One of the neighbors is having some lambs slaughtered and asked if I wanted to buy one. I've never eaten lamb. What does it taste like? How do you cook it? They weight at least 100 pounds now and I was told to expect half of that in dressed weight. The cost is $100 for the lamb plus whatever the butcher charges to slaughter them. I've asked several people and no one has ever eaten one, and I'd hate to buy a whole one (or even half) and not like it. Thanks!

-- Tracey in Alabama (trjlanier@cs.com), October 23, 2001

Answers

go to the store and buy lamb chops. Actually I prefer mutton,, cheaper and I ground it anyways

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), October 23, 2001.

To me, it has a texture similar to pork, and a flavor a little like pork that has been peppered. Stan's suggestion to buy some chops is a good idea; or you might try a leg shank portion, oven roast it with some garlic and rosemary, and see if it's palatable to you. Eat a couple portions before you pass judgement; a new meat sometimes has to grow on you a bit.

-- Mark Sykes (mark@marksykes.net), October 23, 2001.

Have you every had a Gyro? Then you have had lamb. Lamb chops are available in most stores. You can treat them as pork from a cooking stand point.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), October 23, 2001.

Hi Here in New Zealand our land is full of sheep. Very available and often home killed on farms for owners use. Best lamb I had was a Merino bred for it's fine wool. Had it on a farm we were visiting. I usually grill (Broil in USA) my lamb chops and let them rest in a warm place for a few minutes, they are great with mint jelly.I quickly roast lamb leg. I roast mutton (old sheep) long and slow again great with roast veg and mint jelly. Hogget is the in between lamb and mutton and can be used either way.Again with mint jelly.

Lamb here is nothing like other meat but is widely used in the resturant industry and NZ homes

Yes I love mint jelly. Let me know if you have need of a recipe called Jarred Chops, it's great for hogget and mutton. Your family will want it all the time or at least mine do!!!!! Kiwikaren

-- Karen Holmes (gnkholmes@hotmail.com), October 23, 2001.

I'd check the local livestock market. $1.00 a pound for lamb seems high this year. The producers in NorthEast Missouri are kind of suffering this year do to low market prices.

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), October 23, 2001.

Rack of lamb with mint sauce, yummy! I think you'd like it.

-- Anita in NC (anitaholton@mindspring.com), October 23, 2001.

I've had lamb many times that was quite delectable, like very flavorful beef (broiled with herbs, slow-roasted with herbs and veggies), and then I've had lamb once that I just couldn't stomach (in some broth at a very expensive Japanese restaurant). It tasted so gamey, I felt like I was licking a stall floor. I think a lot depends on how you cook it, so if you hate it the first time you try it, try it again another way and you'll probably like it.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), October 23, 2001.

Raises hand. We love lamb and goat. Hardly ever eat beef anymore.

Prepare lamb like you would anything else, baked, broiled, BBQ, fried, satueed, stewed...????

here is a recipe:

Greek Lamb

leg of lamb garlic oregano tomato sauce (I also like adding stewed tomatoes or diced tomatoes) orange juice cinnamon potatoes

pierce lamb with knife and insert garlic cloves all over meat. Put meat in dutch oven with lid (can be done on top of stove or in a crock pot). Place wash and quarter potatoes around meat. Pour tomato sauce and /or stewed tomatoes and orange juice all over meat and potatoes, sprinkle with oregano and cinnamon. Bake at 350^ for ~ 1.5 hours - 2 hours or 20 minutes per pound.

(You can omit the orange juice and cinnamon if you don't have it, but by adding it you will have the secret the chef's use.)

Left overs make great soup, by adding all the left over vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer. I just rarely have any leftovers!

-- westbrook (westbrook_farms@yahoo.com), October 23, 2001.

I found that lamb is far better when seasoned heavily. lol

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), October 23, 2001.

On the grill is good too. Altho I prefer lamb cooked with garlic, but not rosemary, and prefer red currant jelly over mint.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), October 25, 2001.

all of the replys were right on the money. however, i might add one thing if, you have never tried lamb before. remember to trim the fat from the piece you are fixing most of the gamey objectionable taste that people talk about is from the fat. but, it really is good... bob m.

-- bob mccaffrey (.bobmccaffrey1@netscape.net), October 25, 2001.

I'm from England and love lamb, but I guess It's not that popular over here. I refuse to pay $36.00 for a leg of lamb so this year I raised two of my own. They go to slaughter next week. I think I got more attached to the lambs than I did the pigs though, wonder why!? Go ahead and try it, get ready for the shock of how much it costs though.

-- Carol Koller (Ckoller@netsync.com), October 25, 2001.

Yes!

Australia has a reasonable quantity of sheep as well. I was raised on a farm, and my father would butcher sheep regularly for our use. They're a handy size for a farm family - particularly one, as we were then, without a freezer. We'd also give a bit of the meat to my grandparents, who had retired off the farm and were living in town. Beef was a rare treat, as it required spending cash money at the butcher's shop.

Some people find mutton to be an acquired taste (or even a taste they have no wish to acquire). They're perverted, warped and twisted; but that's their right, I guess - anyone appears to have a right to do or not do almost anything these days, although that's pushing the limits. Lamb shouldn't prove a problem though. Personally, I prefer hogget - to my taste it's not as insipid as lamb, and not as tough as mutton. Mind you, I'll take mutton as well - just takes careful slow cooking - either pot-roast, or slow oven roast under a cover (or in an oven bag?).

One point - some lamb chops tend to be quite fatty, with the fat distributed through them so that you can't trim them - you have to cook it out, to whatever extent you can. On the other hand, you can get cuts of lamb which are very lean - talk to the butcher about that if fat is a concern. They manage something here called Heart-smart lean lamb (Australian Heart Foundation).

