Anyone know why lamb is so cheap now? $4 to $4.50 pound for boneless leg

[KurtNYC]

grass fed Australian lamb. Last year it was $9+. I got a trimmed out rack for $8/lb 2 weeks ago. I love but I wonder if this is a temporary drop or the new normal.

??

[madokie]

1. I haven't eat lamb since I was in the Navy

I'd forgot all about it.
I never cared for it that much but then again it was probably the navy's way of fixing it that I didn't care for.

I could just imagine what it taste like cooked on a Big Green Egg grill/smoker yum yum

[maxsolomon]

8. For the cheaper cuts, the key is marinating or slow cooking.

It gets rid of the "gameyness" that my kids didn't like.

[BlueCaliDem]

2. Thanks for the head's up! I love lamb and I'll be going to the grocers to see if the prices

in my neck of the woods have dropped as well.

[eilen]

3. I haven't seen it that low, $6.97/lb at Aldis last week for the frozen-

I'd buy enough to fill half my freezer at your price.

[hobbit709]

4. Paid $3.49/lb the other day for lamb shoulder roast.

Cut it off the bone, diced into small chunks and made stir-fry.

[onenote]

5. Low Demand. High Supply.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/22/lamb-prices-hit-record-high_n_852735.html

[Festivito]

9. Onenote, April 2011 record HIGH price, not low price, not low demand.

[onenote]

13. My bad. Copied the wrong link and didn't check. Thanks for pointing it out!!

After the 2011 run up in price, the falling prices reflect a market adjustment.

http://www.producer.com/2012/08/lamb-producers-take-falling-prices-in-stride%e2%80%a9/

[HiPointDem]

33. 'market adjustment' = no explanation.

[Festivito]

14. Gold has leveled since Obama took presidency.

Instead of the dollar constantly loosing value in the world market, the dollar is starting to hold its own and may start to gain value driving the price of gold down for the dollars we earn. And, driving down the price of products from places like Australia.

[frazzled]

6. I bought a rack last week

though I can't remember what I paid for it (though it's always reasonable at Costco). It's something I buy so rarely, and it was to make a quick dinner for a visiting guest.

Cut it into 8 pieces and made baby chops in anchovy/caper/sage leaf reduction.

But if it's getting cheaper, I'm game! I love lamb, and every spring I make a lamb stew with fava beans, baby turnips, carrots, and (cheap) champagne. It's become a welcome to spring tradition here.

Okay, I'm getting too "cooking" here.

[Mojorabbit]

25. I would LOVE that recipe! nt

[frazzled]

34. Here ya go

It was from the New York Times a while back (April 2011). Super easy, super quick, super tasty. The trick of melting down the anchovies to form a sauce is great, and could be used with other things easily, I think.

Seared Lamb Chops With Anchovies, Capers and Sage:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/dining/04apperex.html?_r=0

[Mojorabbit]

37. Thanks! nt

[murray hill farm]

7. Very, very high cost of hay and feed resulting from the past few years of drought.

Has also resulted in massive sellout of stock because it is cost prohibitive to keep and feed them...if you can even find it to buy. This will be a temporary drop in price as sell out depletes supply. Then prices will really go up. Drought is expected to continue to continue to deplete the growth of all field grasses.

[KurtNYC]

17. Drought in Texas? or in Australia?

I found this on Australia:

The combination of price and good seasons that have driven expansion in the Australian lamb and sheep industry over the last two years have eased during the first half of 2012, as additional lambs and softer export conditions bring prices back from historically high levels...

A combination of all-time high lamb prices in 2011, favourable seasons and strong global demand will drive producer optimism in 2012. Consecutive good seasons in the eastern states and drought breaking rain in WA will see the Australian sheep flock continue its early steps toward rejuvenation in 2012.

Lamb supplies will increase in 2012; therefore prices are expected to be lower than the record levels reached in 2011. However continued strong demand, particularly from export markets, should see good producer returns continue. [div]

http://www.mla.com.au/Prices-and-markets/Trends-and-analysis/Sheepmeat-and-lamb/Forecasts

[Enrique]

10. that's cheap!

[mainer]

11. You're kidding! It's been sky-high expensive in the stores here

If you can even find it.

There's something truly sad that the only lamb I can find in grocery stores has been flown all the way from Australia. Good old American lamb? Can't find it unless you go to the farmer yourself.

[KurtNYC]

18. This is in eastern NY state (near Albany)

For at least 3 months ShopRite has had lamb at $4.49 on the bone (leg) or off (butterflied), and racks for $10 to $12 each (8 ribs, about 20 oz after trimming). PriceChopper has been spotty -- mostly $10 per pound but on odd weeks they were also under $5/lb.

I should note again this is the Australian lamb. Domestic is still as high as ever.

[Recursion]

12. You can learn a lot about non-beef meat prices by watching McRib availability

When the McRib is available it means non-beef meat futures are way down (for historical purposes that need not interest us here, chicken is not "meat" in futures markets), so lamb, pork, and canned fish will be cheap for the next several months.

