[cambee]

Hi all this may be one of those posts where I feel a bit thick! We had our first abattoir kill last week who was our young wether (16 months) kept as a companion for our Tup and now replaced by our home bred Tup lambs. Breed coloured Ryeland. The current Tup lambs will go to meat as lambs not hogget which may be relevant but the plan is to sell them as half lamb boxes. Anyway we picked him up on Friday and I suppose the first disappointment was he was just handed over in 2 big plastic bags, not a boxes. The second disappointment when we got him home (37kg of him) was the look of it all. There was a huge amount of fat despite the fact that since castration at 3 months he has only ever been grass fed. The leg and shoulder joints looked as expected but the rest of him just seemed to comprise massive chunky chops and the 2 long strips of what I assume is the belly/ribs. We haven’t tried him yet and I’m sure he will taste good today. But, my query is this. Was he a fat hogget or is that normal and a butcher would have trimmed it before sale? Do the joints sound correct to you ( I think I was hoping for at least some cutlets rather than all great big fat chops)? And finally those of you that sell at the farm gate, would it be acceptable to those buying just to hand over a great big bag of meat or do you present it in a more lay person friendly way? Like I said, sound very ignorant but just want to make sure we get things right for our first sales later this year. Thanks

[twizzel]

Did you give the butcher a cutting list before he cut the carcass up?? In the past our lambs have come back from the butcher in bags- we have then transferred to boxes at our expense. It depends on breed as to whether he was normal or not but sounds like you would have been better killing as a lamb when he came fit. The 2 strips (quite flat and wide?) would be the breast- bone it out and roll it and cook it slow.

[harmony]

All our meat comes back in bags. If you want it differently you need to talk to the abattoir/butcher. As Twizzel says they need a cutting list or they will do their standard cut.


If you back 37kgs of meat he was a big lad to start with and a Ryland, so my guess is that he would have been fatty.


I'm sure a Ryland breeder will be along with some advice soon.

[Fleecewife]

Wethers do get fat even on grass, all that hanging around.   I don't think Ryelands are suitable as hogget, better by the end of their first year.  It works best with primitives which grow slowly and don't tend to grow fat.


We have, over the years had a variety of butchery and packing types so we have shopped around until we have found a lovely butcher who cuts how we want then vacuum packs, and he also makes sausages and burgers to our recipe, with ingredients I provide.  It's worth paying that bit extra to get it done how you want it.  From a different butcher I have also had the horrible big careless fatty chops (we have in the past had other breeds) so I understand your disappointment.  After all that time, you have something unpalatable to eat, and your sheep gave his life for that.


Sounds as if you will be eating him yourselves, or you'll put off future customers (unless you know someone who specifically likes fat lamb - most people don't). Cook the chops very hot which crispifies the fat and gives flavour (and makes a huge mess of your grill!) then cut the fat off on the plate.  For the big joints, try finishing them off very hot too so the outside is crisp.  The belly I would make into burgers, and remove the fat first.


For future kills, find a better butcher, who is happy to discuss and give advice about what you want.  Have a look at what he has on sale to point out just what you want back, and ask how it will be returned to you.  Our butcher collects from the abattoir on the same day each week, so we ask him what day he wants us to take the sheep in, so they can hang for a bit there before he picks them up.  He vacuum packs and freezes except the burgers and sausages which come back in bags as I request, so I can transfer them to meal sized portions then freeze them myself.


It is also a good idea to, if possible, go to the butcher before he cuts the carcasses and ask him to show them to you.  Not all butchers have the facility to do this, but if yours is willing then he can give you good advice on how to improve your husbandry to make a better carcass.  He can point out where you may have a problem (such as too much fat) and he will appreciate knowing what breed they are before he starts.  Some butchers may have no experience of, say, primitives so will appreciate your input too.  We usually have our chops prepared as 'Valentine chops, where the small chops from primitives are part cut through then opened out to make a cute double, heart shaped piece. Primitive gigots tend to be comparatively long, so the butcher may suggest that he cuts steaks from the top, so the joint will fit in a pot (we have a long covered roaster specifically to accommodate a full gigot).  Our sheep don't have belly either, and the ribs are tiny and lean.  All variations in breed.


And Cambee, no you've not been thick, you just didn't know and now you're asking to make things better next time.  There could well be people on TAS who use the same abattoir and can recommend a good butcher - it's well worth the search to find one.

[shep53]

Same here all in plastic bag but all vacuum packed and labelled separately  , and I say that as we are only a couple then chops in threes and big joints boned or not and rolled if wanted , all trimmed

[bj_cardiff]

I've used a few different abattoirs and usually its an extra charge for boning and rolling joints, for boxes and vac packed etc. So yes, I often get a bag full of meat and have to go through it and sort out what is what and wrap everything individually so you can freeze it without it sticking together in one big lump!

