In season from April to September
Lamb is the meat that comes from sheep. British lamb can be bought throughout the year but it is at its best between April and September. Lamb in Britain is called lamb if it is sold in the year of its birth or if born after the 30th September and sold in the following year. If the meat is older than this it is known as a hogget. The weight of the lamb can vary from 5.5 to 30 kilos.
When a sheep is between 12 to 18 months old it gets its first tooth and then the meat is known as mutton. However, most of the mutton comes from older sheep that have had all the lambs that they can. Lamb from younger animals is more tender while older lamb has more flavour.
You will see a lot of lamb on sale in supermarkets but a butcher is more likely to have a greater variety of cuts and you will be able to order what you want. Butchers and Farmers Markets will be able to tell you more about the origin of the meat and the breed it comes from. Another option is to buy fresh meat over the Internet and have it delivered to your doorstep. This may make it more expensive but can be very convenient.
When you are buying lamb look out for meat with firm, creamy white fat. Avoid cuts with lots of fat or where the fat looks crumbly, brittle or yellowish as it means the meat will be old. Look for pale pink flesh in young lambs to a light or dark red colour in older meat.
Lamb is produced in all parts of Britain and there are 26 breeds. Some of these breeds have become more popular and are not as rare as they used to be. You can buy them from certain butchers but the price will be a bit higher. The names of some of the breeds are Hebridean; Welsh Mountain; Cotswold; Devon and Cornwall; Longwool; Dorset Down; Portland; Wensleydale and Whitefaced Woodland.
Lamb will keep for 3 to 5 days in the fridge and always put raw meat on a tray or plate on the bottom shelf. In this way the blood from the meat can't drip onto other items in the fridge. The meat with less fat will keep longer as it is the fat that will go off first. Lamb can be frozen but don't keep it for longer than six months.
The different cuts of lamb are:
Scrag End is from the neck
Middle neck
Best end is also from the neck
Loin is from the back or top side of the animal
Chump which is from the top of the back legs
Leg from the two back legs
Shoulder from the two front legs
Breast from the underside of the animal.
Lamb is often roasted because it is very tender and the fat helps keep the meat moist during cooking. You can also marinade lamb to give it more flavour. This is where you place the lamb in a mixture and the flavours from the mixture are slowly transferred to the meat. To know if the meat is cooked you can use a special meat thermometer. When the inside of the meat is about 70 to 75 degrees centigrade the meat is cooked to medium. If the temperature rises to 75 to 80 degrees it will be well done.
Meat from sheep is used in many areas of the world including the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle Eat and the USA. In the USA barbecued mutton is a speciality.
Date
3/3/2008
