Mutton back on the menu

Dec 12 2008 by Jane Hall, The Journal

The phrase “mutton dressed as lamb” has coloured people’s perception of a tasty and tender meat. Jane Hall looks at what’s being done to return it to its rightful place as a British dinner table staple

IF you thought the barrage of negative press directed at music impresario and X Factor judge Simon Cowell was bad, then spare a thought for what was once the nation’s meat of choice: mutton.

It used to fill the pies, stews and stomachs of our grandparents, but as living standards have improved and the more exotic and “luxurious” meats once reserved for the wealthy have come within the budgets of the majority, mutton has all but been banished from the menu.

Its stigmatisation has been exacerbated by the expressions “mutton dressed as lamb ” and “dead as mutton.”

Add to this the fact Shakespeare used mutton as a slang word for prostitutes and the famous, flamboyant and formidable TV cook Fanny Cradock wrote it off as “divorce meat”, and it’s easy to see why lamb has replaced it in the popularity stakes.

But mutton is hopefully making a comeback. The heady combination of royal patronage and the current economic crisis looks set to rekindle our love affair with meat from sheep which have lived a bit.

It is four years since Prince Charles launched the Mutton Renaissance campaign to revive a grand eating tradition and help save our upland farms. The idea was sparked after the prince met with sheep farmers in Country Durham who told him about the poor price they were getting for the older ewes that had come to the end of their productive lives.

The prince’s battle cry has been taken up by a number of famous chefs, including Gary Rhodes, Hugh Fearnely-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Pierre White.

An estimated 200 family farms, butchers and abattoirs across the UK are now selling and serving mutton. And the supermarkets are joining in as they put cheaper cuts like brisket, chuck, pig cheek, liver and mutton back on the shelves as consumers look to reduce their grocery bills without compromising on taste.

This is music to the ears of farmers-cum-butchers such as Steve Ramshaw and Andrew Sharp, who recently joined fellow mutton enthusiasts at North East chef Terry Laybourne’s award-winning Jesmond Dene House Hotel in Newcastle to promote the benefits of “poor man’s lamb.”

Steve owns Northumbrian Quality Meats and produces organic Aberdeen Angus beef as well as lamb and mutton courtesy of his flock of Blackface which roam his 700-acre farm in the high scenic hills near Otterburn.

Cumbrian-based Andrew, meanwhile, has been jokingly dubbed Prince Charles’s butcher of choice after recently presenting a side of Herdwick mutton to the prince to mark both his 60th birthday and the start of the fifth Mutton Renaissance season, which runs until March.

Steve is a keen supporter of the prince’s efforts to not only support sheep farmers, but also rid mutton of the stigma attached to it.

“People have this idea that mutton is for grandmas and grandpas, that it is old, tough and fatty. We need to knock this perception on the head and get across that properly produced and cooked mutton can stand up against any meat.

“It has an intense and rich taste and a unique texture quite unlike lamb. I would call it an almost gamey taste. But there is nothing cheap about mutton. It is a premium product.

“It is not about what mutton once was, it is about what mutton is now, one of the lost gems of British cuisine that should be back on the menu.”

There are signs from Steve’s side of the fence that mutton’s time has come again. He has seen a steady growth in sales – no doubt helped by his recent decision to slash mutton from £3.50lb to £1.99lb as part of a mid-week promotion at Northumbrian Quality Meats’ in-store butchery department in Fenwick, Newcastle.

Andrew is equally upbeat.

“Our mutton is now so popular that we’ve formed a producer group of 27 other Lakeland farms, all of whom rear Herdwicks. This breed is well known for its grey wool and high quality mutton achieved through a life on the high fells.

“We run a stall at London’s Borough Market and the mutton is popular with the public as well as a number of leading restaurants that we supply direct.

“We also air dry some of the mutton legs to make our own ‘mutton ham.’ The legs are dried for up to six months creating a very special taste and texture that works well with salad leaves.”

John Thorley, chairman of the Mutton Renaissance Club, says since the campaign was launched, demand for quality mutton has grown among those with an interest in good food.

Sales have increased by 20% in the last two years, he says, and were worth between £1m and £2m last year. But, he admits, they had started at a low base, and it is expected to take about 10 years for the meat to again establish itself in the market.

But it has to be said that there is mutton – and then there is mutton. The meat can indeed be tough; it is only at its best when it has been properly treated by producers and suppliers.

But no matter how good the meat, mutton needs to be cooked properly. And that means slowly, either by stewing or roasting.

Terry Laybourne believes mutton should be cooked for five, six or even seven hours on a low heat. That way, the rich intense flavour is even further intensified.

He and head chef at Jesmond Dene House, Pierre Rigothier, have put mutton back on the menu. Terry – who grew up eating the meat – is a huge fan.

“The popular misconception is that it’s poor quality lamb. It’s not. That’s a modern way of looking at it and there is a lot of snobbery involved.

“All the lamb recipes we use today were actually designed for mutton. Lamb was traditionally only available in the spring here, but with the advent of freezing we started getting it from New Zealand and lamb has become an all year round meat.

“Dishes like Lancashire hotpot and Irish stew are all traditionally mutton-based, and indeed they benefit from using a stronger flavoured meat than lamb.

“It is unfortunate that we have taken the phrase ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ to heart.”

Mutton is both an ideal winter dish and value for money. “Quality mutton isn’t especially cheap,” Terry says. “The upshot is that it costs more to produce mutton than lamb as it has to be kept longer. But its big selling point is that it can be stretched. You can get a couple of good meals out of a stew or a casserole.”

Terry maintains the best mutton is hill bred, as it is relatively lean. “Mutton from a lowland animal can be particularly fatty as they don’t have to forage for their food. Very fatty mutton is not what you want.”

He says there are two distinct groups who are now buying into mutton.

“There are those of a certain age who grew up with it, are interested in it and enjoy it, and then there are those who are well educated in food terms.

“I grew up with mutton and enjoy what I would term the ‘wet’ dishes such as stews and casseroles. If you roast a leg for a long time, it is terrific, and if you eat it the English way with mint or caper sauce you really begin to understand what all the fuss is about.”

Shopping tips

Look for dark red meat

Typically mutton is fatter than lamb

Legs, shoulders, loins and necks are popular cuts

Ask your butcher for help in choosing and cooking mutton

Ask about the breed, its age and which farm it came from.