The popularity of mutton has declined over the years and it’s certainly not obvious on any of the butcher shops I have visited in the West of Scotland. Certainly don’t expect to find it the supermarkets but it is easily available at farmers markets and from farm shops and suppliers. There are many reasons for the decline in popularity, including, intensive farming and lifestyle changes over the past 40 to 60 years. But, mutton is regaining it’s well deserved place on the countries dinner tables and to encourage this, a mutton renaissance campaign was launched by HRH Prince of Wales in 2004.
Mutton, for those who don’t know, is meat from a sheep over the age of two years and just like beef is more flavoursome than veal, mutton has a more depth of flavour than spring lamb.
To encourage more people to cook with mutton, I recently teamed up with Soil Association Scotland and Denise Walton of Peelham Farm for a feature in the Daily Record newspaper.
Peelham have been been running their organic farm at Fouldon in Berwickshire for over 25 years and rear free range, pasture grazed, pure bred Llyen and Llyen cross, on the upland coastal pastures. The mutton is dry aged for two weeks and has a unique slightly salty flavour and a succulent texture. Having cooked with mutton shoulder, I was struck by just how tender the meat was after slow cooking.
Succulent and flavoursome lamb shoulder.
The usual cuts are available with mutton and Peelham stock the full range, including, leg, mince, chops and mutton bones, much sought after these days for broths and stocks. Being a lover of cheaper cuts for slow cooking, I chose mutton shoulder and it was ideal for this recipe.
Slow cooked spiced mutton shoulder with ginger and sweet potato.
pic Iain Gillon
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 3 hours |
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This slow cooked mutton is a great dish for sharing. Serve with rice, chapti's and raita in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves.
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- 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 large large onion, finely chopped
- 4 large cloves of garlic cloves - crushed
- 40 g piece of root ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp corriander
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 green chillies, left whole and pricked with the tip of a knife
- 500 g mutton shoulder, diced
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 500 ml lamb or chicken stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 medium, approx 300g sweet potato, cut into large chunks
- Pre heat the oven to 150C/gas mark 2.
- Heat the oil in an oven proof casserole, add the onion and cook gently for 5 minutes until softened. Add the ginger and garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes
- Add the spices and green chillies, mix well and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the diced mutton and brown on all sides, ensuring the meat is well coated with the spice mixture.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, stock and salt. Bring slowly to a simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours. Remove the dish from the oven, stir in the sweet potatoes and cook for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the mutton is tender and the sweet potato is cooked.
- Serve with rice, chapati's and raita.
My thanks to Denise Walton at Peelham Farm for supplying the mutton for this recipe and Soil Association Scotland for assistance. All opinions expressed are my own.