to cook lamb for yourself at home yet, you’ve really have
no excuse.
What better time to start than now?
DOMESTIC VERSUS IMPORTED
Q: I see lamb from Australia, New Zealand, and the
United States at the butcher. What are the differences
between these options, and is one better than another?
There are major differences in terms of flavor, size, and
price when it comes to American lamb versus lamb from
Down Under. New Zealand/Australian lambs are quite small
in size, with whole legs coming in at around 5 to 6 pounds.
According to Mark Pastore, president of Pat LaFrieda, one
of the most respected meat purveyors in the country, their
size is a matter of both genetics and feed. The lambs are
smaller to begin with, and they spend their lives grazing on
grass. Grass gives them a more gamy flavor, which some
people find off-putting, and they also tend to be lower in fat,
making them a bit harder to cook properly—the legs in
particular have a tendency to dry out. That said, if you’re
cooking for a smaller party—6 to 8 people or so—and you
value that gamy flavor over tenderness or richness, NZ or
Aussie lamb is a good choice.
American lambs are larger, fattier, and sweeter in flavor.
Most American lambs are fed on grass for most of their
lives, supplemented with grain for the last 30 days before
slaughter. The lamb at LaFrieda comes from Mennonite
farms in Colorado that finish their lambs on a combination
of grain, honey, alfalfa, wheat, and flaked corn. The results