The Chef-Approved Way To Cook With Lamb Breasts

If you've cooked lamb before, it's likely that you've stuck to a few well-known and easily sourced cuts. The most popular are bone-in lamb chops, which, when not separated, constitute a lamb loin roast. For crowds, leg of lamb is a popular choice, especially roasted over coals or a live fire. There are, of course, scads of other cuts of lamb with loads of rich flavor, but often a lack of understanding of how to properly prepare them can lead cooks to shy away.

One such is the lamb breast, a well-marbled and medium-sized roast that is one of Tasting Table's favorite cuts of lamb. Though this belly cut often comes with rib bones still attached, it can be prepared in much the same way as brisket or the similar pork belly. Tasting Table asked expert Ryan Ratino, Chef and Owner of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Jônt, what his approach is to coaxing the most from this cut. "The lamb breast can be very fatty," Ratino explained. "I like to brine and hot smoke this cut if we are going to serve it hot. When serving it cold, turning the lamb breast into pastrami is my favorite way to use it!"

Hot smoking a lamb breast functions the same as hot smoking any cut of meat. Typically, the cuts chosen for this method — such as the aforementioned beef brisket or pork shoulder — are ones with copious intramuscular fat and plenty of connective tissue. Lamb breast is no different, and, when subjected to the relatively low temperature of a smoker, the fat and connective tissue render into the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful while creating an unctuous mouthfeel. 

In fact, Pat Martin, founder and pitmaster of the Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint chain, told Tasting Table that lamb is one of the most underrated meats for barbecuing, which is essentially all that hot smoking is. Lamb breast is one of Tasting Table's top cuts of lamb for smoking, which, according to our recipe for smoked lamb breast, only takes a little mustard, some of your favorite barbecue rub, and about two to two and half hours of smoking at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ryan Ratino's "cold" recommendation for lamb breast isn't really such a departure from hot smoking. Pastrami, that staple of deli counters, can be made from a variety of cuts, but is generally beef that has been wet-cured, rubbed aggressively with strong seasonings, and smoked. It can be eaten either hot or cold and makes a great addition to a sandwich or a charcuterie board. Simply cure the lamb breast in a flavorful brine, rub it with spices, such as Chef Chris Cosentino's pastrami spice rub, and then smoke it before letting it cool and slicing it up.