How To Carve a Bone-in Leg of Lamb
Earlier this week we gave you a simple, straightforward method for roasting a juicy, tender leg of lamb. (Hint: It’s actually super simple to make a lamb roast.) Carving, however, can be the trickiest part of cooking a leg of lamb. We prefer bone-in leg of lamb for flavor, and carving around that bone can feel a little intimidating.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to carving delicious slices of lamb.
See our easy method for cooking a leg of lamb: How To Roast a Leg of Lamb
A note on tools: While you can certainly use a carving knife and fork, we find that a good sharp chefs knife works just fine.
How To Carve a Bone-in Leg of Lamb
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- Roasted bone-in lamb leg
Equipment
- Sharp chefs knife or carving knife
- Cutting board, preferably one with a channel to hold the meat juices
- Platter
- Aluminum foil
Instructions
Look at the leg of lamb. The bone runs through the meat at an angle, giving you two fairly big pieces of meat on either side of the bone. Start with the piece of meat that feels most accessible to you, then flip the roast over and do the second side.
Cut the meat into slices across the grain. Cut straight down through the thickest part of the meat until you hit the bone. You should be cutting perpendicular to the bone, across the grain of the meat.
Continue cutting the meat. Continue working your way up the bone, slicing straight down to the bone. The slices will still be attached where they meet the bone.
Cut the slices off the bone. Once you've cut the entire piece of meat into slices, turn your knife so that it's now parallel to the bone instead of perpendicular. Starting at the end of the bone furthest from you, cut through the slices where they attach to the bone. Keep your knife close to the bone so you get as much meat as possible, but don't worry about getting every single scrap of meat right now — just focus on cutting cleanly through the big slices and we'll get any leftover pieces later.
Transfer the slices to a serving platter. Tent the platter with foil to keep the meat warm.
Repeat with the remaining meat. Turn the lamb around and repeat the slicing steps above. It might feel a little awkward because the angle is different.
Trim off any extras. There will probably still be quite a bit of meat left on the bone after you clear away the big slices. They might not make it onto your beautiful serving platter, but you should definitely save them for snacks and sandwiches later on. Cut away as much meat as you can and set it aside; save the bone for making lamb stock.