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I finally read the actual yield numbers on lamb vs beef cuts
Was looking at some USDA breakdowns from 2023 and saw that a whole lamb only gives you about 45% of its weight as saleable meat. That really surprised me because beef typically gives around 62% depending on the cut. Got me thinking about how I price my lamb shoulders and racks. Has anyone else here done the math on their own trim loss percentages?
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corah754d agoProlific Poster
My buddy Dave tried breaking down a lamb last fall and ended up with so much trim that his dog ate better than he did for a week. He swears he lost almost a third of the carcass to fat and silver skin no matter how careful he was with the knife. That 45% number makes a lot more sense after hearing his story about the never ending pile of scraps on his counter.
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the_alex4d ago
Ngl that 45% number makes me wonder about all those times I've bought a whole lamb from a local guy and felt like I was getting ripped off on the weight. Last year I got a 75 pound lamb and by the time I trimmed all the fat and silver skin off the shoulders for grinding, I swear I lost like 15 pounds just from that alone. The leg roasts came out decent but the rib section was a complete disaster with all that extra fat cap.
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