Shoulder

The shoulder of a lamb includes the first five ribs, the neck, shoulder blade, and upper part of the front legs. Cuts from the shoulder tend to be fatty and somewhat tough with a bit of bone and connective tissue. However, the meat is also very flavorful and responds very well to being cooked with wet heat. Popular cuts of meat from lamb shoulder include square-cut shoulder, boneless shoulder roast, arm chop, blade chop, and neck slice.

Square-cut shoulder: The square-cut shoulder roast is a whole bone-in lamb shoulder. Square cut shoulders contain a number of bones, which may make the roast more flavorful but also make the square-cut shoulder somewhat hard to carve. It is most often roasted.
Boneless shoulder roast: Whole lamb shoulder is often deboned, rolled, and tied to form a boneless shoulder roast. Because it lacks bones, this cut may lack the deeper flavor of the square cut shoulder roast but is much easier to carve and can also be easily stuffed. It is usually roasted.
Arm chop: Cut from the arm area of the shoulder, just above the lamb’s legs. The arm chops contain arm and rib bones. They are most often braised, panfried, grilled, or broiled.
Blade chop: These chops come from the shoulder blade part of the shoulder. This chop is usually more tender than arm chops and is often inexpensive compared to other lamb meat. It is usually braised, panfried, grilled, or broiled.
Neck slice: Round slices cut from the neck portion of the shoulder, neck slices are very flavorful but somewhat tough. They are most often braised.

Meat from the shoulder is often cubed and sold as stew meat. This tough, flavorful meat is excellent when stewed but should not be confused with kebab meat, which is more tender and comes from the lamb’s leg. Shoulder meat may also be used to make ground lamb.

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