Pennyaline > wrote:

>Steve Pope wrote:

>> It sounds like a leg, in which case it is often braised.

>You sure about that? Legs roast up well, and IME it's kind of unusual
>(and unnecessary) to braise a true leg of lamb.

>> If it's a shoulder instead, then roasting is preferred.

>Braising is preferred for a lamb shoulder, or for any shoulder cut of
>meat for that matter.

In my experience, lamb shoulder is good for quick-cooking
(grill, broil, or fast roasting). Lamb leg is not, and I
often notice that people braise it.

If you try to go by analogies with beef or pork, neither
of these cuts is considered that good for roasting... you'd
prefer a rib cut, which on a lamb, are pretty small.
However pork shoulder cuts are okay for quickly cooking,
and I've found the same true for lamb.

Whether one can generalize from this, I have no idea.

Steve