do all breeds taste the same

[wayne]

is lamb something you ether like or don't, we are presently raising some Barbabos black belly and have not tasted then yet. recently we got some lamb meat from a friend to try, we tried the burger first. nether my wife or i could stand the taste or smell, not sure what king of sheep it was exactly but was told ether katadan Icelandic. now we are not sure if we want to continue raising sheep for meat. any info would be greatly

 

[doxiemoxie]

They can taste very different... breed, age, gender, previous diet all affect the taste. Your local sheep breeders may have an annual get together where they serve different types of lamb so you can check it out. Or an ag college might have a lamb day where they will serve it too. Ask around and look around...

 

[bonbean01]

A wool sheep...Icelandic ....or hair/meat sheep, which the Katahdin would have been are very different... have had wool sheep ...also known as mutton, and it was awful...we raise hair/meat sheep...Dorpers, Katahdins and a mix of the two...and no matter what age or sex...they are delicious and NOT strong...my advice...keep going with your hair sheep and give it a try...you will or will not like it....but...many people will pay high dollar for your breed of sheep! Good luck

 

[norseofcourse]

Age, diet, gender, etc... are all supposed to affect the taste. I've also heard that the breeds with less lanolin - hair sheep, and some wool sheep including Icelandics - have a milder taste (although age, gender, etc... will still make a difference).

I have Icelandics and I plan to find out later this year, with this years lambs, and a wether from last year who will be about 1.5 years old when processed, all on a lot of mixed pasture/browse and a small amount of corn/pellets.

 

[Bossroo]

Not only age, gender, diet, and breed affect the taste but also how it is prepared and served. We hosted an international group of 23 research scientists to a BBQ at our ranch. I butchered an old broken mouth ( 6 yr. old ) Ramboulett ( wool breed ) range ewe. Marinated in a 55 gal. drum for 2 days, then BBQed it whole, low heat and slow in over a pit of a coal bed, quarter turn every 15 min., basted with a can of beer every hour for about 15 hours and served on HOT steel plates set on wood platters. Every one just raved over it. My father in law hated lamb / mutton ... said that he could " taste the wool ". Well, one day I BBQed some lamb ribs and served it on HOT steel plates layed over wood platters. My wife told him that the ribs were pork before we served them. He had 3 helpings before we informed him the truth. He asked for lamb every time that my in laws came to visit from S. Cal.. The fine restaurants that KNOW how to prepare and serve lamb do so SIZZLING HOT, on HOT steel plates placed on wood platters. The objection comes from serving cool / cold sheep / lamb meat where there is a layer of fat that has a tendency to stick to the roof of one's mouth. Who knew ?

 

[Sheepshape]

Being a long-term vegetarian I don't have a clue about the taste, but have two comments. Firstly, 6 isn't old for a sheep. Their life span is 15-16....though you would probably need dentures after eating a sheep of this age. I am also told that very old and fat animals taste very good, having the strong flavour of game, but that very slow cooking methods are needed to make them tender.

Am I a hypocrite for keeping sheep and being vegetarian? Maybe,but I hope not. My animals have the best life possible and any that are culled are mainly for welfare reasons.I am told that they taste delicious....

 

[Bossroo]

In the real world.... I venture to say that you haven't been around many range sheep. When they start to loose their teeth at 5-6 years of age ( they are then called broken mouth sheep) most , if not all, will loose condition REALLY FAST and be walking skeletons then die from starvation. Life ends shortly thereafter from malnutrition or predation from cougars, coyotes and now increasingly by WOLVES. Therefore they are sold at auction as canners and end up in soups,stews, dog food, etc. before they starve to death. What is better a slow death by starvation , being ripped apart by predators or a quick death at the slaughter house ? As for the pampered pets like yours, a few may live to 15-16 years if they can gum soft foodstuffs, but many will check out over the rainbow bridge years before that. And YES, THEY TASTE DELICIOUS when prepared and served properly !!! You raise pets and I have only raised thousands of working farm / range sheep, so what do I know.

 

[Sheepshape]

No wolves,cougars or coyotes over here. My sheep (flock averaging about 100) are largely tough hill sheep (Beulah Speckled Face)who live on our rather poor fields (1,000 ft above sea level) and maintain a good body condition on the poor pasture. My neighbour has 1,000 of the breed hefted to the mountains behind us which only ever come down for drenching and lambing ....they do very well......but no large predators.
We have our share of 'brokers',too, but it doesn't seem to affect their nutritional status as young as 5-6. My oldest ewe (aged about 12) has a pretty 'broken mouth', but still manages to have body condition score 5 having produced 26 lambs in her long life (with triplets this year).
Having been to a slaughter house, the stunning process does NOT always work optimally and not all animals are oblivious to having their throats cut.
With 100 sheep, a large flock of chickens, dogs, cats, a scattered family and 40 acres to maintain, I don't have the time treat them all as pampered pets even if I want to.
NO I don't run an ovine mega farm....but this is BACK YARD Herds.

 

[BrownSheep]

Just to clear something up. Wool breeds aren't mutton any sheep over a year in age is considered mutton regardless of breed. We tend to butcher ours at a little over a year. We raise rambouillets and they always turn out tender with a very delicate taste. I have found that overtly fat animals tend to have a bit more taste to them but I don't mind that. I would suspect that's what you got with the burger. Lamb burger tends to be just scraps with quite a bit of fat thrown in. Our butcher offers it as stew meat or as burger. Wait off yea- ing or neigh-ing lamb until you can try a quality cut. Just wait till you try your first grilled lamb chop!

@Sheepshape I think Bossroo just meant the management style for range animals contributes to them being broken mouthed earlier. They tend to travel hundreds if not thousands of miles per summer across desserts and mountains typically eating sage brush and less than premium grasses. Lets also not forget even the same breeds between the US and the UK vary quite a bit. Have you ever compared a UK suffolk to a US one? It's hilarious! As for being vegetarian it is understandable and something everybody should at least consider. I've seen our animals butchered and I know their pain is minimal, but I know that isn't the case for every animal.

 

[alsea1]

American Black Belly sheep are great. Not strong flavored at all.
We butchered a ram that was around seven years old. Full rut.
The only problem with the meat was there was not enough of it. LOL
We are looking forward to butchering more of them.