Trimming Lamb
Learn how to trim a rack of lamb with this short technique video from the test kitchen of Cuisine at Home magazine. The frenching method is easy—all you need is a sharp knife, and in minutes you'll be ready to cook beautiful lamb chops!
Transcript
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Most racks of lamb come with the top portion of the bone scraped clean, but there's
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still some work you need to do before cooking them.
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The technical term for this type of trimming is called Frenching.
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Start by removing the thick cap of fat from the surface of the meat.
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Use a sharp knife and scrape as closely to the flesh as you can without gouging into
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it.
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Also, trim off any silver skin, the thick white connective tissue that lies between the
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fat cap and the meat.
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Flip the rack over and cut a score mark across the bones in a straight line.
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Then remove the tissue between the bones, cutting down both sides of the bone to the
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score mark.
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This will expose more of the rib bones and make the chops look more dramatic on the plate.
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Finally, scrape the bones a bit with a paring knife to loosen and remove any excess tissue
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clinging to them.
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Don't worry about scraping them completely clean, small bits will burn off during cooking.
You don't have to be a butcher to prepare spectacular Frenched lamb chops. A sharp, narrow-bladed knife is all you need for this straightforward technique. And if you want a little more info, check out our article How to Buy, Trim & French Lamb Chops. Then give your new skills a go with this recipe for Grilled Lamb Rib Chops with Bistecca Oil.