[farmers wife]

Firstly we have been processing lambs for 10 yrs and never had an incidence of poor lamb - we used to sell a lot of it and it was consistently good. We kill at 12 - 14 months old always superb size and fat.


We had 2 poor lambs and 2 acceptable lambs in the shed that we finished on beet, hay etc no nuts.  We havent many lambs these days so these were the last to pop in the freezer. Prev to this the last batch were v good.


We used a different abattoir as this one is local and we are limited these days, used him on the last pigs pretty good.  Anyway he isnt a believer in hanging these were hung for 2 days. He chopped them up, they had very little fat - actually the worst I have ever seen.  He wasnt impressed he called them slimey. Which was pretty shocking to us but it didnt worry too much as its for our own use and taste is more important.


I minced the belly and this mince is very springy, had chops on the BBQ these were inedible so tough and the shoulder piece needs serious cooking.


Now I have 4 lambs to chew through.  I am wondering whether our change from the usual stuffing of these changed the meat (we used to take them straight off the grass), no nuts, no grain changed the meat, seeing that its not natural to feed grain to sheep but we used to spend thousands finishing lambs back in the old days. The no hanging but then limited fat, there are plenty of people who only hang for 24hrs and are happy. Or has something seriously gone wrong here.


I'm not sure whether I'll be able to roast a leg in the normal way nor have pink lamb chops - really disappointed. Just glad I didnt sell any.  Feedback anyone?

[SallyintNorth]

there are plenty of people who only hang for 24hrs and are happy.

None of them is me   I insist on a minimum of 5 days for all lamb/hogget/mutton, preferably 7.

Butchers often want to reduce the hanging time for very lean meat as the meat, being unprotected by a layer of fat, may discolour somewhat as it dries, necessitating more trimming = more work and also less output. 

Many people do not realise how much difference the actual butchering makes to the meat .  A really good organic supplier in Devon took their livestock to one abattoir to be slaughtered, then ferried the carcases a 50-mile round trip to another butcher for cutting; they were simply not happy enough with the quality of the butchering offered by the abattoir.  (But had to use a licenced organic slaughterhouse - and were very happy with the handling of the animals and the slaughter side of the service.)

I'm sure that having them indoors on hay and beet would make them taste and feel different to taking them off grass.  I always think that 1/2lb cake / head / day on grass is a good compromise - more cake than that and our butcher says you can actually see the difference in the flesh.

However, long slow moist cooking should help.  I often do leg of lamb in the Rayburn - start at 150-160F for an hour then 135-140F for another 4 hours or more; the meat melts in the mouth but remains pink inside.  If it's hogget I find I don't need to wrap and moisten in the Rayburn, if it's mutton I usually put a little water or wine in the bottom of the roasting pan, and some veg, and cover.

You can do chops the same way, but they don't need as long.  However, at such low temperatures, they'll come to no harm as long as you keep an eye on them drying out.  (And our meat is very lean too.)

Resting time is very important (with all meat but especially meat that has a tendency to come up tough) - always take off the heat and keep warm (and covered if likely to be a little dry) for at least half an hour before carving. 

Mince and stew dishes again will need long slow cooking.  Most will be improved by cooking one day to reheat and eat the next.

I don't get to use a BBQ much, but with the meat you are describing I'd be inclined to glaze the chops, cover in foil, and leave at the edge of the grill to cook in their own juices for maybe 30 minutes?  And again, rest before serving.

[farmers wife]

Thanks really informative and I agree with the hanging, as we have always left our lambs hanging for at least 5 days and on the last lot we did they were hanging in the abattoir and hanging here for over a week.  Trouble is the abattoir doesnt have the space and only cuts on a certain day of the week.  Prev to this we had a lad come here and cut and did an amazing job but he's not always around and for the convenience the abattoir did it as we just didnt have time to spit!


I am gutted however I do have some chops slowly stewing in HFW recipe for chicken with preserved lemons and olives and it works well with lamb, just chomped on a bit now and it was lovely.


Personally, I do rather slow long cooking makes life easy.  Thanks again!

[farmers wife]

Finding good butchers was the problem we always have, when we had the meat business, this was the part that let our business down, they just rushed it and it was just about acceptable, the rare breeds butcher also did a butchery service but that was far too rustic I'm sure the YTS boy was cutting up.


