Please don´t call this spam

    Hey Taw, that´s Esky´s line! <img src=smilies/icon_smile_clown.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> Speaking of lamb, who has got a sure fire won´t fail method of selecting the most delectable lamb chops at the butcher?. What do you look for? a) When it alrady is packaged in styrofoam trays with plastic wrap? b) When laid out in the butcher´s glassed in display cooler waiting to be picked out?

    Indy , NY city, find a jewish butcher and get it fresh as can be. I look at the wrapped versions, I look for the brightest red coloring, no dark areas. Rinse off at home then marinate in an Italian dressing or Raspeberry vinigret for an hour or 2 then gri

    Proud owner of a MacBook: 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
    2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM 120 GB hard drive
    Mac OSX Leopard 10.5.5


    The time has come, Join The Resistance!

    sure fire method? get a fresh leg from a proper butchers, not a supermarket, and cut it up yourself with a bone cleaver. if you really want fresh, go to the local slaughter house and buy it out the back door - cheaper too. I rarely get meat pre-packed, I go to the meat market once a week and get everything i need cut up there unless i want the fun of doing it myself. last week i got 5 beef joints -several lbs in weight each - 2 lamb legs, 12 lamb chops, 12 pork chops (not for me I might add) 3lb of sausages and 2 chickens for £30 (thats about 55 dollars) In the supermarket it wouldnt have been as fresh <i>and </i> would cost twice to three times as much, especially the lamb, which is about a tenner for an average leg joint in the big stores.

    "for once, i`ll actually tell you what i was thinking; but maybe i won`t have anything to say.."

    Well, now I can add lamb to that list of life-wasting topics...

    ________________________________ A turbulent time where the fate of humankind rests in the balance. The fulcrum, the breaking point of humanity. Heros rise and fall, faster than any can track. Saviors and demons both. Who will you be? How will your story be told? Control Your Own Faction 5: The Redemption Join the revolution here!

    BBQ Lamb chops are the way to go. Let them soak in a good home made BBQ sauce overnight in the fridge, then throw them on the grill and keep on basting with the BBQ sauce. Sure does sound alot better then lovely dorm food... Matt

    @Fd &amp; Taw I´ve got both kosher and halal butchers in my neck of the woods so that´s not the problem. It´s what to look for in the meat. I´ll take the cue on redness vs. purply brown-ish but is that it? And, if it is lamb, shouldn´t it be more p

    My belly proves I am an expert on food <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> @ FD and Indy: the bright red colour is not a sign of quality for lamb (talking here first about the surface). It can even be a sign for chemicals used to give the customer this &quot;freshy&quot; impression (in combination with a blue-spectre daylight lighting inforcing red colors). Meat surface reacts chemically with air (oxidation) and the natural colour of lamb is a quite dark red with about 10 % of brown in (that´s my personal estimation - nothing else <img src=smilies/icon_smile.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> ) . The colour is more <i> Bordeaux </i> than <i> Burgundy </i> - btw: both are excellent with lamb though I prefer the Bordeaux here. On a sideline: bright red meat means more muscle and less ´storage´ (butcher keeps meat and takes care=better taste) of the meat. That means: longer cooking and not suited for barbecue. About fat: A lot of people may like lamb but hate mutton. So lamb is the better choice for a party. But if you want to put chops on your barbecue then choose the ones with the whitest fat (as little yellow/brown colour mixed in). That´s a sign for a young (and tender ... yummi) mutton chop.

    it got lost in translation. @zazie - your knowledge of meat and butchery products is impressive. most people are fooled by *the bright red colour* which is often the result of chemical injections and *butcher´s lights* which make the meat look redder int he display. As you say, fresh lamb once its been exposed to the air, goes a dark purple/brown colour - thsi may look unsighly to people expecting to see bright red meat, but traditionally lamb is hung in the air -<i>Agnelli di Pasqua </i> anyone? many years ago when i was a bit hard up I worked in a supermarket butchery department for a while. i learnt a few things about what goes on, ie chemicals, *trick* lights etc. I also discovered never to touch supermarket mince - why? well, event he expensive supermarket mince is actually just the old meat they coiuldn´t sell minced up with some dye to make it look fresh. I have seen this for myself and it´s very common. And if that doesn´t sell, they´ll shove the next days non-sellers in there. it´ll gop eventually esp if offerd on 3 for the price of 1. never ever buy supermarket mince. buy fresh meat and mince it yourself.

    "for once, i`ll actually tell you what i was thinking; but maybe i won`t have anything to say.."

    benjon4 If you really want to start over; delete this thread now that moderaters know so the mini noobs, noobs, greater noobs, irritants (guillty) and genral annoyancies will not know the truth.

    "And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it."