Lamb

Our Lamb

Our free range Lamb is sourced by Hughie Fitzpatrick, mainly from the South Leinster area. We buy the Texel and Texel cross breeds which have been fed the best of grass and grain and administer no artificial growth promoters, additives or preservatives.

About Our Lamb

The meat from these Lambs, when hung for 5 to 10 days is just sublime. When all of the cogs in the wheel turn in unison then and only then do we achieve the standard that our customers expect.

This requires our farmers to be committed to the best land management and animal husbandry.

It requires our processor to be committed to best practice in handling the Lamb. Last but not least it requires us at McLoughlins to hold and present the Lamb as the customer requires it.

Know Your Cuts

Click on each heading below to read more about each cut of meat

Shoulder

This is a relatively inexpensive piece of meat. There is more bone and connective tissue inside it but once cooked slowly, the fat melts away and gives the lamb a wonderful flavour. This can be bought on the bone or ask your butcher to bone and roll it for you. Jamie Oliver has some wonderful recipes for this.

Leg

The leg is great for roasting for a large group of people. Weighing 2.2kg – 3 kg it will feeds 6-10 people.it is best roasted in the oven on a roasting tray. It can be cut in half and sold by your local butcher as a fillet of lamb and a shank of lamb. There are many great recipes on the internet from simple roasting with seasoning and herbs and garlic to marinated in yoghurt and barbecued!

Lap / Breast

This is a large flat piece of meat that is full of flavour. It can be chopped into slices and panfried or boned and stuffed and braised with some stuffing inside. One piece would be enough for two.

Liver

Tender and flavoursome, liver is best panfried as is or coated in seasoned flour and panfried. Be careful of overcooking as it becomes hard and dry if overcooked. Press it with your finger while on the pan. a little springiness and its perfect.

Chops

Gigot / Shoulder chops are cut from the Forequarter or shoulder and are best when braised . The lamb is most tender before November and the gigot can be panfried while still young. Cook with the bone attached and the bone will impart its flavour into the dish. Sideloin Chops are very tender and can be panfried or grilled. When left in the piece it is called a Rump of Lamb and Restaurants roast it.
Centre loin chops are equally tender. They are expensive and on a 25kg lamb one will only get 1.5kg -2kg of centre loin.

Neck

Also known as Scrag End, cut into chops with the bone in this is great for stews and slowly cooked, it will give beautiful flavour to any dish. You can also bone it out in one piece and cook it slowly in stock and herbs. When cooked, wrap it tightly in cling film and cool down. It can then be thinly sliced onto a salad.

Rack

Also known as Best End. This is a beautiful cut of meat consisting of 8-9 ribs of meat and is best simply roasted with garlic and herbs. One rack will feed 2-3 people depending on the size of the rack.

Shank

The fore-shank comes from the shoulder and the hind-shank comes from the back leg. The hind shank is the more desirable and when the lamb is young it is perfectly good for roasting with lashings of herbs and garlic. The fore-shank is best braised in a casserole dish and needs slow cooking.

Diced

This can be cut from the Shoulder or the leg. The leg tends to be leaner and more uniform in size and therefore more expensive but the Diced Lamb from the Shoulder is equally good and the connective fat tends to melt away and add to the flavour of the dish.