Tips from professional Chef Tallyrand:

Food tip on Lamb, Hogget and Mutton

General info

Mutton seems to have lost favour (but certainly not flavour) over the years and been replaced with lamb and hogget. This in my opinion is four-fold: the better quality, tenderness, being milder in flavour and in this age of health consciousness; a greatly lower percentage of fat. Which seems a shame, as prepared and cooked correctly mutton is a wonderful meat and is very useful when preparing a dish that is high in strong flavoured ingredients: Indian spices etc. It is hard to make a good 'curry' with lamb as the spices and herbs just mask the flavour of the milder tasting meat.

My trainee chefs have just completed a butchery module and had to break down a side of lamb into its various joints and sub-primals (small muscle cuts). They were allowed to purchase this whole side for $45 (New Zealand), $23 (US) or £15, which is the going cost over here.

What is lamb, hogget and mutton?

Lamb is the meat from the ovine that is less than one year old. It has a mild flavour and low in internal and external fat. Requires short cooking times

Hogget is the meat from the ovine that is one to two years old. It has a more intense flavour than lamb, low to medium in internal and external fat. Requires longer cooking times than lamb and more suited to roasting, stewing and braising

Mutton is the meat from the ovine that is more than two years old. It has a very strong flavour, is high in internal and external fat. Requires extended cooking times and more suited to curing, 2nd class roasting (slow and low heat), stewing and braising. These cooking methods will render the excess fat which may be spooned or scooped and discarded, they will also ensure the meat is nice and tender.

New Zealand Lamb

Controlled by the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Marketing Board, normally only prime grades/high quality of lamb are used for the export market with the external fat trimmed to a minimum. But hogget is also exported in small amounts and only to certain markets/countries. It is normally available either frozen or fresh and vacuum packed, while both of high quality I would recommend the vacuum packed

For more information go to their website: Click here

Recipes for

In June I gave a recipe for mutton ham. This is an old, traditional recipe that treats the leg of mutton like a ham and home cures it. Further info on mutton ham, its uses etc can be found here. Click here

This week’s recipe is one of my Indian favourites for Rogan Josh, a delightful Indian dish that utilises the fullness of flavour of mutton and its fat. Click here

On a related issue, If you would like to know how to remove excess salt from stocks, sauces, soups and stews Click here

On a related issue, If you would like to know how to remove excess fat from stocks, sauces, soups and stews Click here

Related Recipe:

Published 16 July 2001