Eating Sheep

[monster]

Do you eat lamb/mutton?

today I found out that one of my friends finds it hard to believe people eat sheep. In the UK, it's a very popular meat -lamb more so than mutton, but both are pretty common -especially in indian cuisine.

Here no mutton and the lamb is really expensive. The countryside is dotted with zillions of cattle, but very few sheep. In the UK, you're far more likely to see sheep than beef-to-be.

Where do you live and how highly does sheep feature in your diet (your kitchen, not bedroom diet....)

[jinx]

Not at all in my kitchen... I've had it a couple times at restaurants... eh.
I frequently drive past 2 different farms that have sheep, but I think they are just decorative. And actually you don't see a lot of beef-to-be around here, mostly just dairy cows.

[Clodfobble]

Rarely, because of the expense and difficulty in finding it. But I've had it at a few restaurants. I tried actually cooking ground lamb myself once, but I was basing it off of my experience with (fattier) ground beef so it came out overdone.

[SteveDallas]

Lamb Noodle Skillet (from the Betty Crocker Cookbook) used to be a staple since the kids actually LIKED it. (Not so much anymore that Mrs. Dallas is flirting with vegetarianism anyway.)

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Roast leg of lamb at our house for Easter -- and only Easter because of the expense. Absolutely delicious.

Nowadays most of my lamb servings come shaved as in Mongolian Barbeque -- which probably doesn't have much to actually do with Mongolia, Outer or Inner. You pick out Chinese-y vegetables in profusion, cabbage and bean sprouts at least, one of five or six choices of meat shaved thin and quick cooked, peanuts (an essential) and a mixture of various sauces from soy sauce to minced garlic and Sriracha red pepper stuff, all cooked on a big flat griddle. The classic griddle is round, rather evocative of some nomad warrior's shield, and the cooking is timed by the cook walking entirely around the griddle step by step manipulating the food with a slender piece of wood shaped like a sword, but rectangular diner-type griddles do it too. Served up with a bowl of Oriental rice, so you have your classic Far Eastern rice'n'things dinner.

We insist on saying "lamb" but it's not so juvenile as all that. It's really, I'm told, more like "junior mutton."

Yup, I will eat just about anything.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Your friend's never seen tough country, Monster? Sheep-eating goes on oftenest in places that can't support cattle but have a major wool industry -- tell him about haggis sometime. The environs of Ann Arbor just ain't like that. A bit surprising, as you'd think Michigan winters would promote serious wool-growing on any sheep out in one.

[Aliantha]

People in australia eat a lot of lamb. We have it at our place regularly. At least once a week. We don't discriminate against any sort of meat at our house.

When I was kid, lamb was the cheapest meat. You could buy a side of lamb for about $2/kg which is about a dollar a pound.

It's most expensive now, but still about on par with beef. I'm hoping it'll drop in price again some time in my lifetime, because I think it's a very tender and tasty meal if it's cooked properly.

[Sundae]

UG - we used to go to a Mongolian Wok Bar regularly. I respectfully disagree about the peanuts

How funny, to hear people talk about a staple meat in our country as a delicacy. It would never have occurred to me. I may have to splurge on some halal lamb (cheaper than non-halal during Ramadan) and have lamb Jalfreizi this week. And I'll savour it knowing it's not cheap everywhere.

[DucksNuts]

Roast Lamb most weeks at my parents.

We have Greek Wraps every couple of weeks. Which is lamb in the skillet with herbs, garlic and onion then once cooked, wrapped in pita bread with cucumber yoghurt, lettuce, tomato and cheese.

Lamb curries are a regular thing in winter....Indian based.

You cant beat lamb chops on the bbq or a herb crusted rack of lamb.

[DanaC]

Lamb is a staple in my family. Used to eat a lot more mutton (in curries) but that's harder to get these days. Mutton used to be the cheaper option *chuckles* nowadays it's practically a delicacy, because it's the most authenic meat for many curries, yet is hard to come by.

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[glatt]

I like lamb.

I don't eat it at home because it's not cheap and there isn't much selection in the stores. I wouldn't know how to cook it anyway and wouldn't feel so up to experimenting because a failure would be expensive.

But I often eat it at restaurants.

[DanaC]

Lamb is easy to cook. Slow roast a leg of lamb with sprigs of Rosemary mmmmm. Or grill lamb chops til the fat goes crispy and serve with mint sauce...mmmmm.

For curries, brown the onions, then just dice up some lamb, brown it like you would stewing steak and then add the spices/curry paste, give it another few minutes and then add water/stock and simmer for about 40 minutes. Throw in a tin of tomatoes about half way through and add yoghurt at the end. Lovely.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

Your friend's never seen tough country, Monster? Sheep-eating goes on oftenest in places that can't support cattle but have a major wool industry -- tell him about haggis sometime. The environs of Ann Arbor just ain't like that. A bit surprising, as you'd think Michigan winters would promote serious wool-growing on any sheep out in one.

She's not overly-well travelled, no. But still a nice person, living where her family and her husband's family have lived for generations. If it weren't for a retired relative and hence free holidays in Florida, they'd probably never have left the state. Ever. And that's fine if it makes you comfortable. And now she knows that not only do people eat lamb, they love it too.

But we are well travelled and rarely see flocks of sheep here, but beef and dairy cattle galore.

If you ask a British school child to draw a field/farm. They'll most likey draw sheep. (Of course, they're fun and easy to draw too -little clouds with legs and smiles.)

[Spexxvet]

Growing up we had it a couple times a year. Always with mint jelly.