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Lamb Shoulder substitutes

What to use when you can't find Lamb Shoulder at your butcher

Lamb Shoulder is the traditional name in United States. Outside that tradition, butchers carry comparable lamb cuts under different names — sometimes the same anatomical piece, sometimes a close cousin. The alternatives below are grouped by country so you can match what your local butcher actually carries.

What to ask for
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United States

Lamb Breastapproximate

Shoulder is the meatier substitute when a recipe calls for breast, with the same fat-to-collagen behaviour over a long cook.

Lamb Neckapproximate

Shoulder is the standard swap for neck in lamb stews and tagines — more meat per kilo, same slow-cook requirement.

Spain

Cordero lechalapproximate

Same age-class distinction — cordero lechal is roasted whole or in quarters, regular lamb shoulder is butchered as a primal cut.

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