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The Pandemic Made Lamb More Popular in America
- ardit33 6y agoNice... lamb is very tasty, and it is one of the animals that is better raised in pasture, even in hilly terrain. Goats are the same as well. The best lamb if I have had was one raised in mountainous pasture in Albania where wild tea and wild oregano is raised.
- TaylorAlexander 6y agoNot that I want to really get in to this, but I hope people know that “lamb” is just a baby sheep. Sheep normally live to be like ~8 years old, but lamb is a sheep that is less than 1 year old. Even if they are raised in nice conditions, their lives are cut quite short.
- smabie 6y agoIn the US it's pretty hard to find mutton, I don't think I've ever seen it served at a restaurant or grocery store. But then again, I think everyone agrees that lamb tastes way better than mutton.
- phonon 6y agohttps://ny.eater.com/2015/1/30/7948527/the-mutton-chop-at-keens-is-a-new-york-city-classic#0 https://ny.eater.com/2015/1/30/7948527/the-mutton-chop-at-ke...
- prpl 6y agoI grew up near the Navajo reservation and it was easy to find mutton there, probably one of the few places that is true. Mutton stew is the common dish, but I have had mutton navajo tacos and other things once upon a time, but I can’t particularly remember the taste.
- UnpossibleJim 6y agoA lot of mutton tends to go in the stew pot or the grind with spice, except for a few cuts. There are chops (which I like), and the rib eye (the rack, as it were). Typically, what you would think of as the premium cuts on a beef steer are kept on mutton, and the rest is cut for the grind or stew cuts, as far as I know. I like mutton, but I also like goat. I don't mind gamier meat flavors, though and was raised hunting so there's that.
- prpl 6y agoYeah I don’t mind gamy meats, I have had kudu, gemsbok, springbok, javalina, elk, ostrich, venison (many times) etc... The mutton near the reservation often lived fairly long lives, so I wouldn’t terribly be surprised if stew was common for even the desirable cuts.
- NoNotTheDuo 6y agoMutton is a staple at Gates BBQ restaurants in KC: https://gatesbbq.com/menu/ https://gatesbbq.com/menu/
- gautamdivgi 6y agoGoat is available. I usually get it from https://www.shepherdsongfarm.com https://www.shepherdsongfarm.com They sell pasture raised lamb as well and ship to you. I’m not associated with them, just a happy customer.
- ardit33 6y agoYep, I absolutely know this, and their meat is tastier when less than 1 year old. This is especially true with goats (their meat gets gammier as they get older). Also, young piglet whole section is one of the best thing I have ever had. (pigs get fatier as they age) I do understand that for some folks in western countries this amounts to somme kind cruelty, in poorer countries, that raise living creatures in the open, this is a necessety. A farm that is pasture raising, might not have enough grass for every lamb to go be grown in the winter.
- TaylorAlexander 6y agoI have no judgement for people in poorer countries. They gotta do what works for them and I support that. In the USA where I live, animal agriculture is grotesque and torturous, so I don’t eat any animal products. I actually work at a small rural farm which produces plenty of eggs, but even there the chickens are treated as things which produce money more than living creatures. It all seems cruel and unnecessary to me. It sounds like eating lamb has a material basis in poorer countries (potential lack of food), but in places like the US that is not the case. It is done solely as a “tasty” food product.
- ardit33 6y agoI live in the USA dude... you can chose pasture raised animals here as well. During the early days of the pandemic my sister bought a whole lamb, and 5 pasture raised chickens from a family farm in Massachusetts so our family didn't have to risk going to the grocery store often and risk exposure (my parents are in their mid-ate 70s). Nothing wrong with eating pasture raised animals from a local family farms. It can be pricier, but if you can afford it, go for it. Since they forage grass (which captures carbon), they tend to be almost carbon neutral. Your vegan soy beans are probably raised and processed with some intense farming method, using lots of fuel, and are probably more damaging to the environment. Things like vegetarian meat substitute (like beyond meat), are worse to the environment than grass fed/pasture raised animals from small farms. Also, things like 'almond milk', are very intense users of water, which has become very scarce in central California. BTW, this is what pastures in Albania look like. 100% natural http://abroadcooks.blogspot.com/2017/01/albania-tave-kosi.html http://abroadcooks.blogspot.com/2017/01/albania-tave-kosi.ht...
- riku_iki 6y agoIt is probably true about most of the farmed meat.
- bradbeattie 6y agoA quick image search for "farmed animal lifespans" (https://www.google.com/search?q=farmed+animal+lifespans&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=farmed+animal+lifespans&tbm=...) certainly points in that direction.
- standardUser 6y agoAt what age are goats usually slaughtered? Lamb is delicious, but I've had goat that I consider roughly as good as lamb when it's in a flavorful dish.
