Leg of lamb de John Spottiswood

These are sold either with or without bones. The full leg is too large and unwieldy for many families, so it's often cut into two half leg pieces: the lean shank half and the more tender but more bony sirloin half. Alternatively, you can buy a short leg = 3/4 French style leg, which includes the shank half plus half of the sirloin half, giving you three-quarters of a leg. Legs are usually roasted, but boneless legs of all sizes can be either rolled and tied or butterflied so that they lie flat for grilling or broiling. If a leg of any size has some meat cut away to expose the bone at the end, it's called a Frenched leg. If the bone at the end is simply lopped off, it's called an American leg.