Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
21
Just love it.
In the UK, “lamb” usually refers to an animal under one year old. Hogget (which is hard to find), is one to two years and mutton is anything over two years. I would always buy hogget as & when I can find it as you get a much fuller flavour than lamb (which, if you’re not careful about source can be quite bland), but is still versatile in its use, whereas I’d really only use mutton for long cooked casserole dishes. Mutton chops would be tricky (and I’ve not had success cooking them). There’s a basis for the British expression “mutton dressed as lamb” - https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/mutton-dressed-as-lamb.html
There’s a farmer at my local farmers market who sells it. We were there this morning but only bought lamb chops and lamb neck fillet. The latter is for a Lancashire Hotpot which we might well have used mutton for but they only had roasting joints.
Figures Harters likes mutton. I do like the “mutton” chop at Keens as it is lamb. But actual mutton is just way too strong for my taste. The smell is even a bit much for me. I also can’t abide truffles. Just too much taste and smell. Like old musty moldy socks to me.
Then I suppose lobster with truffles would essentially be the epitome of an otiose dish?
By the way, I agree with you wholeheartedly on both the lobster and truffles.
That said, every once in a while I will crave an egg salad sandwich with some shaved white truffles on sliced Japanese milk bread, but only then, and never any other time.
I like lobster very much but have given up on buying lobster rolls. Lobster meat may have been frozen or contains only claws and knuckle meat. Or worse, picked days earlier. So, the only lobsters I eat are the ones I cook at home. Hard shells from a lobster pound only. Harters- don’t bother trying lobster again. You don’t care for it- and neither do some of my family members.
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
35
I had to Google. Although we have a number of native crabs, the one offered for eating is the brown crab (cancer pagurus). I’ve no idea whether the other natives are regularly eaten (doubtful as several are very tiny beasts).
Looked at Hawksmoor website, and it struck us odd that the New York branch boasts about serving American beef. In contrast, the big name American steakhouse Smith & Wollensky London outpost trumpeted prime American beef.
