restaurant is owned by a Brooklyn-born octagenarian millionaire, the pastrami was a royal flop. The flavor wasn't terrible but the meat was all wrong. Where Carnegie, Katz's and our own Herschel's and Famous use beef navel, Lester uses brisket. Good for corned beef. Wrong for pastrami.

Pulled Lamb Breast

That lamb breast purchased from Livengood Thursday turned into a Saturday night pulled lamb fest. Because it was well-trimmed and much leaner than expected, the piece (a tad less than a pound) yielded three servings. Keep in mind the rib bones are not at all dense, so they don't make up much of the weight.

With the oven set at a temperature 275 F they cooked directly in an open roasting pan (no need for a rack when there's so little fat) for two hours before I added salt and pepper and covered the pan with foil. (Some recipes would add chopped onion at this point, which is good idea, except this lamb was so lean the onions would have burned.) After about an hour and a half more they were removed from the oven and allowed to cool.

While the lamb was in its last lap in the oven I made a Carolina style mustard-based barbecue sauce, figuring it would provide a nice counterpoint to the rich lamb which a tomato-based sauce would not. When the lamb cooled enough to handle I pulled it off the bone and shredded it with hand and fork, then tossed the warm sauce and lamb together. Served with cornbread and a beer (Victory's high octane 9.5 percent triple, Golden Monkey) it made a tasty dinner. All that was missing was the slaw.

Headhouse, Fairmount Markets

Asparagus, carrots from Tom Culton at Headhouse

Joseph Mack of Sunny Side Goat

Asparagus abounded at the two farmers' markets I visited this week: Headhouse on Sunday and Fairmount yesterday.

But even strawberries could be found, at least at A.T. Buzby's Headhouse stall. I demurred from purchasing a quart ($6) since they were grown under plastic. I'll wait a few weeks more 'til the true sun-drenched beauties appear, though Buzby's certainly looked worthwhile if you wanted to rush the season a tad.

My biggest find at Headhouse were the small bouquets of lilacs sold along with mushrooms and greens by Queen Farm. I miss the huge display of regular and French lilacs that Earl Livengood sold when he was a the Reading Terminal Market. Dwain Livengood explained that they didn't sell lilacs anymore because they are only at outdoor markets, where the wind does a number on the delicate petals. Dwain did have Lily of the Valley plants, with their altogether different but just as pleasureable scent, at Fairmount yesterday.

Although I've enjoyed chevre many times in the past, I had never tasted its source milk before yesterday. Thanks to Sunny Side Goat Dairy, operated by Joseph and Joanna Mack, I sampled some raw goat milk, and found it fresh and delightful with no "goaty" flavor at all (nor should it have any). In addition to various chevres and the milk, the Macks also sell goat meat (lovely in curries) and yogurt.

Last week Dwain told me he's now selling lamb raised by a neighbor, and plans to run his own flock. Among the cuts Dwain had yesterday was lamb breast, either in whole or riblet form; I bought the former and plan to indirectly grill it this weekend.

I Love Lamb Fat

Warning: this post is not for those who insist on healthy eating at all times. But if you're adventurous, and enjoy an occasional indulgence with absolutely no redeeming qualities other than taste, read on.

First, you must like lamb. Because lamb fat is essence of lamb, just as chicken feet are essence of chicken. That's why I like both and, for the first time in more than a decade, feasted on lamb fat for dinner Saturday.

I've loved lamb fat since I was a kid, when my mom would make barely trimmed rib lamb chops only in the summer. Because she hated the smell of lamb she could cook them outside and not stink up her kitchen. My father and I devoured them; she ate chicken.

I rekindled my love of lamb fat in Jerusalem about ten years ago at a shashlik  joint called Shemesh Quick Bar on Ben Yehuda Street. They also served grilled goose fat along with more traditional kebab meats.

The lamb fat for Saturday's feast was procured from Martin's Quality Meats at the Reading Terminal Market. I intended only to get some double-thick lamb rib chops, asking the butcher not to supply me with one of the puny, bulemic Frenched chops displayed out front in the case but cut some afresh, leaving plenty of fat. What he brought me had some fat along the bone, but not nearly enough to my taste.

"I love lamb fat," I told him.

So he took out another set of ribs and cut off the fat in a sheet of about nine inches square and a few smaller pieces, wrapped them and handed to me gratis, noting that he left traces of meat within the fat slabs. (Normally these trimmings simply go into the discard bin.)

Once home I unwrapped the precious package and cut the fat into strips about an inch wide, discarding the ragged ends. How to cook?

I knew I wanted to use my grill, but worried about the strips falling through the grates. I didn't want to lose one delicious morsel. So I took out three banboo skewers, about eight inches long or so each, and threaded three strips onto each. I chopped some fresh rosemary, pulverized four or five garlic cloves with kosher salt, and mixed it all together with fresh ground black pepper, then smeared it wantonly over the skewers and chops.  I let it all sit for the 10 or 15 minutes it took to bring the grill to heat.

As anyone who has cooked lamb chops over direct grill heat knows, the more fat the higher the flames, raising the odds of winding up with pure carbon for dinner. Fortunate that my Weber gas grill has three burners, I put two of them to high heat and the third rear burner on low. If you have a charcoal grill, only put coals on one side.

Once everything heated up, and greasing the grates with a square of the excess fat, I started out with the skewers on the low back burner, hood closed so they would start cooking without calling in the fire department, moving them over the high heat three or four minutes later. Once under high heat, they needed near constant checking and turning. After they had reached the state of char I desired they returned to the back burner while I concentrated on cooking the actual chops.

When the chops were done I brought the meat and fat to the table, my only accompaniment being some celeriac remoulade I prepped earlier in the day. The side dish was an excellent choice, since its mustardy tang cut through the main course's richness.

Piping hot is the only way to eat lamb fat (unlike the chops which you want to rest to allow the juices to be reabsorbed) so I dug right in. Although I ate them straight, they'd also be good on pita (with a spread of hummus and a bit of raw onion) or small flour tortillas (cilantro, raw onion, radish; skip the salsa).

I ate it all and don't regret it. Although I won't be making them next week, I won't wait ten years for my next taste.