Butcher

Halal Lamb Neck

Lamb neck, 1kg, prepared to hand-slaughter standards and cut to order on the morning of delivery. Neck is a well-worked muscle threaded with fat and connective tissue, which is exactly what a slow pot needs. Over two to three hours the tissue melts, the meat turns soft, and the sauce gains body without any thickener. Turkish cooks braise it as kuzu gerdan with onions and vegetables, and in Saudi kabsa the neck pieces cook first so their broth can then cook the rice. It also makes a Lancashire hotpot under sliced potatoes, or an Afghan shorwa with chickpeas. Cook it a day ahead if you can; the flavour settles and the fat is easy to lift off once cold.