The roast recipe above is well worth a try, although I'd add rosemary as well. For sauce, yes - mint sauce (tart, vinegar based, cuts any fatty residue) works well. Plum sauce is also pretty good - in fact, my grandfather and his brothers used to use plum jam! plus mint sauce. You can make the most marvellous gravy from the pan drippings from a roast leg of lamb, pouring off most of the fat and browning flour in the remainder.

Prices I'll have to leave to your discretion - I just know that locally lamb prices have skyrocketed, which is good for my brother who is having one of those rare good runs farmers get two or three times in a lifetime. Doesn't do much good for me as a consumer though.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), October 25, 2001.

Tracey, I think lamb is delicious. I have tried mutton too but it is just too strong for my taste. It seems like $1.00 a lb is high but it is almost Ramadan(sp) and the price of lamb and goats go up at this time of the year. The processing charges have gotten a lot higher too. I have started raising sheep because I like the taste of lamb and it is very expensive at the store. Besides, they eat all that nice bermuda grass that my lovely Nubians won't eat. I like goat meat too.

-- karen in Kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), October 25, 2001.

I had lamb for the first time in England. It was with mint jelly and it was WONDERFUL!! I would love to have it again, but it is rarely available in AR at a decent price. Also, don't know how to cook it. I would try some from the grocer first, $1+ lb would be high if you didn't like it.

-- Ivy in NW AR (balch84@cox-internet.com), October 25, 2001.

Tracey, I love lamb and eat it every chance I get. The meat shouldn't have a strong flavor as long as it is young lamb and not mutton. We have usually had ours butchered at about 10 months old. Personally, I also enjoy older mutton.

I definatly agree with the suggestion to buy some lamb chops to see if you like them before comitting to a whole animal. My favorite way to cook chops is simply to season them with salt and pepper and pan fry them exactly the way I do a good steak. Just be sure not to overcook it. I like mine medium-rare.

If you need some more cooking suggestions, just let me know. Hope you enjoy it.

-- Murray in ME (lkdmfarm@megalink.net), October 25, 2001.

I grew up on store bought lamb chops. Still eat 'em. I just season with a bit of garlic salt and broil 'em in the oven or cook 'em on the bbq.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), October 25, 2001.

P.S. KiwiKaren's point about letting meat (any meat, actually) rest for a while in a warm place so the tendons can relax back into tenderness after cooking is spot-on - it's a basic, but you so seldom see it mentioned that you also seldom see people doing it. Yes please Karen - could you post your Jarred Chops recipe? It may be close to what my mother does "on the wing" with oven-cooked chops (which is one way to get the fat under control); but whether or no, I don't have the cooking experience to do that sort of thing without a recipe.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), October 26, 2001.

Most of the lamb in the grocery stores comes from NZ and Australia, just fyi. Your local lamb might be somewhat different. There's no market for commercially raised lamb in the U.S. anymore (well, at least to speak of...) It's a global economy thing.

-- sheepish (WA) (the_original_sheepish@Hotmail.com), October 26, 2001.

Honey Orange lamb chops: 1 tbsp cooking oil 4 chops 1/2 c orange juice 1/2 tsp tarragon 1tbsp honey 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 tsp dijon or spicy brown mustard 1 tbsp butter or margarine. Cook the chops in a skillet with the oil to desired doneness (medium rare, medium, welldone). Remove from pan and keep warm. add the juices and tarragon to the skillet and deglaze the pan, bringing to a boil and reduce the liquid to 1/4 cup. reduce heat to low. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Return the chops and any accumulated juices to the pan and heat through. Ambrosia!!!!!!!

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 26, 2001.

All the seasoning, grilling, minting and all tastes wonderful. But when you get passed the taste of all the seasoning and start actually chewing on the meat itself, I found it to be horrible. I for one am not a lamb fan. Sold our girls because of this! If mom doesn't like it...it isn't going to get cooked! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 26, 2001.

"perverted, warped and twisted" - SEE - I told you!

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), October 26, 2001.

Don, that really should be my mantra! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 26, 2001.

Tracey - In my view 100 pounds is too small to butcher, because the cuts will be small. The chops you'll get will be 2 or 3 bites. I like a chop you can sink your teeth into. We butcher at about 160-170 pounds, and have never had a strong tasting lamb in 30 years.

There are a lot of great recipes on the web too. Grilled (BBQ) is my favorite warm weather method, while cooler weather calls for a slow cooked shank or leg. WOW now I'm hungry.

Good luck and enjoy. Lamb too often gets a bad rap.

-- jennifer (schwabauer@aol.com), October 26, 2001.

Some of my favorite lamb (and goat) dishes are Indian. If you have never eaten Indian food you owe it to yourself to try it- I heartily recommend my special favorite, Lamb Biryani.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), October 26, 2001.

A 100 pounds that will be a small lamb but I'll bet it will be yummy! We butcher our kids (goats that is) at 100 lbs and those 50 lbs are wonderful. $1.00 a pound live weight for farm raised lamb actually seems cheap to me.. I'm just thinking of the cost to raise it. The first time I butchered lamb I made the cardinal mistake of touching the meat with lanolin from the wool on my hands. That accounts for about 90% of the bad flavor experiences with lamb.. Now I sponge off the carcass with apple vinegar before hanging it.

-- Ellen Wright (gardenfarm@earthlink.net), October 26, 2001.

100 pounds isn't a small lamb at all - in fact, it's about at the top of the range that my brother can sell in. Lamb is defined as a lamb that hasn't yet cut its first two adult teeth - age can vary from as young as eight months for meat breeds to as old as fifteen months for Merinos. It would certainly be a small (adult) sheep for a meat breed, although Merino wool breeds don't get much above that.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), October 27, 2001.