Delicious mutton recipes from Much Ado About Mutton

Remember mutton? Now in reality an almost forgotten flavour. So what exactly is the definition of mutton? 

It is simply the meat of older sheep. Just as beef is mature veal so mutton is mature lamb, Spring lamb is the term used for the milk-fed lamb, born before Christmas and usually ready for the Easter market.

We use the term hogget for any sheep sold after Christmas whose flavour will, by then, be a little more robust. There is no legal definition but the full flavoured sheep, over two years old are referred to as mutton. I’m a big fan of mutton with its distinctive flavour but nowadays it’s almost impossible to source. Sadly few farmers are willing to keep their lambs for two years or more.