Hiya,

I've been given some mutton, (a whole one in fact) and given I have never eaten it before I thought I'd check to see what sort of treatment it requires. Is it much different to lamb?

Half the people I speak to say it is horrible tough stuff and the other half say it is much tastier than lamb...

I suppose I'm looking for the casting vote!!

FB

Not sure about Mutton FB, its nearly impossible to come by. I do, however, love to get a decent hogget - an over year lamb, in February or March. These are much better than spring lamb, far more taste. They need hung for 8-10 days.

Like most meat, I guess I would either go for hot and fast or low and slow. I am really coming round to low and slow just now, totally gone of steaks and roasts. Had lamb shanks braised for about 4 hours on Saturday night. Food of the Gods.

I would consult the River Cottage Meat book for instructions on dealing with a mutton carcase - you must have a copy?

CD,

I have the meat book (but I haven't had a chance to look at it just yet.) I was thinking along the lines of doeing a shoot dinner out of it as a curry of some kind with the loins/chops, then turning the shoulders into sausages. That leaves me with 2 haunches.

Rgds,
FB

Rgds,

FB, one of those West Indian style Curried Goat recipes might work well with the mutton.

I would love to do a whole saddle roasted on the bone, not split into racks. We did a fallow pricket like that last year, it was great.

Some days ago we had chamois buck in lemon sauce, a young one I admit, but it was delicious, very tender and not "goaty" or "gamey" at all; I did treat it well from the very moment and aged it properly.

Mutton is fantastic. I've never done a haunch but diced mutton makes the most flavoursome winter stew. Leave it in the bottom of the Aga all day then toss on a dumpling, so to speak - Oh er missus!

I'd strongly recommend you consult the Meat Book by Hugh F-W.

Ian Alcock wrote a little pamphlet called
"The Deerstalkers Guide to home meat preparation"
which might still available from the BDS I think..

Anyways besides talking about butchering venison he also sings the praises of Mutton over lamb. He talks about the best mutton coming from a 3 or 4 year old wether from one of the hill breeds.

There in I suspect is the problem...While the term "lamb" is easily defined, I suspect "Mutton" can cover anything from 3 year old animal in its prime, to some manky thing thats being out on the hill for god only knows how long and which is slowly dying of starvation because it doesn't have a tooth left in its mouth...

Trouble is when your looking at various cuts of "mutton",how do you tell?

Regards,

Pete

If it's young it carries a lot of trimmable surface fat if it's old and tough it has no fat and not much flesh.
Saturday night I was intending to spit roast a sheep (last years lamb that lambed this spring and finished up with a mastitic lump in her udder.) The weather was not condusive to an outdoor supper so 18 people enjoyed mutton rolls in the barn.
Killed mon. eaten Sat. evening... we just put the 2 back legs in the gas oven together for 3 hours and sliced it off the bone..enough meat to fill 60 or so rolls.... better eating than most lamb.

FB,
mutton is very nice indeed. i would say a stew or curry would be the best way to go. the slower you can cook it the better. ive tried it many times and a long cook in the oven always came out the best.

the last bit i did was pot roasted for a while with dried apricots then when it fell off the bone threw it in a really rich sauce, served with a spicy cous cous and hey presto a tangine that would have made Gordon Ramsay think it was the finest spring lamb.

I shot and processed 2 of our cull ewes.

Completely unstressed and well handled the meat was at least as tender as shop bought lamb. The flavour was out of this world.

As Deerdogs says that's what the bottom of an aga is for.

quote:

Originally posted by trans-pond:
Saturday night I was intending to spit roast a sheep

Didn't realise you were Welsh!

Hi FB and all. Currently I have the remains of a 2 year old wether in the freezer and last year I had 1 2-3yr old wether and 1 cull ewe of around 4. They have been very flavoursome indeed. The only difference to good lamb is a slight adjustment to the cooking times. Longer and slower generally although the rump steaks have been cooked fast and pink and they have been great. Lots of fat, virtually impossible to dry out and the trim makes the best authentic North Indian curries ever. There is a website dedicated to mutton in the uk which should come up if you type mutton into google and as everyone else has mentioned, HFW is a majo champion of the meat. The best advice I can give you having done it is to hang it for at least a fortnight as you would for beef. The difference in flavour is well worth the wait.

