I recently bought Ontario and New Zealand lamb for stews and chops. Neither had any real flavour. Ontario lamb has always been a bit on the bland side, but New Zealand has, in the past, produced very flavourful meat. What’s up? I’m going to search for some Australian lamb soon in the hope that it will taste like, maybe, lamb.
I don’t know where you live & whether you have access to any lamb shares through local farms. We’ve had a 1/2 lamb share for the last 3-4 years or so, and we’ve found it to be more flavorful than any supermarket lamb.
That said, I’ve never found lamb as flavorful as in most of Southern / SE Europe.
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I think you might like an older Ontario lamb.
Some lamb I’ve bought from farmers at farmers’ markets in southwestern Ontario has been slightly gamier than good quality independent grocery store Ontario lamb.
The lamb Sanagan’s Meatlocker in Toronto sells is raised by Forsyth Farms in Owen Sound. I like it, but I suspect you will find it bland.
I have had bad experiences with NZ and Australian lamb in Canada. I have also has a bad experience with Albertan lamb purchased at Farm Boy.
I only buy Ontario lamb.
American producers are breeding out the gaminess from lamb to reach more buyers. Many people have an aversion to lamb and/or a bad or weird experience as cooking lamb can be tricky.
On a similar note, after Bill Niman sold Niman Ranch, he went to raising goats…and decide to breed the gaminess out of his goats…to be more neutral. I guess he was going for the “pork the other white meat” kind of spin. My reaction is sorta meh…does every animal protein in the US have to taste like a chicken breast? I hope not but I’d bet consumer research says so.
This might the same deal with lamb, especially after beef prices have risen. As mentioned, American lamb producers are in fact breeding the gaminess out ( web search and google AI says so) but not sure about New Zealand or Australia…but if they want a chunk of the US and North American market, this might be the case.
If you want old school lamb, maybe visit a Halal butcher.
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In similar vein, I only buy UK lamb, although the supermarkets are generally packed with New Zealand lamb. Part of that is about supporting local farmers and not having my meat shipped halfway round the world. The other part is I reckon I get much more flavoursome meat. Currently, I buy beef and lamb online from a butcher across the border into North Wales, who sells the meat raised on the family farm
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Some of the frozen NZ lamb and frozen Australian lamb I’ve purchased has had a rancid taste in the fat. This is probably due to the product not moving fast enough, being kept in the freezer too long. I seem to also remember some off-putting stories about the processing of NZ lamb for the international market.
A lot of cheaper Greek, Indian, and Middle Eastern restaurants use the cheaper imported frozen lamb, understandably. I can pick up on the taste.
We really enjoy the local lamb when we visit the UK and Ireland.
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I’m glad we’re having this conversation. I loved lamb in the UK, and had it often in all kinds of ways. Had the perfect Lamb Chop cooking method, ate a lot of lamb at Curry houses, samosas, lamb shanks, lamb tagine, etc. I’ve had lamb here in Toronto two or three times and after that I didn’t want to bother anymore. Barely any flavour even when I was paying a high price. Will check out some of the suggestions here but I have to say I’m skeptical.
I describe British lamb as ‘floral’ and also ‘astringent’, hence I prefer goat which for me is more ‘buttery’.
Hiya, Jan. Hope all is well with you “over there”. I reckon lamb is the meat we eat most often at home. It lends itself to so many styles that we like to cook - British and other European cuisines, Middle Eastern, South Asian, etc. Just so versatile.
That’s the thing. I’m paying around $20 CAD/ lb for leg of lamb, $30 CAD /lb for chops, $35 CAD/ lb for rack, when pork chops cost $5 CAD/ lb. Ontario lamb is an expensive meat for Canadians.
I suspect that some people like the flavour of imported frozen NZ lamb because that’s what they’re used to and what they look for.
There are different types of stronger flavour in lamb. Some are stronger as in closer to mutton. Spring lamb, in my mind, should have a sweet mild flavour, like sweet salt marsh lamb from Wales.
I think some people like and look for lamb that is closer to being identified as mutton.
I’d be one. I don’t know if you have meat designated as “hogget” in Canada but it’s the one I look out for. In the UK, “lamb” is under 12 months old, “hogget” is 12 - 24 months and “mutton” 24+ months. It’s rare to come across it - never in supermarkets and most likely to find it in farmers markets and, from time to time, from online sources. I like the full flavour of mutton but don’t find it lends itself that well to quick cooking, such as chops/leg steaks/etc. Hogget makes a good “inbetween” product, particularly when it comes from a flavoursome breed of sheep like the northwest’s Herdwick which gets its exercise running up and down the Lake District’s hills. https://yewtree-farm.com/heritage-meats/
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I much prefer the more lamb-y lamb served at Greek & Turkish places in Germany, and don’t quite understand the point of making lamb taste like beef, or less like lamb.
