Mutton

epicuric

epicuric

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Shropshire, UK
Does anyone else here cook (or even eat) mutton? I have eaten. and enjoyed it (it's great in a curry) but never cooked with it before. My butcher had some today so I bought a leg for lunch tomorrow instead of the lamb shoulder I had set out to buy, and some steaks to freeze for a curry sometime. He recommended cooking it low and slow in the oven for 4 -5 hours. I tend to do this for most joints these days anyway. I may even put in the sous vide tonight. Any tips would be appreciated.

For those unfamiliar, mutton comes from 18+ months old beasts, as opposed to lamb ( up to 12 months old) or hogget (12-18m old), and is a bit tougher but with more flavour.
 
Its wonderful and hard to find. In fact I've not cooked with it for so long I can't remember when it was! Slow cook is essential as you know. But otherwise I think you just treat it like any other lamb. The flavour is so much better than lamb in my opinion.
 
Right, it's vac packed and in the water bath at 58 deg C for around 20 hours (I can't wait any longer) and will be finished in a hot oven tomorrow.
 
Unless you know a farmer, it's pretty much unavailable here. I saw it offered in an Indian restaurant a while back, but the cook admitted that it was just lamb, not true mutton.
 
Well, here it is. Or should I say, was - it didn't stick around for long!
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The meat juices made an outstanding gravy, and Mrs E. tried out a new recipe for roasted onion puree - sublime. She also made up some fresh mint sauce.

The mutton was full of flavour, much richer and stronger than lamb even though I had added no additional flavours whatsoever during the cooking process - usually I would stud a leg of lamb with garlic, rosemary and sometimes anchovies. The meat was tender and succulent, still slightly pink after 21 hours at 58 deg C and 10 mins in a hot oven to brown it. It had less fat than lamb, probably due to having an extra year of running around.
 
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That looks so delicious. :happy: I really don't know why it isn't sold in supermarkets. Maybe it is just a matter of cost - the farmers don't get a fast enough turn over if they keep the lamb until mutton stage. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost per kilo?
 
morning glory said:
That looks so delicious. :happy: I really don't know why it isn't sold in supermarkets. Maybe it is just a matter of cost - the farmers don't get a fast enough turn over if they keep the lamb until mutton stage. If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost per kilo?
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Yes, you are spot on with the reason. I'm ashamed to say I don't know the cost per kilo. and because of the way I cooked it I didn't need to weigh it, so I can't even estimate. To give you an idea I bought the top half of the leg (bigger than a lambs leg, obviously) and when cooked there was enough meat to feed four generously (or probably at least 6 if they weren't food obsessed gluttons like me). I also got two thick steaks (i can't relate to an equivalent lamb steak) - imagine 1" thick sirloin steaks - which again will feed four in a curry, all for £33. So that works out about £3.33 per head. I am more than comfortable with that.
 
We were at a party in Kuala Lumpur many years ago. The host was Sri Lankan and the party was to celebrate his daughter's engagement. The food was a buffet and was "eat whenever you like". My mate, a Chindian, kept saying "there's plenty left, let's get another beer". In the end we missed the mutton curry which, according to the folks who had some, was exceptional!
 
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