Lamb Stew, anybody?

[Vaino]

I'm a "lamb lover" and can blame my parents for my addiction seeing we ate a lot of the various cuts of lamb.

My favorite lamb meal is stew and my Dad made the best ever and that's the opinion of many people, even some who originally didn't like lamb.

My Dad's lamb stew was light colored because he didn't brown the meat as he did w/ all the other stews he made. His lamb stew had onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes, celery, peas. and salt and pepper to taste.

The "secret" to the wonderful, mild lamb flavor was that he boiled the lamb and the resultant "soup" was what gave it so much flavor.

I buy lamb shoulder chops from Walmart that are supplied by a local farm and they're reasonably priced.....lamb tends to have outrageous prices because of its scarcity. These chops are cut up and the " fat waste" is high but because of the flavor content, the lamb needn't be the most predominant item, but does supply the most flavor...although a stew is a melding of many flavors all of which contribute.

Anybody got a good lamb stew recipe and although some think there's a similarity between lamb and venison, the stews would be quite different......Fred

 

[Katahdin]

When I was in Scotland it was pointed out to me,we Americans eat Mutton,lamb has to be 6 months or less in age. Tried 'Lamb" in the states,nasty,wet sheep taste and smell,ate roast leg of Lamb in Scotland very different and very good flavor.

 

[tenngun]

I love lamb and goat. Grew up in a little new Mexico town and we had a dorm for Navajo children to come to and stay the week for school. We had a large Basque and Hispanic population that lived at home with goat mutton and lamb. And our school cafeteria made one of those three meats two to three times a week.
My dad hated it and so it was a school or restaurant meal for me.

 

[Black Hand]

Many sheep are raised in MT and yet the only lamb I can find at the market comes from New Zealand...

 

[fleener]

Not sure if it is true today, but it was said that New York City consumed more lamb than we raised in the USA. Hence the large import of meat.

I grew up on a farm with 300 head of ewes that we lambed every year, along with 600 sows that we had a farrow to finish operation.

We ate a lot of lamb and I love it.

Last year in AU and NZ I ate lamb almost every chance I could.

In NZ they have lamb at McDonald's, however at the two in Queenstown, they did not. That was the only reason we went to McDonald's, just so I could get a lamb burger.

Fleener

 

[Ames]

I wont list the whole stew recipe here. We all have one. But if you want to kick it up a notch try grilling lamb chops 3 minutes per side over a real charcoal and wood fire. Then cut it up for your stew. Ya cant beat the smokey char grilled flavor of lamb.

 

[Black Hand]

I wont list the whole stew recipe here. We all have one. But if you want to kick it up a notch try grilling lamb chops 3 minutes per side over a real charcoal and wood fire. Then cut it up for your stew. Ya cant beat the smokey char grilled flavor of lamb.

If I'm grilling chops, they will get eaten immediately with roasted potatoes and a nice green salad. I'd grill a lesser cut for stew, preferably something that will stand up to stewing (like a shoulder) and provide additional flavor to the dish...

 

[Vaino]

Like I said...I use lamb shoulder chops for the stew.....1" thick loin lamb chops are grilled to medium rare and sprinkled w/ lemon juice, garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper as the Greeks do it. The lamb is American and is very mild tasting but you still know you're eating lamb.....Fred

 

[coloradoclyde]

Did someone say "Lamb Chop"?

 

[fleener]

one of our favorites is lamb chops cooked in a skillet with olive oil add some spices, top with feta cheese crumbles.

Sear the meat on both sides then reduce the temp to finish cooking.

Fleener

 

[Vaino]

Thanks....I do that also in the winter when it's too cold for outside grilling. Thanks also for the feta cheese suggestion.....Fred

 

[Loyalist Dave]

When I was in Scotland it was pointed out to me,we Americans eat Mutton,lamb has to be 6 months or less in age. Tried 'Lamb" in the states,nasty,wet sheep taste and smell,ate roast leg of Lamb in Scotland very different and very good flavor.

Actually, according to British Commonwealth definitions, we actually eat lamb, and the British have three classifications:

Lamb ”” a sheep under 12 months of age which does not have any permanent incisor teeth. (The Australian definition requires 0 permanent incisors, whereas the New Zealand definition allows 0 incisors 'in wear'

Hogget ”” A term for a sheep of either sex, under 2 years of age, having no more than two permanent incisor teeth. You don't find this in American markets listed as "lamb" (well legally, anyway)

Mutton ”” a female (ewe) or castrated male (wether) sheep having more than two permanent incisor teeth, and more than 24 months old.

I've had hogget, from a farmer culling his flock of the previous year's lambs, that were then 18 month old. A young ram will be more pungent than a ewe, and I used my portion of the meat as mutton for some authentic stews.

What your Scottish friends were describing was "young lamb" which is normally no more than 6 months old, and often grain fed. What you had in the States was probably grass fed, and could possibly have been improperly butchered.

:wink:

LD

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If you're not browning the meat, you're probably making CAWL. And good it is, too!

LD

 

[Hairy Clipper]

When I was much, much younger, every now and then I would be dispatched to one of my great uncles' farms to do general work around the farm. One of these uncles ran away from home when he was 13 and ended up cowboying and rodeo riding in Idaho in the late 1800's. He eventually came back to Minnesota and farmed with horses. He never owned or used a tractor just Daisy & Dolly two old sisters of Belgian decent. Wood fired stove and furnace, milked cows by hand and his first automobile was a 1938 Chevrolet 2 door and his 2nd and last automobile was a 1959 Chevrolet. His two brothers married his wife's two sisters. His father was one of the pioneers in our area of Minnesota. And while I never knew my great grandfathers, the stories of what pioneer life was like were something I should have written down. I have little doubt that mutton played a part in their survival back then.

One time when I went to help out at the farm supper was asparagus, carrots, a Waldorf salad, a baked potatoe and a big slice of mutton and a pitcher of whole milk ... everything was home grown. I had never heard of mutton. But it did sound good and it looked good on the plate. Sadly, it did not live up to it's billing. It is about the only thing on my plate that I have not liked during my lifetime ... so far. I have no doubt that my aunt had slaved over that hot wood stove to make a wonderful meal. I have no doubt that they enjoyed mutton and this mutton. And I hated the idea of not eating it with all the work my aunt put into the meal. But, I just couldn't eat it. Luckily for me, I have not run into a slice of mutton again.

I have thought of a mint spiced lamb recipe I saw some years back, but, finding lamb here in my area is like finding a leprechaun's pot of gold under the rainbow.

 

[tenngun]

Did someone say "Lamb Chop"?

:rotf:

 

[Vaino]

The tastiest lamb I've ever had 3 times was in Segovia, Spain at the el Candido restaurant. The scrumptious meal was half a lamb that was approx. 18" long w/ the head off. This lamb never ate anything other than ewe's milk and surprisingly had the kidney still attached.

It was cooked in a Spanish brick oven which supplies very high heat and the resultant lamb was nicely browned but the interior was very juicy.

On the 4th visit I was very disappointed....they no longer served the half lamb....tourism had taken its toll.....Fred

 

[sidelock]

I'm with you on "sheep" but I do like lamb.

 

[fleener]

I did a boneless leg in the crock pot last weekend. It was great. Never tried one in the crock pot, but I would certainly do it again.

Shredded it like pulled pork.

The dogs have been loving the extra juices on their dog food this week as well.

Fleener

 

[Black Hand]

I'm with you on "sheep" but I do like lamb.

I've had both and they were equally good. Rosemary is a good herb to include in the cooking of ovines...

 

[NeilMacleod]

Rosemary and mint goes hand in hand with Lamb.