Regards

Gareth

Fallow Buck,

A few sites that might be of interest:

http://www.blackface.co.uk/recipes_cat.asp?cat=17

http://www.muttonrenaissance.org.uk/

http://www.pachakam.com/recipes.asp?cattype=nonveg&catid=1&mv_name=Mutton

We used to have several hundred muttons on four legs.

Not as tender as lamb or hogget, but usually OK if the animal is in good condition for roasts, casseroles, stews, curries etc.

Lamb chops are much nicer than fatty mutton chops.



(actually the sheep in that photo aren't that old.)

Nitrox,

I just got a mail from Pete saying that in fact you were dressing lamb up as Mutton...

He would like thephone number of the one in the top right.


FB

quote:

Originally posted by Fallow Buck:
Nitrox,

I just got a mail from Pete saying that in fact you were dressing lamb up as Mutton...

He would like thephone number of the one in the top right.


FB

She's "dressed" up all ready for Pete.

Very Good!!

John,

You think thats what the All Blacks got to quell their sorrows??

Pete,
the Aussies think of everything, they even left enough room in her stiletto's for you to slip your feet in!!!!

regards
griff

And people wonder why he was refused the job of moderator on the sheep hunting forum...

FB

Fill ya boots lads!!!

The welsh wizard is away for the weekend so can't edit any of these out yet...........

Something else to do with mutton. Take two healthy good condition weathers or ewes. Two older fallow does. Butcher and debone. Mince. Some other ingredients of the recipe of Pen de Vries and viola, Rhodesian boerewors (with 50% Aussie merino mutton).



Enjoy in the garden with two Barossa wines, a shiraz and a grenache straight from the hogshead under a tree in the garden.

So did you try your mutton?

There is no finer tasting meat than a 3-4 year old wether (castrated male), sliced thin and cooked hot until the "smoke goes to heaven".

An older ewe, which we commonly call Mutton, can have a good flavor, but might be on the greasy side. For that reason you will want to cut chops thin and cook it hot and fast. Eat it hot also or the steaks will glue themselves to the plate.

We always cut lamb thicker, wether thinner and mutton thinest.

Hi Guys,

Yes I have picked up the Lamb (hung for 10 days) and the Mutton (hung for 16-18 days).

So Far I have had theneck fillets out of the lamb rubbed in a dry marinade of Sweet paprika, corriander, Mint, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt & Pepper. They crisped up in the griddle pan and were sliced on top of cracked wheat.

The mutton chump I roasted the other night and it was very good indeed. I just seasoned and added some spuds underneath.

The real test is this weekend when I'll be cooking a whole Haunch of the mutton rubbbed in garlic herb butter. I'll try to take a photo, but it won't be as good as Nitrox's!!

The plan is to make some Merguez when I get a chance, and try stuffing a couple of shoulders and roasting in the hot smoker, (without smoke).

I think Ian, Artemis and Pete might get used a guinnea pigs for that one!!

Rgds,
K

Oink!!!

Ian,

The Trial run is going ahead tomorow. I have two whole boned out haunches of Fallow that have been stuffed and rolled. If this works then I'm geting involved big style!!

We might need to scale down the size of the joint though as Pete is also down for the weekend. Given his "paltry" appetite, and preference for a nice bit of lettuce I'd hate to cook meat and see it go to waste.

What time will you be arriving? I should land at Heathrow at 12-40 from Belgrade, so hoping to be home by 2-30 to 3pm. Dunno if we might get a chance at a stalk in the evening or just get on the beeeers?

Laters,
K

Hi FB

Guessing that Artemis and I will be loitering around your door soon after you get back in.

We have an invite to drop in enroute - to view a blokes deer park. He has 80 odd Bison and 25 Wapiti,so it should be interesting!

Regarding Pete and his preference for grazing - may I suggest ...... Hummous!?!

Dang Veggies!

Rgds Ian