Easter's right around the corner, so I thought I'd kick off our new knife skills series with one of the more advanced techniques: how to trim and french a lamb rack. What exactly is frenching? Well, when applied to meat, it's all about appearances. Stripping meat away from bones in order to give roasts and chops a more attractive presentation doesn't really do much for its texture or flavor, but it sure makes it look pretty on the plate. Think of it as a necktie for your roast. More

It's always a battle between the two meat hunks at the big Easter meal. While lamb is full of religious symbolism, the ham arguably makes for better leftover sandwiches. So which one usually wins in your family? Take the poll! » More

When Julie Powell, the Julie part of Julie & Julia, was reaching a rough patch of her marriage, she turned to butchery. What better way to vent all that aggressive marital tension than through hacking animal carcasses, right? Her book Cleaving came out last week and in this video, she talks about all the relationship metaphors—the cutting, the cleaving, the hurting—while butterflying a leg of lamb (compliments of rockstar Brooklyn butcher Tom Mylan of The Meat Hook). "I put [butchery] in the same class, this is going to sound strange, as say, knitting or gardening. There's something rote about it and yet it engages your mind and creativity, and it focuses on you," says Powell. Watch the video, after... More

If you can make mayonnaise out of egg yolks and oil, why not make mayonnaise out of egg yolks and rendered animal fat? Introducing meatonnaises: mayos made with beef, bacon, duck, and lamb fats. More

Note: Each week, one of our various Market Scene correspondents from around the country checks in with what's fresh at the farmstands in a particular region. Today, Penny Cherubino (Boston Zest) drops by from Boston. The Brookline Farmers Market has been a part of the Coolidge Corner shopping experience for thirty-one years. It's a place of full-flavor shopping with produce, cheese, eggs, ice cream, bakery, specialty foods, beef, turkey, pork, lamb, and fish vendors. It's a busy market, with long lines forming at favorite vendors like Clear Flour Bakery. This family-operated, artisan bakery specializes in creating the authentic breads of Italy, France and Germany. Clear Flour always appears in any list of the best bakeries in the Boston area.... More

Photo from Invisible Hour on FlickrYes, it's National Roasted Leg of Lamb Day—which sounds less weird when you list it alongside National Bicarbonate Of Soda Day (December 30), National Pickled Peppers Month (October), and National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day (start counting down to November 12). All officially recognized American holidays. Obviously, there’s only proper dinner on May 7. Simon Hopkinson’s Roast Leg of Lamb with Anchovy, Garlic, and Rosemary is a good bet. For a lighter (and slightly deviant meal) try Blake Royer’s Seared Lamb Salad. And if you’re still mourning the late, great Bea Arthur, there’s no better time to roast a commemorative leg.... More

Actress Bea Arthur, who died over the weekend, will live on in Golden Girls reruns and her leg of lamb recipe. When she used to perform her one-woman show Bea Arthur On Broadway: Just Between Friends, she'd stroll onto stage and say, "I'd like to talk to you about lamb. Specifically, leg of..." She liked smothering hers with olive oil, dijon mustard, ground ginger, garlic, and rosemary or basil. [via The Amateur Gourmet]... More

Photographs from iStockPhoto.com Ham and lamb have been showing up on the Easter table for hundreds of years. Lamb is an older tradition, originating with the first Passover feast. Easter ham is a tradition that dates to pre-Christian Europe, when the pig was considered a symbol of luck. Both are delicious, so ham or lamb: What's on your Easter menu?... More

Make Gina DePalma's Roman Easter Soup with lamb shoulder. Janet Fletcher of the San Francisco Chronicle explains why you should cook lamb shoulder instead of other cuts for your Easter menu or other springtime meals, labeling it as inexpensive, succulent (due to collagen and intramuscular fat), and forgiving (it's hard to overcook). She gives suggestions for what vegetables to serve it with, compares using bone-in versus boneless cuts, and shares a few recipes. Related Sunday Supper: Long Cooked Lamb Shoulder Cook the Book: Braised Shoulder of Lamb Snapshots from Italy: Roman Easter Soup Cook the Book: Almond Gnocchi with Lamb Ragu... More

According to Ellen Sweets of the Denver Post, Colorado's lamb is a culinary star—the best lamb you can find anywhere. Pat Donahue of Memphis's Rendezvous, which serves barbecued lamb ribs, agrees; he says, "the flavor and texture are so much better than anything else we could find. No matter how you cook a piece of meat, the quality of the meat itself is where you start. We had to take lamb ribs off the menu for a while because we couldn't get Colorado lamb, but our customers had a fit, so we found someone who could deliver them and (the ribs) are back." But why is it so good? "From a culinary standpoint, local lamb is important because we... More