THE BUTCHERS CUT
BY CALLUM EDGE
Butcher Callum Edge of Edge & Sons
talks us through Lamb and his delicious
Breast of Lamb fingers recipe.
All lamb is less than 12 months old and has a deliciously
delicate, mild flavour. Lamb tastes different depending
on it’s diet and where it’s been farmed; traditional bred
and fed lamb is by far the best.
Rack of lamb
Rack of lamb is a prime cut and makes an impressive centrepiece
on the dinner table. It cooks quickly so is good for when you’re
short on time. The rack is also known as ‘best end’, and comes
from the middle of the lamb. A whole rack has six or seven
chops, with individual rib chops known as lamb cutlets.
Breast
One of the fattier cuts, breast of lamb is an uncommon, but some
say underrated, roast centerpiece. It needs to be cooked very
slowly to render away the fat, and stuffing is recommended to
really bring out the flavours.
Leg
This is a good, generous (and popular) cut for a family roast –
a leg of lamb has lots of lean, tender meat to tuck into. Often
cooked on the bone, leg of lamb can also be boned and rolled.
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This versatile cut can be roasted hot and fast or long and slow
until the meat falls off the bone.
Shoulder
Shoulder of lamb is more economical than leg, as it carries a little
more fat, yielding succulent meat. This shoulder cut comes from
the fore end of the lamb, is full of flavour and suited to long,
slow cooking. The blade bone running through the centre of the
shoulder can make carving tricky. Make sure your knife is sharp
when carving, or try cooking easy-carve shoulders where the
blade bone has been removed.
For our recipe, we focus on the most uncommon cut ‘Breast
of Lamb’ - this is a great one to know as we go into the party
season. It demonstrates how far money can go to feed a large
crowd. The basic recipe is taken from one of our favourite ethical
meat eaters, Hugh Fearneley Whittingstall. He calls it “Breast
of Lamb Ste Menehould”. He uses breadcrumbs, but I often use
nuts. Don’t be put off by the ‘pressing time’. The actual hands on
time for preparation is about 20 minutes. Most of the preparation
is done well in advance. This would feed 4-6 for a main course,
but can easily be part of a finger food party (hot or cold). The
recipe makes around 30 ‘fingers’. I hope you enjoy it.