About Lamb Meat

When it comes to eating meat, lamb is the most overlooked type. This might be because many people think that it is hard to cook lamb and it is not safe to eat it. But to be honest, sheep meat is one of the healthiest alternatives to eating beef or pork. Other names that it is known for include mutton and hogget. The difference here is that the meat from a up to one year old is known as a lamb. Once it gets older, it is called hogget and finally, mutton. These are the basic terms that lamb is known for. In other parts of the world, there are even more complicated names that depend on the age of the animal, but for our purposes the three roughly presented categories will do it.

Why Eat Lamb?

If you are looking to eat a healthier piece of meat, then it is a good idea to go for lamb. This is because its nutritional value is being influenced by its cut. The leanest options include shank, loin and leg. These can all be compared to pork or beef, in terms of the number of calories and fat that one can get per serving. For every 3 ounce serving, you get around 150-170 calories as well as 2-3 grams of saturated fat. Then again, there are some specific cuts that contain 20-30 calories per serving higher as compared to its beef counterpart. These include the blade and ground lamb.

One good reason why you should opt for eating lamb is because it has a lesser tendency for marbling. This means that when you trim its fat around its edges, you can get a much leaner meat. So if you are after eating something full of nutrients and rich in flavor, American Lamb is the best way to do it.

Health and Nutrition Facts for Lamb

Lamb is being considered as a healthier alternative to beef and pork because it is leaner. On an average, a 3 ounce lamb serving only contains 175 calories. For this, the definition of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for lean is being met. According to their guidelines, lean meat must contain less than 1/8 lbs. of fat as well as ¼ lbs. of saturated fat. As such, the FDA supports the daily consumption of lamb for those who are on a diet.

Lamb Cuts

British Lamb Cuts. Also used in Canada and Australia. The US system is slightly different. Please refer to the list on the left for the US system.

Lamb shoulder is one of the most important cuts of lamb.

There are different types of cuts of lamb. These cuts depend on the standards of a country and also affect the type of cooking method being used for them. The US has its own set of cuts which are somewhat similar from that of Australia, Canada and the UK’s. Here are the cuts of lamb known in the US:

• Rack- perfect for rib chops, riblets or even rib roast
• Square Cut Shoulder- can be used for shoulder chops, shoulder roast, and arm chops
• Leg of Lamb- can be used for leg roast or sirloin chops
• Loin- used for roasting
• Neck
• Breast
• Flank
• Shanks

The five major primal cuts for lamb include the shoulder, rack, loin, and the foreshank and breast. When these major primal cuts have been made, the butcher can then cut the meat into different and smaller pieces. These though, will depend upon your request and what specific cooking method you will be using for the lamb dish you are preparing for.

Inspection & Grading for Lamb Meat

If you are buying American Lamb, you can make sure that the lamb you have purchased is only from the highest quality. This is because American Lamb goes through a compulsory USDA inspection program. After which they are being graded according to its quality and yield. Aside from inspecting the meat of carcasses, there are also inspectors in these plants who conduct a regular inspection of live animals.

The quality grade of lamb depends on its conformation and palatability. Currently, there are 4 known USDA quality grades for lamb: Prime, Choice, Good and Utility. The majority of which, is graded either Prime or Choice. Yield grading is then being evaluated on the lamb carcass. This depends on the weight of boneless retail cuts which carcasses must yield. The USDA determines grades of between 1 and 5.

Lamb, just like any other meat, becomes healthy or unhealthy by the amount being consumed by an individual. At the same time, the cooking method used will largely influence its nutritional value.