I bought some lamb brisket online without fully knowing what I was getting.
It’s nothing like beef brisket. Very bony, very fatty, and what little lean meat exists is wedged between layers of fat that are diffcult to separate.
My first attempt was to simply cook it like any roast. The resulting meat was very tasty, but eating it and getting around the fat was extremely labor intensive and time-consuming. I’m trying to think of other uses for this - especially ways to separate off the fat and bone.
My first thought is to try and “liquify” the fat - maybe cook it for 24 hours or so at 175F. My hope is that the fat will liquify and the meat will easily separate from the bone. Then I can remove the bone/fat, shred the meat, and use it in tacos, sandwiches or other applications.
Will that work? Any other ideas what to do with this lamb brisket?
The fat provides the flavour, if you thought it was going to be like a beef brisket then clearly you didn’t know your meat this time round (live & learn)
Really there is no simple solution, the meat type is, as you have found, it is a greasy meat.
Was it a silly money deal that blindsided you or something?
If you have a smoker in which you can hang it then i’d make lamb taco’s.
What is the weight?
Is it the belly & the brisket?
Vertical barrel smoker, dripping the fat & reducing it along the way, …is that possible?
Thank you, but the smoker isn’t an option - I don’t have one. It’s Sous Vide or Oven. I can somewhat fake a smoker with a liquid smoke based rub and the oven, but can’t hang them. They are too big for the air fryer.
I have two remaining briskets in the freezer, about 5-6lb each. As you can see, they are mostly fat and bone. Not happy with the purchase - they weren’t cheap either. I was trying to make a special meal using kosher meat, which is hard to find where I live, so mail ordered it blind. Ended up making vegetarian Lasagna instead. I should have just bought beef, since it’s what I know how to cook.
Here’s a photo. Unfortunately, their website didn’t have a photo when I bought them (but they do now…). They still call it “Extra Lean Lamb Brisket”, which is just false advertising, but nothing I can do about it now.
In that case, I think you will simply be trimming the surface cap fat (even if you cook it with the fat present in order to retain the flavour) that way at least the surface fat can be removed at end of cook before maybe oven finishing.
I don’t have a problem with fatty lamb (I eat stuffed lamb hearts when we could / can get them) but never buy without being able to see / choose my meat.
Personally I’d take a cleaver to the remainder smaller portions to check over fat content & play around with, I have not had the greatest success with big joints of lamb perfect with smaller ones sous vide for 2-3 people, just sous, a bit of herbage & a nice roasting salt with a pan finish.
