I've been having a lot of difficulty finding forums regarding the actual butchering and carving of meat before the cooking process. I hope my luck has changed. I live on a ranchette, where I have the luxury of raising my own lifestock. I'm butchering one of my lambs on Saturday. Now to an area that has always given me trouble. When I have a slab of lamb ribs that I want too cut into chops and riblets, how do I cut the riblets off, without shattering/splintering the bones or making the meat look real ugly? My dad was a master with a meat cleaver. He would just chop through the ribs in a straight line with no effort. I can't do that. My hands are way too unsteady. I end up hitting the ribs in differnt locations; at the end, I have a mess of hamburger meat and busted ribs before I salvage what's left for chops. Is there a tool that can help me, other than a professional band saw that would cost me a lot of money? Are there perhaps shears out there, strong enough to cut through ribs? I have found that hand saws don't work so well on the ribs as they cause too many bone fragments to become lodged in the meat. How do the pros do it? I'm sure they all can't have brain surgeon hands like my dad. Thanks, John