Unless you have an abundance of time and a vehicle its almost imposible to cart around carcusses, the old abbertoir near Monmouth has closed down now they used to deliver to our butcher.


The OH wants to get a grant for a cutting room here for when our beef animals are ready, the young lad is happy to cut on site but he works full time too so.  Luckily, we bought a great walk in fridge off Ebay last year.

[Fleecewife]

In addition to all Sally says    I was wondering if you have tasted bits of each lamb, or just from a single carcase.  You mention two were poor - might that have affected the meat texture and flavour?  Were they much lighter than the other two?  Did they have something specific wrong with them?  Once a long time ago - sorry long story - our own carcases were sent off by mistake to Portugal, so we were given the equivalent from the ones hanging in the abattoir's giant cold room.  Most were ok (although nothing near ours) but one was absolutely inedible.  I assumed it had something wrong with it, but was sent to slaughter anyway.  We never ate that one.

I agree about hanging times - 5-7 days - ours are Hebs so very little fat.

[farmers wife]

The cuts are all mixed up even though I did label some as poor. I cant imagine anything wrong with them they were a pretty naff bunch but werent improving condition and at the time the OH didnt want to spend a fortune on them or much time. Wiltshire horns which are usually amazing.


Just had some chops now and the fat was inedible even after 1.5hrs in a sauce.

[sabrina]

May not help but after watching one of the TV chefs with pork chops i gave what he did a go. He put the chops in a dish and rubbed in quite a bit of salt just on one side. they were left for 10 mins but he did say a couple of hours is best which I did. the salt is washed off and the chops cooked. Best pork chops I have ever eaten. May work just as well with lamb. One other thing, are you sure you have your own lambs back as I know this has happened to others. i fed lambs over the winter on sheep mix and sugar beet. Once  slaughtered they went to our local butcher who said they were very good lambs and what had I fed them on.

[SallyintNorth]

There is another thing that will affect the tenderness and taste of the meat.  I'm sorry to say this, but if the animals are stressed at slaughter, it can cause the meat to be tough and unpleasant.

[Dogwalker]

Is there a way for animals to NOT be stressed at slaughter?
Surely the fact of being in a trailer, into the holding pen, the smell while they wait even if only for a short while.
I can't see how they're not even at a good small family run abattoir.

[devonlad]

whilst a degree of stress is inevitable I would certainly feel it is possible to reduce that stress by the type of environment they are taken to and the way in which they are handled. slaughter day for our lambs starts with them spending the night before indoors having had their ears tagged, they are then loaded into a strange metal box and spend half an hour bumping around. all of this is undoubtedly strange and stress inducing. on arrival I usually have a 20 minute wait till unload and in that time everything settles down and I can see them looking pretty chilled. the unloading where we go is quiet and kind, with no shouting or banging or sounds of animals screaming. on every occasion they trot out the trailer and are fairly swiftly despatched. it could be a hell of a lot worse and I believe strongly that a more chaotic end for them would hugely impact on the final product

[farmers wife]

However, I am not convinced its stress I have sent animals to slaughter for many many years and never had a lamb as tough as these - all I can put it down to is poor conformation, lack of fat, and generally poor farming for which I blame my husband 100%!

[Sbom]

Were they definitely your lambs you got back?..... We have a local guy who has been caught out a time or two trying to give you someone else's meat back whilst your own stays in his shop...

Hardly any locals use him for that reason.

[farmers wife]

They are def ours as the conformation and poor fat coverage matches.  I have read that chilling too quick has an effect.  I have changed my mind I think something went wrong at the abattoir/chilling stage as never had any issues over 10 years.  I have had a leg in the oven for 5hrs in cider and stock and its still tough.  God only knows what I am going to do with 3 in the freezer.

[SallyintNorth]

Dog food

[farmers wife]

http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/news/archivestory.php/aid/13369/New_guidelines_to_overcome_cold_shortening_in_lamb_carcase.html [

Some abattoirs chill carcases rapidly in order to improve efficiency, but if the temperature drops too quickly, it results in tougher meat.

This is really concerning me as this is the nearest abattoir now.  I would have to cross the bridge into Bristol or beyond to find a decent abattoir.  Wales is struggling for good abbattoirs we used to use ensors in Glos but that went bust.