sources for fresh ground lamb?

I need to buy some ground lamb for lamb burgers and would like to find a place that would ground some to order. I'm pretty sure paulina meat mkt would do it, but I really don't waant to have to pay their prices.

any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Pretty much any ethnic grocer will do whatever you want -- plus, they usually have many more cuts of lamb than regular grocers. For example, my local Jewel has lamb shanks only during the holidays, but Produce World in Morton Grove (an international grocery store that leans heavily toward Eastern Europe and Middle East), has lamb shanks all the time, plus lamb ribs, lamb breast, etc. Last year, when I wanted to make cabrito asado, I called and asked if they could get me half a goat. Sure, no problem. So just find a good ethnic grocer -- though most especially those who lean toward Middle Eastern cuisine -- and ask. It doesn't have to be a big place, either, just somewhere that carries lamb and has a butcher. You'll probably have no problem getting ground lamb.

As Cynthia says... and for several ethnic -- specifically Arab -- butchers who sell a lot of lamb and thus have good quality meat and a high rate of turn-over, go up to Albany Park; the following places are all within a small area and are all very good:
City Noor Meats (Kedzie just south of Lawrence, westside of street)
Al Khayam (Kedzie just south of Lawrence, westside of street)
Sahar Meats II (Kedzie just north of Lawrence, eastside of street)

Search on any of those names for further info.

Antonius

Whole Foods often has ground lamb, IIRC. Also, most of the meat markets around Harlem Avenue will either have it on hand or grind some for you. Today I got a lamb shoulder at Joseph's Foods (Irving Park Rd west of Harlem) and they butchered it on the spot for me (removed bones, remove fat and turn the balance into 2" cubes). The shoulder was $4.50/lb, I think.

Also, across the street from Antonius' suggestions is Andy's Fruit Ranch, which is a very good fresh market/grocery/deli/butcher that will have plenty of lamb available. You can pick up your lamb and plenty of other goodies too. In my opinion, it's "one stop shopping" at its finest.

Best,
Michael

Andy's Fruit Ranch
4733 N. Kedzie
(773) 583-2322

In addition to the excellent options on Kedzie, we have had good results with the ground lamb from A&G. It has just enough fat to make succulent lamb burgers but not so much as to present problems when grilling over charcoal.

I like to mix a little garlic, onion, fresh oregano and Italian parsley in with the meat. Even better is to make a sandwich of two thin patties with crumbled feta in between.

A & G Fresh Market
5630 West Belmont
Chicago

Treasure Island. They carry more - and better - lamb than anyplace on a regular basis.

nothing tastes better than free range lamb from local farms. You can get it ground from http://www.freshpicks.com, an online ordering and home delivery service of local and organic food.

I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of these responses. This site is a wonderful forum to learn and share important info like this. I will try to remember to post some pics and info on the lamb burgers once they have been cooked and consumed (sometime next weekend)

I have seen lamb burgers at Bornhofen's. They look a little small, but if you want something that is already prepared....

Bornhofen Meat Market
6155 N. Broadway
773 764 0714

Hi,

I saw JoelF's surprise at seeing ground lamb for $9.99 per pound at a store recently.

I recently needed ground lamb and suffered the same sticker shock Joel had. I was at Jewel late in the evening where they had Chiapetti American ground lamb for $8.99 or $9.99 per pound. In my limited experience of buying lamb, I had seen prices around $3 or $4 per pound.

I contacted a butcher at Sunset Foods to order ground lamb the next day. Early in the day, they do some trimming lamb cuts. All those scraps are ground, then priced at $3.99 per pound and usually disappear early. If later in the day a customer requests ground lamb, it is then ground from a leg of lamb and priced around $8.99 or $9.99 per pound.

For whatever reason, the butcher has observed an uptick in orders for lamb. If relatively inexpensive ground lamb is desired, it is best to preorder.

Regards,

We wanted to buy 1 lb. of ground lamb for a recipe today and went to Sahar II. They were out of ground lamb, but offered to grind some to order - the catch was we had to buy a half leg (our choice of which half). They gladly ground 1 lb. and cut the rest into chunks, most of which will go in the freezer. Impeccably fresh and $5.29/lb.

Cathy2 wrote:
For whatever reason, the butcher has observed an uptick in orders for lamb.

Speaking from experience, I suspect at least one reason is the Jerusalem cookbook.

Ground lamb is pretty much always available at the Marketplace on Oakton in Skokie, Whole Foods (at least the ones I frequent, in Evanston and Northbrook), and, of course, Treasure Island. TI, being Greek-owned (as is Marketplace on Oakton), has always been my go-to place for the best Chiapetti lamb - bone-in and boneless stew meat, Frenched racks, beautiful chops, shanks, legs, roasts, and ground. Interestingly, the prices at all three stores are roughly the same - about $5.99/lb, give or take. Whole Foods is usually a bit more expensive (surprise!), but is also the leanest lamb. This is important, as ground lamb tends to be very fatty, and and the fat must be drained, as it is very strong-tasting.

I've frequently found Sahar II to be out of ground lamb and offer the half leg. Has anyone actually gone there and found ground lamb?

Typically I only need a pound or two, so buying large quantity of meat is unappealing.

The Lebanese Meat Market on Kedzie is an option, but I've found you just can't stop in there and expect them to have what you need. Shoulder chops go quickly and they may just have primals which they are not interested in breaking down if you just walk in. I haven't stopped in there just for ground lamb, but I imagine they can accommodate you. But I don't go there now if I don't call ahead.

There is a ground-to-order halal butcher on Devon that I often stop at if Kedzie isn't the answer. I believe it's this one:

Chicago Zabiha Halal
2243 West Devon Avenue
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 743-6934

It is very popular on the weekends (usually a good sign) and I recall pricing was more in the $3-$4/lb range. They move a lot of ground lamb.

Sometimes I'll pick it up at Whole Foods or Mariano's/Whole Foods and pay the higher prices if I don't want to go out of my way. Good tip about Treasure Island.

I, too, wholly attribute any rise in popularity to the Jerusalem cookbook.

gastro gnome wrote:I've frequently found Sahar II to be out of ground lamb and offer the half leg. Has anyone actually gone there and found ground lamb?

I just went to Sahar II about 2 weeks ago, assuming they would be happy to grind it for me if it wasn't available ground. They looked at me like I was asking for something strange, then replied "We have lamb leg, not ground". For a second I attempted to explain that they had a grinder, and they had the meat, ground meat could be produced. They were not interested.

I went to Harvestime, they were more than happy to trim and grind the lamb they had (on sale for $3.99/lb), even sawed up the bone into smaller pieces for me for stock. They have shoulder and leg portions available, and will sell it in any quantity. I got just 1.5 lb, and they were not hesitant about sawing the chunk off for me.

Harvestime Foods
2632 W Lawrence Ave,
Chicago, IL 60625

Packaged ground lamb is usually available on weekends and sometimes weekdays at Fresh Farms Niles. It runs $3.99/lb., I believe. FFN has many lamb cuts and offal and would probably grind fresh for you.

I highly recommend buying a meat grinder. They're relatively inexpensive and if you already have a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, the grinder attachment for them works very well.

I own this one:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200451267

and it's awesome. On this model, the parts that touch the meat are dishwasher-safe.

The best part about grinding your own meat (hehe) is that you know what you're getting is coming from one piece of meat (or whatever whole pieces you buy) and not a blend of multiple lambs, cows or pigs, etc. Meat you grind yourself is much less likely to carry pathogens. You can also create blends to your exact specifications, incorporating different cuts, coarsenesses, amounts of fat, etc.

=R=