How to Cut up a Leg of Lamb or Goat Into Roasts

Cooking a whole leg of lamb or leg of goat can be intimidating, but there’s a lot more that you can do with a whole leg than roast them whole once a year for your holiday table. Cutting a whole leg of lamb into individual roasts is relatively easy, and economical as it can turn what would be one larger cooking project that you may feed a family with, into 4, 5, or more meals, depending on how many people you’re serving, and the size of the leg.

Turn a leg into 6 smaller roasts

Besides a number of different, unique roasts, you also get the femur and hip bones, which are great for soup, as well as some trip and scrap for stock or stew, along with a smaller roast (the trip tip).

Soup bone, trim, and the tri-tip

The finished individual roasts can be frozen and used as needed (I recommend vacuum sealing them) but you don’t have to limit your culinary creativity to just roasts either. Here’s a few ideas:

Ideas for your roasts

• Save the trim and bones to make lamb bone broth 
• Cut some into large pieces and use for stew
• Cure them in a ham brine and smoke them 
• Season them overnight to make a simple smoked leg roast 

 

 

This recipe is by Chef Alan Bergo, the Forager Chef. A chef from Minnesota, Alan is a culinary industry veteran, former executive chef of acclaimed Lucia’s Restaurant, and the Salt Cellar. Author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora, he’s one of the most respected voices in the world of foraging and wild food. He’s best known as the founder of Forager Chef, his website focused on wild ingredients that reaches millions of readers each year. Learn more about Chef Alan and his hunt for mushrooms, wild and obscure foods at foragerchef.com. 

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