How to order a half lamb

Ordering a half or whole lamb is not really as daunting as it seems. Even if you have never done it before or have no experience with lamb cuts, we promise the experience is relatively easy and painless!

Here is a basic overview:

We aim to have butcher lambs around 100 pounds live so they will dress at about 50 pounds. (So a half lamb will dress at 25 pounds.) Dressed weight is the carcass weight with the bones included. How much weight you end up with depends on the cuts you order. (If your cuts are all boneless, the weight you end up will be less)

You will buy the lamb directly from us, and then you are responsible for the butcher costs. (Don’t worry, we have butchers we suggest and we can arrange it if you’d like us to.) Butcher costs for half a lamb will range from $40 to $65.

After butchering, the lamb will hang for about a week before cutting and wrapping. You will be contacted by the butcher for your cutting instructions. Then, when the meat is all ready to be picked up, you will also get a phone call.

As far as cuts go, you have several decisions to make. It may help to look through lamb recipes you are planning to make to confirm you get the correct cuts.

Back Leg - The back leg can be left whole for a large leg roast, or cut in half for two smaller sized roasts. It can also be sliced into steaks.

Shoulder - The shoulder can be left as a roast, cut into chops or steaks. It does have some large awkward bones, so if you’re looking to get stew or ground meat, that’s also a good option for the shoulder.

Ribs - Ribs make lovely chops or an excellent crown roast.

Loin - Best used for chops, you can also get boneless tenderloin.

Other - Shanks are optional and come from the end of the leg roasts. There will always be extra bits of meat and they can be put into ground lamb or stewing meat. And definitely remember to keep the bones to make lamb stock. You will also receive the lamb liver and heart. If you’ve never tried these nutrient dense organs, contact us for some recipes!

Ask the butcher all the questions you need to know, but be sure you mention all the cuts you want. You choose everything, so what you don’t mention, you won’t get. You also will need to know how thick you want your chops and steaks to be cut.

And of course, any other questions, we’re here to help - contact us if you need anything!