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Big J and I were talking about this last night. I believe that what I am looking for is hogget (thank you @Harters ). Not as tender as lamb, but more tender than mutton, with a more pronounced flavour than lamb. The problem will be to find a source.
It’s interesting to see that there are more people who feel the flavour is being compromised to serve the bland market. That’s really sad. I’d love to try lamb in some of the countries where there are a lot of wild herbs included in the sheep’s grazing. I bet it tastes just fantastic.
On the other hand, I’m going to buy some goat. I haven’t had that in many years and remember really liking it. Hopefully the blandies haven’t influenced the taste of goat, as well.
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I bought some lamb that was gamier than usual from a farmer a few weeks ago. It was frozen. He has a freezer attached to a generator at the market, as does my pork source.
He just called it lamb, but I suspect it was closer to Hogget. Next time I visit that farmers’ market, I’ll write down the name of his farm for you.
I don’t really identify as a Blandie. LOL.
I have had good curry goat at the Mr Jerk jerk spot location at the Peanut Plaza, delicious roast goat on a spit made by a Greek restaurant on Pape for a catered 40th birthday 20 years ago, bland goat stew at Pantheon on Danforth (bland because the stew wasn’t seasoned enough. It was a daily special), and horrible goat curry at an Indian restaurant on King W.
I haven’t been seeking out goat for home cooking.
I wonder if it isn’t a newer breed. I have a kid I teach who lives on a lamb producing farm. The pitch for this stuff is that this breed and feed produce less “gamey” tasting lamb than others produce. They want like $9 a chop. Cray cray, I say. My mom was coming to town and I only had a few chops left from the 1/2 lamb I bought 8 months ago. I tried one chop from tha fancy farm and it was miles behind the boring 1/2 I bought from a kid who just said: "I hear you like lamb. I raise real good ones. " She was right. Just real good lamb. I want that smell and deeper flavor.
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A local farm recently posted about their lamb, and the option to get older lambs for more flavor. Will have to look into that one our share is gone.
Buy Halal lamb and/or source your lamb from ethnic grocery stores.
Or just buy mutton, which is uber “lamby,” but hard to find (at least in most major grocery stores in the US)
In the US, unfortunately, most lamb sold commercially is young and grain-finished, often from breeds like Dorset or Suffolk. These produce mild, tender meat without of any of that characteristic “lamby” flavor we want from our lamb, but which hoi polloi find desirable.
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Some of the halal butchers in southwestern Ontario and in Alberta have been having some issues with following public health rules and guidelines, unfortunately.
@jammy, the following article talks a bit about carcass size and the flavour the customers prefer or are seeking. Maybe halal lamb is the best way for you to find the flavour you are seeking.
https://farmtario.com/livestock/halal-market-increases-demand-for-ontario-lamb/
I understand Parkhill Meats is a reputable shop. If you travel to Essex County this summer, you could fit a stop in Parkhill (near London) into your trip.
That said, there are some better quality halal butcher shops closer to Toronto. I haven’t tried any personally.
Caveat emptor/ Buyer Beware.
This goes for all butcher shops of course, halal, kosher, or conventional garden variety.
A good friend is a restaurant inspector for the City of Toronto. Sometimes some butcher shops in various enclaves thought they could get around rules. In once instance, not a halal shop, a shop keeper tried to tell her that a frozen creature that looked like a snake was in fact a fish, because someone had written fish on the label. It was a snake. LOL. Lots of challenges for our food inspectors.
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I buy my local Ontario lamb from farmers such as Still Meadow, from small-town butchers such as McIntosh Farms in Listowel, and from Sanagan’s in Toronto which sources lamb in Owen Sound. I also would buy lamb from a few Greek-run and Italian-run butcher shops in Toronto.
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I look at any meat before buying it, to check the colour. If it looks like it’s turning brown, I won’t buy it.
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I also won’t buy vacuum packed lamb that’s processed and packed in Alberta anymore. That’s the type of Canadian lamb that is sold by some grocery store chains in Ontario. I have had a bad experience with that.
Still Meadow Farm near Thamesford between Woodstock and London is the name of the farm where I bought some lamb that was a bit gamier than what I purchase at Sanagan’s in Toronto.
Thank you for the link.
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