What's the deal with mutton?

kylith

So I thought I'd make a nice stew for dinner and decided on a nice bit of mutton, yum. Went to the butcher's near work and they looked at me like I was mad. Went to the butcher's near home, and was asked if I'd been reading recipe books, then told that I 'must have grown up on a farm' when I told the butcher that I'd grown up eaten mutton (I grew up in Waterford City, where my mother still has no problem getting mutton). I ended up getting a shoulder of lamb and boning it at home (the dogs are happy anyway).

Why has mutton vanished? In my opinion it's a tastier meat, and cheaper than lamb. Is there anywhere in Dublin city that one can buy a bit of mutton, or is it extinct up here? It's becomming a bit of a mania with me now.

Corsendonk

kylith wrote: »

So I thought I'd make a nice stew for dinner and decided on a nice bit of mutton, yum. Went to the butcher's near work and they looked at me like I was mad. Went to the butcher's near home, and was asked if I'd been reading recipe books, then told that I 'must have grown up on a farm' when I told the butcher that I'd grown up eaten mutton (I grew up in Waterford City, where my mother still has no problem getting mutton). I ended up getting a shoulder of lamb and boning it at home (the dogs are happy anyway).

Why has mutton vanished? In my opinion it's a tastier meat, and cheaper than lamb. Is there anywhere in Dublin city that one can buy a bit of mutton, or is it extinct up here? It's becomming a bit of a mania with me now.

You and Prince Charles seem to share a love for Mutton Consumer tastes have changed and you now have a greater variety of meats to eat than ever before and mutton has fallen down in demand like offel has.

http://www.muttonrenaissance.org.uk/newsDetails.php?newsID=104

What Is Mutton
Understanding The History

Sheep farming experts generally agree that mutton refers to meat from sheep that are over two years old (lamb meat is generally from animals that have been reared for five months). Traditionalists argue that mutton is always the meat from a wether (a wether is a castrated male sheep; it is thought that castration improves the taste of some meats). A more contemporary view is that mutton comes from a breeding ewe that has reached the end of its productive life. According to William Kitchiner in The Housekeeper’s Oracle (1817), the finest mutton came from a five-year-old wether.

Until this year, there were no industry-wide standards for meat sold as mutton. New guidelines drawn up by Mutton Renaissance aim to ensure that mutton is consistently of the quality expected by chefs and home-cooks. The standards specify that sheep must be over two years old, and that animals must have a forage-based diet (for example, grass, heather and root crops). Sheep meeting the Mutton Renaissance standard should have a given amount of fat cover, and be matured (for example by hanging) for at least two weeks. Mutton producers must be able to provide full traceability records showing where an animal is reared, its breed and age at slaughter.

Although mutton can be available all year, the best meat is produced from October to March. This is because the sheep have access to nutritious summer and autumn grass and heather, and are able to put on fat before being slaughtered. Towards the end of the mutton season, animals are fed on root crops and silage to ensure they reach the standards required by the Mutton Renaissance

kylith

Corsendonk wrote: »

You and Prince Charles seem to share a love for Mutton Consumer tastes have changed and you now have a greater variety of meats to eat than ever before and mutton has fallen down in demand like offel has.

http://www.muttonrenaissance.org.uk/newsDetails.php?newsID=104

Just so long as it's clear that I don't share his views on homeopathy

I've heard that mutton is making a comeback because of the aforementioned Prince Charlie, and also because it's one of the cheaper meats, which is important in these budget-concious times.

As I said I fancied some cos I'd like a stew and I think it does better cooked like that than lamb does, and because I think it's pretty tasty. I'm wondering if it's some Dublin thing that I don't seem to be able to find it, or am I just not going to the right butchers?

the beer revolu

My butcher in The English Market in Cork sells mutton.
I think a lot of butchers do sell it but they call it lamb!
Or at least many are selling hogget as lamb.
I much prefer mutton for stewing or slow roasting - if I want a fast roast or chops, then I look for lamb.

Corsendonk

kylith wrote: »

Just so long as it's clear that I don't share his views on homeopathy

I've heard that mutton is making a comeback because of the aforementioned Prince Charlie, and also because it's one of the cheaper meats, which is important in these budget-concious times.

As I said I fancied some cos I'd like a stew and I think it does better cooked like that than lamb does, and because I think it's pretty tasty. I'm wondering if it's some Dublin thing that I don't seem to be able to find it, or am I just not going to the right butchers?

Mutton was popular in Dublin, my mother always remembers eating mutton and lamb was a rarity. She always said it made a great stew too. Just nowadays we have got spoilt by the range of meats, butchers don't bother stocking it if it doesn't sell and the stronger taste might not be to everyone palates now. As mentioned alot of young hogget meat is passed off as Lamb but you will find it hard to get truely well aged mutton.

T-Bone steak sales never really recovered from the BSE ban either, people find the flavour too stronger if they never had it before. Most of the chicken meat ate in Ireland is breast meat, we have to export all the tasty wings and thighs in hugh frozen blocks to Asia. You might have better chance trying butchers that cater to middle east customers in Dublin, mutton is still popular there.

aujopimur

the beer revolu wrote: »

My butcher in The English Market in Cork sells mutton.
I think a lot of butchers do sell it but they call it lamb!
Or at least many are selling hogget as lamb.
I much prefer mutton for stewing or slow roasting - if I want a fast roast or chops, then I look for lamb.

Which butcher are you refering to, as I wquld really like some.

kylith

Corsendonk wrote: »

T-Bone steak sales never really recovered from the BSE ban either, people find the flavour too stronger if they never had it before. Most of the chicken meat ate in Ireland is breast meat, we have to export all the tasty wings and thighs in hugh frozen blocks to Asia. You might have better chance trying butchers that cater to middle east customers in Dublin, mutton is still popular there.

I'll give that a try, thanks.

I think chicken breast meat is rather tasteless, I much prefer thigh or leg. I guess people like it for the convenience of it being boneless.

the beer revolu

aujopimur wrote: »

Which butcher are you refering to, as I wquld really like some.

It's The Meat Centre

aujopimur

Thanks.

El_Dangeroso

On that note, where is Irish lamb that is plentiful in the supermarkets this time of year coming from? Is it frozen from summer time?

the beer revolu

I think they can produce lambs more or less all year round now.

Acoshla

Mmm mutton pies, serious yum, but yeah when I say I eat mutton people look at me funny, I think people think of it so much as a poorer type of lamb that not much of it is sold.