As others have already said, I think your Ryland was just too big and fat. Lesson learnt though, I'm sure it will taste fine. Speak to your abattoir next time and ask what packing options they offer and how you'd like the meat jointed

[cambee]

Thanks all for that really excellent advice. Yes from now on it will be lambs as we only kept Patch so long to keep our Tup company (we are a new flock). I’ll ask around locally as to the cut, presentation etc see who people use and what they get. We are eating this lot ourselves ( in fact just had one of the big fat lumpy chops and it was lovely!) but we have 5 lambs to sell as half lambs in a few months so do want to present it nicely to anyone who buys to ensure they order next year. And we may review the breed we have chosen and think about a leaner more commercial breed long term. Feel a lot more knowledgeable now.

[twizzel]

AHDB run Live to Dead sheep days- basically you learn to grade lambs, then see them on the hook an hour later. Well worth doing if you sell your own lamb, I learnt so much about feeling when a lamb is/isn’t fit to kill.

[SallyintNorth]

And we may review the breed we have chosen and think about a leaner more commercial breed long term. Feel a lot more knowledgeable now.

If you do decide you want a non-native commercial breed, I'd suggest looking at Charollais.  They're lovely active lambs, clean skinned so easy lambing, grow well, weigh heavy for how they look, they tend to put on meat rather than fat, and the meat is tender, sweet and succulent even from a 12-week old lamb.  Whereas personally, I find Texel tender but tasteless.  (And that's Texel from the same farm brought up the same way.)

[twizzel]

True Sally although any commercial breed has the potential to go fat, just as a rare breed. Commercial lambs tend to be drawn from much earlier on in the year. It all boils down to handling lambs regularly and learning from experience as to what lambs feel like and how this then transpires when the lamb is on a hook or butchered- hence why the live to dead days are so worthwhile booking onto if there's 1 in your area. The other thing to do is invest in a weigh crate and weigh your lambs regularly.

[Rosemary]

We had three Ryeland gimmers didn't get in lamb; slaughtered them in January and they are fab. About 35kg DW and not fat coming off the winter. Our lambs go at six months. With small numbers, we don't have the luxury of drawing lambs by weight - so mid October they all go. Big 'uns and litte 'uns. We did send four cull ewes a couple of years ago and the guy at the abattoir said ne was the fattest sheep he'd ever seen. Ever. Wouldn't have known it in the tray though.

Actually we weighted some of the lambs last week because we were dosing them - two were 28kg and one 30kg. Most were between 20 and 25 and a couple of the later born ones were just short of 20kg.

Cambee, no-one is born knowing thsi stuff so don't beat yourself up.
Our butcher gets a cutting list for each box customer - all it asks is do they want the leg whole or jointed and do they want the rack as cutlets or a rack. He trims, makes sausages and burgers, vac packs, uses labels with our details and boxes it. He's not cheap though. I think he was £22 per lamb last year plus extra for sausages and burgers. Sometimes the quality varies a wee bit between the shop that does the processing (he has five shops) and even the individual butcher.

[cambee]

Am I getting from some of your replies that it isn’t your abattoir that cuts the meat but that you pick up the carcass and take it to a butcher? If so how did you come to that arrangement? Or am I just misreading it? We know a couple of local farmers who sell some of their lambs privately so I will get some more info hopefully in the next couple of weeks. So much to learn! I haven’t even got onto how much you sell meat for! Is it by weight or just a set price? Patch was 37kg of meat so loads of him but as a customer I wouldn’t have been overly impressed by the cut or all the fat on him. Thanks again, loads of great advice.

[shep53]

I send to the abattoir used by my butcher ,he collects the carcase and then prepares the cuts

[SallyintNorth]

It’s very common to have a butcher do the butchering rather than the abattoir.  Some abattoirs have a great butchery service but many offer a considerably reduced set of options over the local butcher.

I’d start with a butcher whose meat you like the look of.  Often he wlll pick up from the local (or his preferred) abattoir on a certain day of the week, so you may be able to arrange to take your lambs in yourself but have the butcher collect.

[farmers wife]

Most places around here the carcass is delivered to the butcher.  Abattoirs are in a rush to do it the quickest time ever and if you want to sell it you need it done to look good.  I am surprised so many vac pack because the bones are the biggest problem they puncture the plastic.  Everyone around here uses bags. but always delivered in a clean box (usually recycled fine)  Labelling is extra.  Ive never had it labelled as its easy to see what is what. I used to have a labelling machine.  Be careful labelling meat as the labels can slip and not stick.  If you are aiming to sell it  has to be tidy and clean - no blood dripping out all over the place. You have to label the box with where its come from and killing/cutting code.


What you don't want to be doing is delivering it to the butcher and many abbatoirs wont let you put it in the back of the car either.  Most abattoirs deliver to a butcher.


If your going to sell it make sure you do your costings properly.  Far too many people think they have to give it away.