how to bone whole lamb neck? am making lamb merguez p.168 in 2nd volume, should I trim or keep fat to grind??

HI All, usually I get lamb necks cut in 1 inch widths. This time they were sold to me in 5-6 inch heights. Should I try to core it like a pineapple or break it down into 1 inch widths and peel the meat away? Also, I will be chopping, not grinding the meat, should I include the fat or trim it away? thanks for any help, Theses look to be great on the grill!

thecuriousone
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2 Comments

sdebrango March 31, 2013
I am not an expert on this, not by a stretch. I saw this earlier and hoped someone would see it and give you an answer. I looked at the recipe and Mrs. Wheelbarrow uses a lamb shoulder which has a fair amount of fat. I am going to venture a guess here and in my opinion you should use some of the fat, you will need that fat so that the sausage remains moist. You will have to judge how much to use but if I were making it I would at least use some of the fat. Hope this helps a little and Happy Holiday!
 
trampledbygeese March 31, 2013
What book are you working from?

These are little sausages/sausage patties right? Sausage usually has 20 to 40 percent (of total meat weight) fat, so if I was doing this, I would more-or-less separate the fat from the meat, then add back as much fat as I want (maybe even get out the scales and weigh it).

As for trimming the meat off the spine, I wish I had an easy way to do this. It takes me forever to get the meat off, so I usually reserve the neck for stews and things that require cooking the meat before removing from the bone... but I'm lazy that way.
 
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