How to bone a shoulder of lamb

Knowing how to bone a shoulder of lamb allows for the succulent meat to be slow braised, slow cooked for curry, put in a casserole or made stock out of. Lamb shoulder contains a lot of tissue and fat, so is best in dishes with long cooking times. The following ‘how to’ breaks down the process for you.

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Steps

1- Remove the hock. With a sharp stiff knife, cut through to the joint where the hock piece (the leg) meets the shoulder. Cut away any sinew to reveal the joint and cut through it. Cut the hock away and remove it. The hock is not usual eaten, but it is excellent for making stock.

2- Access the blade bone free. Find the edge of the blade bone. This is a large, flat, triangular-shaped bone. You should find the edge of it running along one side of the lamb shoulder. Use your fingers to feel where the blade bone is situated inside the meat. You need to cut the bone free. Cut down to reveal the blade bone, then steadily scrape away across the surface of the bone, separating it from the meat. Angle the knife so that the edge scrapes across the bone, not into the meat.

3- Remove the blade bone. Once you have revealed the surface of the whole blade bone, cut down each of its long edges. Cut the thin end free of any connective tissue. A sharp knife should easily cut through this soft tissue. Now the blade bone should easily come away.

4- Remove the final bone. Next remove the large bone that ran from the hock to the blade. Cut down to the bone and run the knife along it, following the shape of the bone, to separate it from the meat.

5- Trim fat. Finally trim away any large pieces of fat from the remaining meat.

Tips

Use a sturdy surface upon which to process the meat as you will be required to use a reasonable bit of force. Precariously balanced meat on an unsuitable worktop could result in an accident.