Technique to find and eliminate the needle bone in lamb shanks?

Technique to find and eliminate the needle bone in lamb shanks? - Abundance of tied fabric on table with various tools and equipment for shibori dyeing in light professional workshop on blurred background

In lamb and in cattle, the fibula and ulna bones are vestigial (http://www.aps.uoguelph.ca/~swatland/ch2_1.htm, "In beef and lamb carcasses there is a single major bone, the tibia or shank bone...") and I find often if I cut the cooked meat across the grain to serve, I will cut straight through a needle-like bone.

If all the pieces are not then identified and removed, there is a risk of this needle getting stuck in someone's gums or lodged in a throat, to not even speak of worse things.

To my surprise I cannot find any reference to these dangerous bones in recipes or butchery information online.

Question: can anyone describe or point me to a technique to identify and remove this small bone prior to cooking? Or prior to serving?






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How do you remove the bone from a lamb shank?

Step 1: Trim away any silverskin or thick deposits of fat. Step 2: Insert a paring knife along the bone near the top of the narrow end of the shank; slide the knife upwards to sever the tendon attached to this portion of the bone. Repeat as you work your way entirely around the bone.

How do you expose the bone in a lamb shank?

Before you cook lamb shanks by braising them, wash the shanks and use a sharp knife to remove some of the larger deposits of fat.



Making the Cut- Lamb Shank




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Teona Swift, Alex Green, Teona Swift, Teona Swift