Scottish comedy is an escape, something I’m clinging to more and more in an attempt to drown out the awful stuff from the evil Orange Menace. In multiple Scottish series Mutton is referenced so commonly it made me wonder why we don’t have it (I’ve never seen it at our grocery store). I’ve never had Mutton, nor lamb, and now that I think about it - never goat either. Yet they appear to be important staples around the rest of the globe (poultry/pig/fish notwithstanding). They seem like they’d be cheaper than raising cattle as they’re smaller and grow to maturity quicker. But out of the Bovidae family the US went 90% “cow” vs.a more balanced mix. Equally I came up empty searching, “When did cattle farming overtake sheep farming/shepherding in the British Isles” in case that was a factor.
I’ve spent the last couple hours Googling this stuff because I am apparently very weird.
My understanding (second-hand) is that large farms have an easier time with cows due to the feed requirements, especially in dry land which much of the farmland in the US tends to be (as opposed to the near-constant rain in the UK and to a lesser extent in Europe). Economy of scale being what it is, cows basically became the default in the US. That said, I keep reading reports about the economic benefits of farmers diversifying and I’ve seen them for many years. My guess is there’s downstream issues slowing that down, such as the lack of popularity in the US for the meat. But who knows - maybe that’s the next big thing after avocado toast!
Short answer: because it’s kind of gross. Strong flavor, can be tough, and usually needs longer cooking. My dad used to do a mutton stew that put me off it pretty much permanently.
Lamb, on the other hand, is more delicate and toothsome, and you can find it in larger grocery stores as well as specialty butchers. Very good on skewers. Season with some salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and allspice, and away you go!
The local place I like most, Jasmin, I swear they change the pronunciation to be whatever way you didn’t say it, because I’m positive I’ve ordered gyros with every feasible permutation of sounds and they’ve corrected me every single time.
Its not very common to eat mutton in Denmark either. Its usually a love/hate thing, and not on the regular day to day menu, We eat cow or pork or meatfree meals regularely in Denmark.
Not sure anyone will find this as funny as I do, I’ve watched this entire series so many times. But this episode I needed to find out what these “Gigot Chops” were they’re fighting over. They always talk about mutton pie too and though they mock it as awful it sounds curiously good to me.
If you have Netflix the entire series is on it. It is wonderful. You may need to use subtitles at first haha.
–edit–
The show’s name would help. It’s called “Still Game” and is based off characters from am earlier Scottish sketch comedy show called “Chewin’ the Fat”. Also hilarious.
Mutton is limited to South Asian, African and Caribbean food in England these days… I know of a few English mutton dishes (roasted, and a cream and caper sauce) and in the trendy/hipster “traditional” British restaurants but mainly its mainly curries and spiced stews. The Scots put it in haggis and those scotch pies.
I think we discussed this in the cooking thread a while back. It’s a mystery to me that lamb isn’t more popular in the US (among diners, not farmers), especially given the relatively large Asian subcontinent population in several cities.
Personally, I eat more lamb at home than any other meat apart from chicken. I’ve got a lamb loin fillet being delivered tonight.
Lamb and goat are pretty easy to find in my area (NYC), but I don’t think I’ve ever seen real mutton. There’s a steakhouse here that serves an absolutely delicious mutton chop, but if pressed they’ll admit that it’s actually older lamb, not technically mutton yet.
Mutton has a very strong lanolin flavor that is an acquired taste, particularly in the fat. It isn’t mild like beef. That’s why most of the world eats young sheep, because it has much less of that taste. Even the famous mutton chop at Keen’s steakhouse here in NYC isn’t really mutton, it’s just slightly older lamb. I find it delicious, though.
Interestingly in southeast asian food (indian, pakistani, etc), they call goat “mutton”.
Goat doesn’t have a strong taste, but they don’t produce as much milk as cows so they never took off in the western world. They also have an infamously ornery disposition so they aren’t as well-suited to mass-farming.
Curry goat is pretty popular these days in the UK (or maybe just London?), thanks to the Jamaican influence. Also there’s a goat wrap/box stall in Borough Market which I really like.
On lamb, I’d eat it more if it was less expensive. At least in California, lamb is, pound for pound, probably in the range of twice as expensive as beef for a similar cut.
Besides cost, I think the other thing is that lamb is seasonal (setting aside imports), which makes it less popular with Americans with our preference for consistency and commodity shopping and eating.
I only like mutton once it is heavily stewed, braised, etc. That limits the options.
