Much Ado About Mutton
(With apologies to Bob Kennard whose book title I have borrowed. )
We have been breeding sheep since we moved to The Lint Mill in 2009. We began with Shetlands, then Hebrideans, before settling on Soay sheep. In addition, last year we began breeding Castlemilk Moorit sheep. All of these breeds are native to Scotland and all have been on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist of ‘at risk’ breeds. There are many reasons to keep these breeds, from the way they suit our land to our commitment to preserving the genetic diversity of our farm animals.
But this is a story about mutton.
There is no story of mutton without the story of sheep. Given that humans have been domesticating sheep, washing, weaving, and wearing wool since 10,000 BCE, this is a long and convoluted history. To try to understand it is to learn much about the development of our contemporary culture. Please forgive my brief historical romp here.
After the Norman conquest in 1066, Britain largely became a nation of sheep farmers and British wool was considered the best in Europe. The wool produced became a symbol of national prosperity and the wool trade itself became a powerful political tool (the ‘Woolsack’ is still the seat of the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords). During this long period of history, wool was the primary product from our domesticated sheep and meat was secondary.
In the 1800s ‘cotton became king’ and the demand for wool started to decline. As the demand for wool fell, the primary product from sheep became meat. The Victorian age was to see a huge demand for mutton (cf how mutton chops became an iconic beard style).
In the 20th Century the fashion for very lean meat coupled with the commercial imperative to breed ‘fat lambs’ that finished early meant that mutton fell out of favour, until now…
So, what is mutton? Generally it is considered to be a sheep over two years old. However, our Soay and Castlemilk Moorit sheep don’t mature sufficiently in less than two years, so we suppose it could all be ‘called’ mutton. Our meat is already slowly grown on species rich pasture, with a diet full of herbs, grasses and shrubs and the difference in the taste is remarkable.
Furthermore, older ewes become unsuitable for breeding and are called ‘cull yowes’ in Scotland. Recently we took some of our cull yowes (between 5 and 8 years old) to slaughter and we discovered first hand that the meat is incomparable to any we have tasted before. Reared for years at The Lint Mill and contributing to the management of our landscape, these sheep mature like a fine wine and produce some amazing eating at the end of their already productive lives.
Our mutton is dry aged for a minimum of 14 days with our butcher to ‘relax’ the meat and to allow the naturally occurring enzymes to mature the flavour. The meat is marbled with fat which contributes to its flavour. The fat melts into the meat while cooking, basting it and keeping it moist and tender. We are familiar with the marbling of aged beef as a sign of quality, well the process is the same with mutton. As chefs have discovered, good dry aged mutton is not tough and does not required 3 days in the ‘bottom oven’ to render it edible! As chef Gill Meller says, “There are few things more deeply savoury, satisfying and delicious than salty, smoky lamb cooked over a crackling wood fire. Except, perhaps, salty, smoky mutton cooked over a crackling wood fire.”
Like most things in life, time is the secret ingredient in producing our meat and we are delighted to share it on the plates of our guests knowing that our animals have shared their years with us in our special place.
