The lamb we sell is either our own or from other local organic farmers. After a lifetime feasting on clover, herbs and grasses, it should taste sweet and full of flavour. Lamb is the one meat that really changes with the seasons. New season lamb, usually available from April/May, is tender, pale and subtle in flavour. From August onwards it’s developing a more robust texture and taste. The lambs will have been weaned by now, and by October they are (in Helen’s view!) at their best, with a perfect combination of succulence and deepening flavour.
Some prefer the powerful meat that emerges after Christmas, and even small amounts ensure that hot pots and casseroles develop a deep, meaty gravy. I can’t resist a Lancashire hot pot made with these mature cuts – the thick layers of potatoes absorb the juices for a really sustaining, low cost supper.
As the lambs approach their first birthday they are termed ‘hoggets’ and a few months later, they are technically ‘mutton’. Mutton has been a much under-rated meat until recently, but at least people are starting to appreciate its virtues. It usually comes from breeding ewes (females) which have come to the end of their productive lives, and needs long, slow cooking to ensure that it becomes tender; but if you treat it well in the kitchen, it can reward hugely. Our mutton usually comes from younger animals, that may have been too small to eat as lamb. We only sell it occasionally, so do let us know if you would like us to get in touch when we have some available.
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