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Mutton Dressed as Lamb

by tingirablue

One of the more shady practices of unscrupulous butchers,
including those to be found in many supermarkets, is to label
young mutton, also known as hoggett, as 'prime lamb'.
 
It's not just that there is a difference in flavor, succulence
and tenderness, there is also a considerable price difference at
market as any struggling sheep farmer will tell you. In other
words, we are being ripped off by paying too much for what should
be cheaper cuts of meat. As a class of meat, hoggett sits
uncomfortably between true lamb and older mutton. I say
'uncomfortably' because its classification is not helped by the
fact that there are different interpretations of the term,
depending on where you live.

In Australia, 'lamb' is only lamb until the animal cuts its
first two incisor teeth at the age of about 8 to 12 months. After
that it becomes hoggett, and as the meat darkens and becomes
tougher it is reclassified as mutton - or not, as the case may
be. It is not unusual for the meat to be sold as either lamb or
mutton, with the intermediate classification being ignored
altogether.
 
This would be fine, if it didn't tempt some butchers to continue
calling the meat lamb, regardless of age, until it reaches the
mutton stage.
 
In New Zealand, where much of the world's best lamb comes from,
the animal remains a lamb until about 18 months old, when it
becomes mutton. Which means that there is a certain amount of pot
luck as to the age of the meat you buy. Since the quality of the
meat is likely to be high anyway, especially where it comes from
the salt-soaked coastal plains, this may not be of great concern
to most cooks. Certainly the flavor is second to none and rivals
that of Australian 'true' lamb.
 
In the UK shoppers have another marketing ploy to contend with.
There the meat is often referred to as 'new season's lamb' and
the word 'hoggett' is practically unknown, except among
producers. But since the lambs there are born in the winter and
will mature for slaughter the following spring, the expression is
really no indication of either age or quality. If it indicates
anything, it is that the animal was born any time in the
preceding 20 months.
 
The way round this problem for the canny cook is to ignore any
classification by the vendor and look instead at the meat itself.
True lamb is light pink in color with white fat and marbling. It
also feels 'springy' to the touch. If the fat is at all yellow,
or the meat a darker shade of pink going on red, it may still be
good to eat, but check the price per kilo or pound. You should
not be paying a premium for it.
 
Equally, if a bargain price is being offered - as supermarkets
tend to do with older cuts - check the quality of the meat
carefully. You may well find that what appears at first sight to
be irresistible is simply hoggett dressed up as lamb.

Michael Sheridan - The Cool Cook - is a former head chef and an
acknowledged authority and published writer on cooking matters.
His website at <A href "http://www.all-about-cooking.com">All
About Cooking</A>, contains a wealth of information, hints, tips
and recipes for busy home cooks, including video based how-to
guides.

Syndicated by Top Gazebos - www.topgazebos.net

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