What cuts do I get when I buy a whole lamb?

Here’s how the sample lamb pictured above finished out. Note: Not all lambs will weigh the same going in and coming out of processing. A lamb is an organic thing - everyone weighs slightly differently just like humans.

The following is an example of how we normally have our lambs cut. After almost 30 years of eating our own animals, we have determined these cuts to be the best for our family.

Loin and Rib Chops
Chops are cut approximately 1" to 1.25” thick. This lamb yielded 24 chops, about 8 pounds.

4 shanks
A shank is the bottom part of a leg. There are about 2.5 pounds here.

Legs
The back legs of the animal. Two legs with bone in weigh approximately 5.5 pounds.

Depending on the time of year, we often have half boneless legs. During the summer, our legs are cut into pieces for kabobs and stew.

Shoulders
The front legs of the animal. These are usually cut into 1 1/4 inch chops. They are our favorite cut for braises, stews, soups and tagines.

Ground Lamb
Each lamb usually yields about 10 lbs of ground lamb.

Stew Meat
Our stew meat is cut from the leg.

Organs
Lamb liver 1-2 packs
2 kidneys in a pack
1 heart and 1 tongue