Can You Eat Lamb Shank When Pregnant?

In this article can you eat lamb shank when pregnant, what is a lamb, what is a lamb shank, is it healthy to eat lamb shank when pregnant, what is the risk of eating lamb shank when pregnant, and how can you cook lamb shank when pregnant.

Can you eat lamb shank when pregnant?

Yes, you can eat lamb shank when you are pregnant. As long as it has been fully cooked, lamb is safe to eat. According to the NHS, all meats including lamb must be fully cooked when you are pregnant to prevent any food-borne illnesses.

What is a lamb?

Lamb or also called hogget or mutton refers to the meat of domesticated sheep. The sheep in their first year of life is called lamb while in their second year is hogget. When it is older, it is called mutton.

Lamb: a young sheep under 12 months with no permanent incisor teeth in wear.

Hogget: a sheep with no more than two permanent incisors in wear.

Mutton: is the meat of the female or castrated male with two or more permanent incisors.

Lamb is the most popular and expensive of the three types of meat. Lamb meat is taken from the animal between one month and one year old. It is tender meat and it can be sorted into three types of meat

Forequarter: it includes the neck, shoulder, front legs, and ribs up to the shoulder. It contains more connective tissue than some other cuts.

Loin: includes the ribs

Hindquarter: includes the rear legs and hip

The cuts of the lamb according to the UK, Canada, and Commonwealth countries include

Scrag end

Middle neck

Best end

Loin

Chump

Shank

Shoulder

Breast

Lamb chops are cut from the rib, loin, and shoulder areas while the rib chops include a rib bone and the loin chop includes only a chine bone.

What is a lamb shank?

A Lamb shank is a tough cut from the shin of the lamb. It is one of the most flavorful cuts of lamb. It can be one of the reasons to eat cuts if they are not prepared correctly because they have a high amount of connective tissue.

It is cut with the center bone intact and is cooked with the bone. Lamb shank should be cooked over low heat for a long period of time so it can be flavorful, velvety, and easy to eat.

It is an inexpensive cut but it is still more expensive than beef or pork.

It is famous in Mediterranean cuisines, especially in Greece, Italy, French, and Morocco. Lamb shank pairs very well with warm spices such as cinnamon and clove. Also, it pairs very well with rosemary and mint.

Is it healthy to eat lamb shank when pregnant?

Lamb shank is a healthy cut to eat but the healthiest cut from a lamb is the leg. Lamb shank is the portion above the knee and it has less meat while the leg of lamb is adjacent to the sirloin and flank cuts.

85 grams of lamb shank contains 207 calories, 11 grams of fat of which 4.8 grams are from fat, 90 mg of cholesterol, 0 grams of carbohydrates, and 24 grams of protein.

Lamb shank is high in protein. It might not be a lean cut but it is an excellent source of protein which is essential for a healthy pregnancy and proper fetus development. Protein is essential for the proper build and repair of tissues when pregnant.

Lamb is one of the proteins that contains more CLA compared to beef and veal. CLA is a linoleic acid that has a lot of health benefits. Also, lamb is high in vitamin b12, selenium, zinc, niacin, phosphorus, and iron.

What is the risk of eating lamb shank when pregnant?

The main risk of eating lamb shank is the same as any other meat. It needs to be fully cooked to prevent food poisoning. All meat including lamb should be cooked up to 145 F or 63 C and let rest to kill all bacteria.

How can you cook lamb shank when pregnant?

Lamb shank is a tough cut because it has low-fat content and high content of connective tissue. It is best to braise it because the juice keeps the meat from drying out and a long cooking time at low heat gives it a chance to become more tender and easy to eat.

Follow this link for slow-cooked lamb shanks in red wine sauce.