- uxcolumbo 6y agoNot sure why you're being down voted. Eating meat for survival - if there are no other options - sure - gotta do what you can to survive. Eating meat for taste pleasure - is it really justified that millions of sentient beings have to suffer horribly and in addition to this the environmental damage and the horrible working conditions for fellow humans in factory farms created by our demand for meat. We generally consider babies as innocent... the idea of killing babies of other species just so we can derive some sensory pleasure from it is frankly barbaric[0](yes go ahead down vote me to oblivion) - but from an ethical standpoint - how can we place our pleasure above the lives of other non-human animals and biosphere health? Future humans will agree: https://youtu.be/sS7NRtEJBcA?t=28 https://youtu.be/sS7NRtEJBcA?t=28 Damian Mander - founder of International Anti-Poaching Foundation put it best: https://youtu.be/BUMGBwgGYWw?t=100 https://youtu.be/BUMGBwgGYWw?t=100 [0] Barbaric as in non-civilized as explored in this video: Richard Dawkins: No Civilized Person Accepts Slavery So Why Do We Accept Animal Cruelty? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4SnBCPzBl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4SnBCPzBl0
- TaylorAlexander 6y agoThank you for the support. Yes my comment you are responding to is a flat factual statement. Since becoming vegan I have learned that I had built up a lot of cognitive dissonance around animal agriculture and I believe most (but not all) meat eaters in the USA carry that dissonance. It can be upsetting for cognitive dissonance to be activated and I believe that’s why people downvote things like this. I certainly wasn’t rude, short, inflammatory, accusatory or judging. I will check out those links thank you!
- smabie 6y agoI love lamb but absolutely hate goat. I've eaten a lot of goat (unfortunately) as I used to live in Africa and when traveling, it was often the only meat around (like in small villages). It has this weird greasy and sickening smell.
- h2odragon 6y agoYou might find the taste different other places; in the USA if you find goat meat it's likely been raised on sweet feed and corn and sheltered from things that might spoil the flavor. That often makes more difference than the breed; tho we run different breeds for meat here too and that also has an impact.
- godelski 6y agoUnfortunately lamb has higher emissions than eating beef[0]. [0] https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/climate-and-environmental-impacts/ https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-c...
- SunlightEdge 6y agoLamb curry is the best. Plus who can't love a tasty lamb chop? Oh and Shepherd's pie... It's always been my favourite meat. But then I'm a Brit.
- LordAtlas 6y agoHere in India, you're usually getting goat, even if the menu says "lamb".
- SunlightEdge 6y agoHah. I like that.
- vmilner 6y agoYes, one of the surprising things I realised when first making regular US trips from the UK was that lamb was a comparatively exotic meat there.
- h2odragon 6y agoThere's lots of people moving to the country and setting up hobby farms. It's spring and everyone selling lambs and kids; prices usually dip but this year they're running 2x to 4x usual. Lots of people who are telling themselves there's a business opportunity are going to run into a wall when it comes to the processing part; can't just do that yourself and slaughterhouses are black magic balls of red tape.
- hirundo 6y agoI just got back from grocery shopping where I bought a lamb leg roast, haven't had one before. I plan to cook it sous vide at 133°F for 36 hours. Too much? A beef shank benefits from even more. I did that to some lamb ribs not long ago and they were most excellent. Nothing added but salt. I've been trying to source a whole lamb for the freezer, to keep the cow in there company. I guess the pandemic is why it's been hard to find.
- jessaustin 6y agoI haven't cooked lamb sous vide, but I'd be amazed if a "leg roast" needs so much time. Won't it end up sort of mushy?
- hirundo 6y agoWhen I do that to beef it isn't mushy, but fork-tender. With shank or ribs, the flavor is still intense. Guess I'll find out if the same is true for a lamb leg. Beef comes out of the water bath pale and unappetizing, but crisps up nicely in the air fryer.
- GoMonad 6y agoI think that depends on the cut of beef. 36h is great for brisket or short rib. But 36h would be bad for fillet mignon.
- prpl 6y agoLeg of lamb is not tough generally, I personally would cut that down to no more than 18 hours if it is bone-in and probably like 8-10 hours if boneless, depending on size. Edit: A few websites suggest something between 5-8 for boneless.
- bullfightonmars 6y agoLeg of lamb is a pretty tender cut of meat closer to steak or ribeye in my experience. Recently I roasted a leg of lamb for maybe 2.5 hours until the core temp was 135. It was a perfect medium rare in the thickest parts. I suspect you should target something like 2-6 hours. Kenji has a chart you can follow for cook times on Serious Eats. https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/10/sous-vide-leg-of-lamb-mint-cumin-black-mustard-recipe.html https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/10/sous-vide-leg-of...
- dehrmann 6y agoAs a vegetarian, I've sort of forgotten this, but wow, meat is expensive. Except for chicken.
- patrickaljord 6y agoCarbs are cheap, easier to store, package and sell. Part of the reason they are pushing hard on veganism. When refined it's empty calorie though so it ends up more expensive per nutrient in this case. Non-refined carbs are more expensive but still less nutrient dense than meat and you need b12 supplements. Nothing's perfect.
- woile 6y agoMeat is also supplemented with B12, same as many vegetarian meals. And with a balanced diet (greens + legumes + seeds) you won't have any problems with nutrients. The problems arise when people is monochoice ( only meat, only lettuce, etc)
- dehrmann 6y ago> Carbs are cheap, easier to store, package and sell Not just carbs, but legumes are about half carbs, half protein, and meet all of those. They take some prep, though. Nuts are more expensive and only store for 6 months to a year, but they're easy to store, package, and sell.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> Not just carbs, but legumes are about half carbs, half protein, Counting only net carbs (so, not counting fiber) legumes are about 2:1 carb to protein.
- jeffreyrogers 6y agoI like lamb, but it is harder to cook well than steak or chicken. I know lots of ways to prepare steak and chicken that taste good, but I've been less successful with lamb.