HomeRecipesSearch
EN
Use App
Leg of Lamb Butchering
Get the app
Fejsal Demiraj

Fejsal Demiraj

Leg of Lamb Butchering

40m

Here's how to easily debone and separate each cut of a leg of lamb!

After butchering, you can reserve the bones along with the trimmings to make a delicious lamb stock. Use each cut for your favorite preparation.

Tenderloin and sirloin are great just quickly grilled or pan-seared. Top Round is great for stir-fry, roasting, or even kebabs. The bottom round and shank benefit from long, slow cooking methods such as braising or stewing, since they are tougher cuts.

Leg of lambs here in Kosovo and Albania are generally smaller and tend to come along with the loin attached—when that happens, it's a real treasure!

These lambs are bred at higher altitudes. They feed on the best grasses and flowers and drink the cleanest water.

  • Trim and remove the excess hanging fat off 1 leg of lamb

    Step 0
  • Place the leg, flesh-side down, on the cutting board. Make an incision in the joint between the hip bone and the loin. Flip the leg and make a cut around the loin to mark it

    Step 1
  • Flip the leg and chop through the bone with a cleaver. Use a knife to remove the meat of the loin from the leg

    Step 2
  • Feel for the hip bone at the top of the leg and make a cut along the length of it to expose it. Carve around the bone and joint to remove it. Reserve the bone

    Step 3
  • Carve around the exposed ball joint to detach it from the meat. Make an incision along the length of the bone until the next joint

    Step 4
  • Move the shank back and forth to help find the joint. Cut through the meat around the joint until you hit it

    Step 5
  • Remove the shank by cutting through the joint. Reserve it

    Step 6
  • Cut along and around the thigh bone to remove it. Reserve the bone

    Step 7
  • Use your hands to open up the thigh

    Step 8
  • Find the separation between the muscles on the left-hand side of the thigh. Carefully cut between them to remove the top round

    Step 9
  • Find the separation between the muscles on the left-hand side of the remaining piece. Carefully cut between them to remove the bottom round. Reserve the remaining piece of the leg

    Step 10
  • Place the bottom round, skin-side down, on the cutting board. Hold the skin with one hand and cut along it, as close as possible, to remove from the meat. Trim off excess fat and remove the gland

    Step 11
  • Separate the remaining piece of the leg into the two major muscles. Clean each part by removing the skin and excess fat. Reserve it for a stock

    Step 12
  • Place the shank on its side on the board, with the tendon facing upwards. Cut the tendon with a cleaver and remove it by cutting it off from the meat

    Step 13
  • Cut through the meat along the shank to remove the meat. Reserve the bone

    Step 14
  • Cut the shank and leg bones into smaller pieces with a cleaver

    Step 15
  • Place the loin on the cutting board with the backbone facing up. Cut along the spine until about halfway down to release the tenderloin from the backbone

    Step 16
  • Pull off the tenderloin with your hand. Pull off the fat and reserve both

    Step 17
  • Cut the sirloin away from the spine

    Step 18
  • Chop the spine into chunks with a cleaver and reserve

    Step 19
  • Trim the fat cap from the sirloin. Remove the silver skin from the meat

    Step 20
  • The leg of lamb is butchered. Roast the bones and trims to make broth and use the muscle cuts in your favorite dishes.

    Step 21

Yield 6 pieces

  • Leg of Lamb

    Leg of Lamb

    1

Equipment

  • Cleaver

    Cleaver

Get the app for 1400+
step-by-step video recipes

  • App Store
  • Google Play