Friday 15 April 2011

Mutton Dressed as Lamb

One food campaign that, certainly for the last 10 years, keeps popping up is that of the eating and availability of mutton. However many celebrity chefs and farmers have lended their name and support to the issue this Easter (when lamb is at its most prevalent) the vast majority of people will be unable to source mutton and most likely be unaware of it.

From a welfare and agriculture point of view sheep in the UK are tough and this has prevented the need to implement intensive farming. Within any flock however, not all lambs are slaughtered and this leads to mutton which in the 21st century is often the farmers and butchers treat. If consumers were to demand and purchase mutton the effects on these farmers would be monumental creating a whole new market in one which is increasingly becoming a seasonal fare.

So, why do we not eat mutton? The reputation is that mutton is the ropey ageing sheep which the farmer has decided is too old to keep so may as well be slaughtered for mutton. This just isn't true; as simple as that. Traditionally lamb is in its first spring/summer, hogget in its second and mutton its third onwards. In fact in centuries past the main sheep’s meat eaten was mutton. Any good sheep farmer will have simply cared for his “mutton” for a longer period in time than his lamb. This extra age requires more consideration when cooking as the meat is tougher but the rewards are worth the extra cooking time. Having recently cooked mutton for the first time (in a Caribbean mutton curry for the record) I’d describe the taste a more intense lamb flavour with an edge of gaminess or simply really tasty!

So then, for the sake of the British sheep farmers, British sheep and our taste buds I can heartily recommend getting down to the local farmers market, buying your mutton and planning a few hours in advance a slow cooked meal to discover a lost British classic.