Lamb Cuts (in French and Italian)

Lamb in French and Italian

The Lamb is called Agneau in French and Agnello in Italian, usually 100 days old lamb.

If you are in Italy, you will also find Abbacchio, a 25-30 day-old lamb fed only with the milk from the mother.

The Abbacchio is considered refined and expensive meat as it is much tender and sweeter, but it has a higher percentage of fat and a lower level of nutrients.

The cuts of lamb are much easier to recognize than beef and pork, but it is always handy to have the exact names when you go shopping.

So here they are:

Neck (Eng.), Collier (Fr.), Collo (It.): is the part of the neck. It can be braised or stewed. Personally I never cooked it.

Shoulder (Eng.), Epaule (Fr.), Spalla (It.): this part is very fatty with some cartilages. It is perfect for stews as the bone gives the soup flavor and creamy consistency, similar to chicken bones.

It can also be used for roast or grilled cutlets. I use it to make Irish stew, delicious comfort food for cold winters. Even my children enjoy it!

Loin, Rack, Chops (Eng.), Carré, Côte (Fr.), Carre, Braciole (It.): it can be cut in several ways, often with the bone. It is mostly grilled, barbecued, or pan-fried. The meat is very tender and lean, surrounded by a white layer of fat.

Depending on how it is cut, the name varies:

• Rack of Lamb is Carré in French and Carre in Italian
• Lamb chops are Côte in French and Braciole in Italian
• Crown roast is Couronne in French and Corona in Italian
• Noisette (without the bone) is Noisette in French and Filetto in Italian

Lamb loin is deliciously roasted, and here is a great recipe from my blogger friend Beth: Lamb loin grilled or roasted to perfection. For the chops, you can try the recipe from my blogger friend Elaine: Magical lamb loin chops

You can also check out my recipe for Crown Roast Of Lamb Rosemary And Wine and Arrosticini lamb.

Breast (Eng.), Poitrine (Fr.), Pancia (It.): It is very similar to pork bacon, meat layered with fat and some connective tissues. It can be braised or roasted.

Leg (Eng.), Gigot (Fr.), Cosciotto (It.): The upper part of the leg is lean meat, while descending toward the end, it becomes marbled and with connective tissues. It can be used for roast, grilling, or barbecuing.

Leg of lamb on the barbecue

When Easter comes, we know our favorite supermarket is offering special deals on Gigout d'agneau, so we always buy a big leg of lamb to cook on the barbecue.

While the upper part of the leg is lean and tender, the lower part, the shank, tends to be too tough for the barbecue.

1. So we separate the leaner meat from the bone and cut it into large chunks.
2. We marinate the chunks with olive oil, coarse salt, and Provencal herbs for at least 30 minutes before
3. putting them on the barbecue.
4. We like to eat our leg of lamb kebab with yogurt sauce, tabbouleh, and roasted peppers.

Shank of lamb for ragu

I use the remaining part still attached to the bone to make a lamb ragu and serve it with homemade tagliatelle or gnocchi.

I make the lamb ragu in the pressure pan, which is much faster. Unfortunately, sometimes the bone is too long and may not fit in the pan. I cut it in half at the cartilage joint.

If you want to buy different cuts of meat and don't speak the language, find my charts with names translated into French and Italian for beef cuts, Pork, and What are Squids, Pulp, and Cuttlefish.

You can download all these charts here below (discount code for subscribers):

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