Meat Of It All: Mutton
Claudia Totir
Mutton? Like the sideburns? What the h*ll is that? For many of those of us who live in America, we probably haven’t a clue what mutton is, tastes like, or what animal it comes from, but this cut of meat that was once a popular menu item in the states has some interesting historic, cultural, and flavorful value.
This cut of meat called Mutton is a 1-to-3-year-old domesticated sheep, basically an older version of a lamb. Unlike lamb, mutton is gamier in taste, like venison, bison, or elk. The “gaminess” of a cut of meat is essentially referring to the actual meat flavor of the cut being stronger and more concentrated than that of a cut from a younger animal. The fact that mutton comes from the same animal as lamb (a sheep) makes it easier for us to understand the different cuts of mutton we can work with.
Breaking Mutton Down
Having a better understanding of what cuts come from on the animal will help us through our search in the grocery store. When fabricating or breaking down the major cuts of sheep, or lamb, most butchers like to divide the animal into two categories: the foresaddle and the hindsaddle. The foresaddle of the animal will provide us with the neck, shoulder, rack, breast, and foreshank. The shoulder, neck and shank can all be well utilized in a low and slow cooking method like a braise, however, the rack and breast can be used in more direct cooking methods like a Fourth of July BBQ.
The hindsaddle section of a sheep will provide us with the sirloin, flank, leg, and hindshank. Most of these hindsaddle cuts will do exceptionally well in a braised dish, however, the sirloin and flank cut could easily be cooked as if it were beef. The sirloin, arguably being the most tender cut of the animal can be brought up to room temperature, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, and placed in a hot pan with oil until caramelized on each side and cooked to at least 145 degrees, allowing the meat to rest for 10 minutes before serving. The usually thin flank, similarly, located on a cow, can be marinated in soy, brown sugar and aromatics overnight then placed on a hot grill for no more than 6-8 minutes on each side, allowing for a steady caramelization and development of delicious, chargrilled flavors. Like the sirloin, allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it for optimum blood recirculation.
Why Mutton Is Such a Foreign Word
We now know what mutton is, what animal it comes from, and what it tastes like, but what is the story behind that indescribable absence of mutton in our lives? To answer this, we must dip our curious toes in old European waters, specifically in England at around 1066, where the word mutton and its original value came from. This is the year Northern French Vikings successfully took over England. During which times there was a change of how certain status amongst citizens were divided, giving way to the integration of the French language. The poor referred to animal meat as “lamb”, while the rich, usually the French, referred to animal meat as “mutton”.
From here on, mutton was referred to the meat of the rich while lamb was referred to meat of the poor (bafflingly isn’t it). So much so, the RMS Titanic had lamb on the menu for all non-first class passengers while mutton was served to the first class passengers. Also, mutton was a staple in NYC on many restaurant menus, including Keen’s Steakhouse, who served a large portion of broiled mutton chop in 1941, merely 6 cents cheaper than its lamb counterpart.
It was really after the end of WWII where most Americans observed the slow disappearance of mutton, not only in the grocery stores, but on popular menus as well. This was partly because many U.S. and Australian MRE’s (meal ready to eat) were mutton, due to its abundancy and ease of preservation. Today, meat from an older sheep tends to be more expensive to process, making mutton relatively difficult to find in grocery stores and on American menus. However, there is a reputable source of this long-lost meat available for purchase at a butcher located in Detroit, Mi called Saad Meats, providing ground mutton for around $8 per pound.
Recipes
Mutton typically finds solace in braised dishes due to the meat becoming tougher in texture as the animal naturally uses their muscles more throughout its lifetime. However, one can easily create mutton kabobs, stir-fry, or even mutton sausage while keeping in mind it’s similarities to elk, bison, and venison in both flavor and texture. Here at Licious, an online recipe platform, you’ll find a few great mutton recipes from kabobs, mutton curry, and a hearty and nutritious mutton stew.
