The reason why I use exclusively California lamb is not because we’re located in California, but because I believe it’s among the best lamb produced anywhere in the world. Interesting fact; when you look at the climate running from roughly San Francisco up to the Oregon border along the coast, it has a very similar climate temperature as the northwestern coast of France. In the past four years, this northwestern coast of France has been rated as the highest lamb producing area in the world. What goes on in France (as well as in our own Californian coast) is the concentration of salt in the air. As the clouds and fog roll in from the coast, a large amount of the salt that they picked up from the ocean then settles on the grazing fields. This salt then becomes part of the diet of the grazing sheep, adding an intensity of flavor.

The other criterion that we deal with is size; we limit our purchases of lamb to only those with a weight of 45 to 55 pounds. It’s my feeling that these smaller ones will be far more tender and have better flavor than their much heavier counterparts (most of the lamb sold in the U.S. is in the 60 to 75 pound range). 

Once we get our hands on the lamb, we take it to a whole other level, and this is where we’re pretty unique. I know of very few places that actually dry age lamb, and while we don’t go as far with the lamb as we do with beef, we will dry certain pieces up to 14 days. Within the first week or so of aging we’ll process the portions of lamb that are intended for slower cooking (neck, shoulder, shanks), and we leave what’s called the French Saddle in one piece hanging in the aging room, and it’s this additional 10 to 14 days that will take an already superior product and bring it to a completely new level of flavor.