We are having Leg of Lamb this T’Day. (None of us likes turkey.) DD ordered it from Whole Foods and, at their advice, picked it up today.

I always think of lamb as a Spring item, since that's when lambing happens, but I suppose with all the unnatural manipulations that agri-business performs, perhaps they have figured out how to birth them year round. But the good news is that it is Spring in NZ, so I would think you could find it, if it's not sold out in your markets.

Sometimes at this time of year, Whole Foods has Icelandic lamb, which isn't as good. You can also get flash frozen, which doesn't break down the tissues. I don't know if you can get Keller Crafted there. Excellent lamb. Try an independent butcher, as well.

She said no butcher shops in her post.

Frozen New Zealand lamb is very good.

Thanks, Olychick! It's been a madhouse here and by the time I got to the end of my post, I forgot! Apologies, Linnea. i figured in the Chicago area there would be some butchers.

NewZeland lamb is VERY good...to my mind better than local....I can get a fresh leg or rack or chops at Costco or Sam's...and occasionally at my local grocery.

Farmers like to have sheep lamb in the spring because baby lambs in the winter is a hard call. But milder climes can lamb year around. Sheep come into season about every 3 weeks if not with lambs.

So....lamb has been seasonal in the past but if you have a good barn it doesn't need to be. You will have young market lambs about 10 months after you let the ram in with the ewes.

Oregon lamb is excellent and is available here year round.

Do you have Costco available? I buy boneless leg of lamb there year round. Well, they were out for a bit a few weeks ago but other than that they’ve always had it.

Not sure where in Chicagoland you are, but try Al's Meat Market in Wilmette or Daily Grind in Lake Forest.

We buy boneless lamb leg year round at Sam's Club and lamb leg steaks at TJ's. Always for grilling.

Fresh lamb is seasonal here but that doesn't mean it’s only available in Spring. It is classed as lamb up to 11 months old and since it’s born between December and March, it is still available now. Older lamb should be more flavoursome. From 11 to 24 months it is called hogget, which is even more delicious imo. After that it’s mutton which is rather out of fashion but we love it. I can’t comment on frozen lamb because luckily we live in sheep country and can always get fresh. But I’m sure it’s fine. I wouldn’t buy boneless joints as the bone adds flavour. We eat organic shoulder, rack, breast and leg as well as chops, Barnsley chops, cutlets and steaks. It’s our favourite meat.

We don't belong to either Costco or Sam's any more.

We're having our dinner on Saturday, so we have time to look.

Floral, when we were in England, years back, we enjoyed so many different cuts of lamb. I really wish there was more available here.

The "season" for fresh lamb is usually about 6 months after lambing season, which here in CA is Dec-Feb or March.

I like my lamb young.....6 month "lamb" is too muttoney for me. I once ordered a lamb from a farmer "when they were ready"....I kept asking and heard not ready. At that time I didn't know as much about raising lambs for chops as I do now. When it finally came it was pretty muttoney and a bone in leg was about 8 pounds! I questioned the farmer and he said it was about 6 months old, because before that there wasn't enough meat to bother with....Ack!

Mid westerners don't like lamb....I believe because they butcher it too old and fat.....and it's the fat that carries the "sheep" taste. Growing up in New Jersey we had lamb chops more often than pork chops or steak!

Ah, its the sheepy taste and the fat that I love!. I’d take hogget over lamb any day.

I know....I shuddered when I read your post...:-) But i like my lamb bloody rare....and that likely makes you shudder....smile!

Mmm, lamb. I like to season with garlic and fresh rosemary.

Hope all goes well for your meal.

I don't know about seasonal but oddly, I have seen lamb in the grocery stores around here right now after looking all year. Hubs wanted to buy ground lamb to feed to the dog. We buy lamb chops when we can get them and freeze. We already have those, I would not get lamb chops for a dog . . . but that's me.

I dearly love my dog, but at $13 a pound, I am NOT feeding him fresh ground lamb!! That is a treat I reserve for myself when I get a craving for lamb burgers (which are heads and shoulders above a beef burger!).

All cuts of lamb are available fresh here year round. I like lamb and I eat a lot of it :-) I would prefer an older, more muttony cut for making Lancashire hot pot or lamb stew (much more flavor) but make do with a few cheaper, tougher cuts.

My favorite is a Greek marinated butterflied leg of lamb cooked on the grill!! Yum!

Our leg of lamb was delicious! I do eat a lot of lamb all year, especially the little comma-shaped chops. They are expensive if a lot is made, but 2 or 3 is affordable.

I definitely don’t like lamb that is old. I always watch for the smaller shanks, roasts and chops. I dislike mutton…. a lot.

The ground lamb was $6,99/lb at Aldis. Still too expensive for a dog, IMHO. Particularly one whose favorite snack is squirrel poop.

Delectable, juicy rack of hogget tonight. It was yummy.

Wow! I envy you that can readily find lamb. I was desperately looking for ground lamb for dinner for the night before Thanksgiving. Couldn't find it to save my soul. I tried 5 different grocery stores. Our Costco's does not carry lamb all the time. Occasionally we can get lamb chops or a leg of lamb. I did see a leg of lamb in one of the stores. It looked small and grossly expensive for what it was. I wound up changing the menu for Wednesday night.