Lamb, Lentil and Chard Stew
A Van-style pressure-cooker stew of lamb, green lentils, wheat, cooked chickpeas and chard, finished with strained yogurt, garlic and red pepper butter.
The Turkish pantry
Lamb cubes
Small boneless pieces of lamb for stews, casseroles and skewers. The cut and piece size help determine which cooking method suits them.
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Lamb cubes are raw, unseasoned, boneless pieces of lamb. Kuşbaşı describes the cut form rather than one anatomical cut; butchers commonly use shoulder or leg. They are distinct from ground lamb, bone-in pieces and cooked kavurma.
Types & forms
Ready-cut kuşbaşı
Boneless lamb sold in small pieces. Ask which cut was used and whether the pieces suit your recipe.
Cut from a boneless piece
A boneless shoulder or leg can be cut to the size the recipe requires. Shoulder and leg are different cuts, so do not assume identical cooking times.
What to look for when buying
- Choose plain, unseasoned lamb cubes; marinated skewers or cooked kavurma are different products.
- Ask for pieces of a similar size and check which cut they come from. Check whether the listed weight is for boneless meat.
Prepare & cook
- Trim tough surface tissue and cut any oversized pieces to match the recipe. Do not grind the meat when cubes are called for.
- Follow the recipe’s method for the cut and piece size; a stew and a skewer cook differently. Browning alone is not a safety check: use a food thermometer to confirm an internal temperature of at least 145°F, then let the meat rest for at least 3 minutes before eating.
- Keep raw meat and its juices away from ready-to-eat foods. Use a separate cutting board and wash the board, knife and work surface with hot, soapy water after handling raw meat.
Store it well
- Refrigerate raw lamb cubes at 40°F or below and use within 1–2 days, or freeze. Follow any earlier use-by date on the package.
- Keep the meat securely wrapped or in a leak-proof container so its juices cannot drip onto other foods.
- Thaw frozen lamb in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
Substitutions depend on the dish
Boneless lamb shoulder or leg
Cut into the required pieces before weighing for a recipe. Choose the cut to suit the cooking method; do not assume the same cooking time.
Ground lamb or bone-in lamb
Neither is a direct weight-for-weight substitute for boneless cubes. Ground meat changes the texture; bone-in pieces change the edible yield and preparation.
Nutrition
Nutrition varies with the cut and the amount of fat trimmed. Use the label for the product you buy; no single nutrition value represents all lamb cubes.
Cook with Lamb cubes