Most of McDonalds' actual business isn't the restaurants, it's moving food around to the restaurants. McDonalds' recipes cannot include celery, because there is not currently enough celery grown in the world to supply them.

[KurtNYC]

21. Interesting about celery

hadn't heard that. Celery also now tops some lists for most sprayed vegetable -- must be tough to grow (?). It's 2nd here:

http://www.healthyreader.com/12-most-contaminated-fruits-and-vegetables/

I heard a long lecture years ago on McDonald's and the Russett potato, how the industry and the vegetable was reshaped by one customer. Russets have to be at least a certain length in order to stick out of the french fry box so producers have to grow russett potatoes in a certain length , etc.

[Taverner]

15. Is there such a thing as a "lean" cut of lamb?

[knitter4democracy]

16. Short answer: yes.

If you get locally raised, grass-fed lamb from certain breeds of sheep, it can be a lot leaner than regular lamb.

[Recursion]

22. Yeah, grain-finishing is something I wish we would get over

If for no other reason than that leaner meat lets you use more classical, tasty recipes. (Escoffier larded his meat because it was so lean to start with. This tastes better.)

[knitter4democracy]

26. I have a farmer friend I buy from.

His particular breed (one he's been working on for years now) is leaner, better tasting, and always grass-finished. The wool is lovely, too.

[KurtNYC]

23. I found parts of this (somewhat confusingly written) article very informative

New Zealand/Australian Lamb are quite small in size, with whole legs coming in at around 5 to 6 pounds. According to Mark Pastore, it's a matter of both genetics and feed. Lambs from Down Under are smaller to begin with, and they spend their entire time grazing on grass, giving them a more intensely gamy flavor that some people can find off-putting. They also tend to be lower in fat, making them a bit harder to cook properly
...
American Lamb, on the other hand, are larger, fattier, and sweeter in flavor. Most American lamb are fed on grass most of their lives which gets supplemented with grain for the last 30 days before slaughter. The lamb at LaFrieda comes from Mennonite farms in Colorado that finish their lamb on a combination of grain, honey, alfalfa, wheat, and flaked corn.
...
Bone-in leg of lamb like the one above comes in two forms: shank end, and sirloin end (occasionally, you'll find a massive one for sale with both the shank and the sirloin still attached). The shank end lamb legs start at just above the lamb's ankle and go to midway through the calf bone, while the sirloin-end legs start at the hip and stop at around the knee.

I prefer the sirloin end because the meat is fattier, more tender, and the cut is more evenly shaped, making it easier to cook evenly. On the other hand, the shank end tends to have slightly more flavorful meat. Its tapering shape is desirable for some cooks, who like being able to offer both medium-rare meat from the thick upper part and well-done meat from the thin lower part all off of the same roast.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/04/how-to-cook-lamb-for-easter-nz-australian-or-american-roasting-times-oven-seasoning-bones-carving.html

[Schema Thing]

19. global warming has caused Ivy invasion

[Ikonoklast]

20. The cartel run by Little Bo Peep has finally been smashed.

She was worse than Rockefeller and Standard Oil.

[KurtNYC]

24. Word on the street is she was baaaaahhhhd!

and she would Peep-slap me just for saying so.

[Ikonoklast]

28. Rumor has it that costs extra.

Waaaaay extra.

[Historic NY]

30. High maintenance ....very high maintenance...

but I do like here herding attire.

[thelordofhell]

27. Greek Austerity??

Greece is a HUGE lamb eater..........maybe because this market can't afford the price, the rest of the world gets deluged with cheap lamb.............

[Kali]

29. plenty of sheep (and goat) raised in the region - hence the cultural usage

they aren't importing from Australia

[Historic NY]

31. My local farmers market.......

deal with local breeders for their supply . I love their lamb burgers which they pre-season.

[MineralMan]

32. Reminds me. I'm going to a party, and have to bring some

appetizers. I'll go buy several racks of lamb ribs, cut 'em up into tiny little chops, sear em off nice and brown with a bit of crispy fat around the edges, and serve them as lamb popsicles with Major Gray's Chutney as a dipping sauce. Always a hit. The only bad thing is that I usually end up in a conversation with someone and by the time I get back to have one, they're all gone.

[truebrit71]

35. That sounds delish...i LOVE lamb and often bemoan the fact my wife hates the smell of it cooking...

...I'd have it so much more often if it weren't for that...well that and the bloody price!!

[MineralMan]

36. I like lamb a lot, but really like mutton.

Sadly, obtaining real mutton in the United States is simply impossible any more. We do not eat mutton here. We did, and it was a mainstay of the American kitchen at the turn of the 20th Century. Today, there's no place to buy it.

I lived in Turkey for almost a year and a half, while in the USAF, and ate mutton there almost anytime I was off base.