Ningling Spiced Pressed Lamb 宁陵垛子羊肉
Ningling Spiced Pressed Lamb is featured among the local specialties of Henan.
Ningling Spiced Pressed Lamb (宁陵垛子羊肉) is lamb cooked with more than ten seasonings and pressed under weights until firm and dense, a well-known local food of Ningling County (宁陵县), Henan, in the version made by the Guan (Jingde) family (关氏（敬德）).
How it is made
A Ningling produce introduction by the School of Foreign Languages and Tourism at Henan Industry and Trade Vocational College (河南工业贸易职业学院) describes the method. Lamb is cleaned of everything but the meat, then cooked with more than ten seasonings. The cooked meat is wrapped in cloth and pressed under wooden boards and heavy weights, and after more than ten hours it is ready. The Guan family has kept to its inherited method while refining it, and has added costly Chinese medicinal herbs.
Flavour and texture
The pressed lamb is light red and all lean meat, with nothing else mixed in. Its texture is so firm and compact that a knife can cut it into slices as thin as paper, thin enough to see through, and the meat tastes fresh and savoury. The college describes it as a dish for entertaining guests.
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Spiced Pressed Mutton 垛子羊肉 →
The general Henan entry for pressed lamb (垛子羊肉); this page covers the Ningling version made by the Guan family.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-24. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.