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| COOKING
LAMB, HOGGET OR MUTTON |
FOOD
TIPS TALLYRAND |
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 General
info
Mutton
seems to have lost favour (but certainly not flavour)
over the years and been replaced with lamb and hogget.
In my opinion there are reasons for this:
better quality
tenderness
milder in flavour
lower percentage of fat
This 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
such as in Indian dishes. It is hard to make a good
curry with lamb as the spices and herbs just mask the
flavour of the milder tasting meat.
What
is lamb, hogget and mutton?
Lamb
is the meat from the sheep that is less than one year
old. It has a mild flavour and is low in internal and
external fat. It requires short cooking times.
Hogget
is the meat from the sheep that is one to two years
old. It has a more intense flavour than lamb and is
low to medium in internal and external fat. It requires
longer cooking times than lamb and is more suited to
roasting, stewing and braising.
Mutton
is the meat from the sheep that is more than two years
old. It has a very strong flavour and is high in internal
and external fat. It requires extended cooking times
and is more suited to curing, second class roasting
(slow and low heat), stewing and braising. These cooking
methods will render the excess fat which may be spooned
or scooped off and discarded and 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 -
whilst both are of high quality I would recommend the
vacuum packed.
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 with the recipe.
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
On
a related issue, if you would like to know more you
can read how to remove excess
salt from stocks, sauces, soups and stews.
On
a related issue, if you would like to know more you
can read how to remove excess
fat from stocks, sauces, soups and stews.
RELATED RECIPE
Food
and Cooking Tips
from professional
Chef Tallyrand
Born
and raised in Plymouth, Tallyrand started his initial
training as a chef at Plymouth College of Further Education.
It was here that he was to learn his love, his passion
for food and the culinary arts. From here he headed
to Germany to complete his apprenticeship as Commis
de Gardemanger.
Germany
gave him his first taste of cooking for the rich and
famous, as half way through his first year, along with
the Sous Chef and a Chef de Partie, he was whisked off
to Cologne to help prepare meals for a political conference,
where amongst other dignitaries they cooked for Mr Brehznev,
the then powerful Russian leader. This was to prove
to be just one of the many celebrities he was to cook
for or get to know over the years . . .
If
you would like to find out more why not visit Tallyrand's
own web site www.tallyrand.info (link in main menu)
Email Hub-UK : info@hub-uk.com
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