[Womble]

I took some ewes to the abattoir on Monday morning, and they were butchered and in the freezer sometime the following day.

When I queried this the last time (they took three days), I was told that "the butcher thought they were ready, so they must have been", and the results tasted fine but this time the carcasses can barely have been cold, let alone dry.

Can anybody advise - is this normal / acceptable?  Is mutton different to lamb, for instance?

[Bywaters]

We had some hogget killed in august and they weren't collected by the butcher from the abbatior for a week.
Makes more sense

Perhaps they were short of space ?

[twizzel]

I’d expect mutton to hang longer than lamb. I’d be querying it too, that doesn’t seem long enough to me.

[SallyintNorth]

Our abattoir slaughters on a Monday, the butcher butchers on Tuesday and Wednesday.  So our options for hanging are <24 hours, 8-9 days, 15-16 days.

We always ask for 8-9 days for mutton, prefer same for hogget, don't mind if the butcher wants to butcher lambs the next day (but happy to hang for 8-9 days if butcher not strapped for space.) 

We ask for 15-16 days for cattle 1-2 years old, ask for 3 weeks for older cows especially if fat, but don't usually get it. 

The busier the butcher is, the less keen on hanging they are. 

Having had occasions when we didn't get meat hung for as long as we wanted, I'd say it's made no appreciable difference to taste but the meat from older sheep can be less tender.  Well-hung mutton melts in the mouth and chops don't need the long slow cook, they're just as tender as lamb even when cooked fast.  If the mutton didn't get hung for 8 days then the chops need to be roasted (not too quickly) with some fluid, will be a bit chewy if fast-griddled. 

But, before I arrived here and they just had Zwartbles (and Dexters), they never asked for the meat to be hung at all, and it was all very tasty and the lamb and mutton perfectly tender enough.  Maybe not quite as tender as our mixed breed sheep meat now we have it hung, but not tough.

[Richmond]

How old is mutton, ie how old is the sheep when you class it as mutton rather than hogget? Asking because we want to send off two young ewes next Spring (they will be 3 at that point) who we don't intend to breed from.

[twizzel]

How old is mutton, ie how old is the sheep when you class it as mutton rather than hogget? Asking because we want to send off two young ewes next Spring (they will be 3 at that point) who we don't intend to breed from.

That would be classed as mutton in my eyes.

[SallyintNorth]

How old is mutton, ie how old is the sheep when you class it as mutton rather than hogget? Asking because we want to send off two young ewes next Spring (they will be 3 at that point) who we don't intend to breed from.

Borderline but yeah mutton.  (If it matters!) 

[Richmond]

It doesn't matter, was just curious. They are quite small sheep (Soay) so trying to decide if we will have them cut up into the various joints, chops etc or just turned entirely into mince.

[SallyintNorth]

Personally, with 3 yo Soay, I'd make sure they get hung for at least a week then happily have chops and joints, try some chops griddled fast when they come back, and if they're a bit chewy, cook the other chops and joints slower and lower . 

[Richmond]

OK will do, thanks.

[Forestlens]

We’ve recently had 2 wethers and a ram slaughtered, all Shetlands. We collected them from the butcher 15 days later. Top tip is not to assume that small breeds mean small joints! Next time we’ll have the legs and shoulders halved.

[Womble]

Ok, I spoke with the abattoir / butcher (they're the same place) today.

They said they never hang anything except beef, "and actually I don't think anybody does any more".

I don't honestly know what to think now.

[SallyintNorth]

Farmed livestock these days is killed so young and lean there's no need to hang.

Hanging reduces weight, so commercial outlets might prefer to get max weight from a carcase

As smallholders, some of us will have older animals - ones which take longer to mature - and breeds and types that are less lean, in which cases, hanging will improve texture, taste and tenderness. 

[twizzel]

Ok, I spoke with the abattoir / butcher (they're the same place) today.

They said they never hang anything except beef, "and actually I don't think anybody does any more".

I don't honestly know what to think now.

Sounds like they don’t want to hang it, I’d find another butcher. Even lamb benefits from a couple of days hanging.

[Womble]

I’d find another butcher

I really wish we had more options, but we just don't!

Come back Dunblane abattoir, all is forgiven!