Eating sheep!!

[bcnewe2]

I sell to a Bosnian market. They process right here on the farm. What they have taught me is that ewes carry way more fat around the belly compared to rams lambs. Wethering a ram makes them carry more fat too. They prefer grass fed with little grain. That's about how I raise mine. Only get grain when there is nothing for them to graze on in pasture.
We butcher anything between 3 months and 2yrs old. We raise hair sheep. the 2 year olds do not have a mutton taste. But could be because they are hair sheep with less lanolin which is what I was told causes the mutton taste.

 

[norseofcourse]

Interesting thread. I'm working on 'making the leap' to eating my sheep (and/or letting someone else eat them). With probably 5 lambs expected this spring, I'll have to be able to go through with it soon, or never breed anything again...

I have some challenges to work through. One is, I'm not even sure I like lamb
I've had it twice in my life, once as a roast that I only remember was too dry, so I didn't really taste it; the other time it was cooked and shredded and served on a bun, and it actually tasted pretty good, once I could put the images of my own little baby lambs out of my head...

With the state of the food animal industry in this country, though, I see the advantages of home raised meat. So maybe y'all can help me. I am a meat eater - I love a good thick steak (rare), roast or hamburger. Sausage, pork roast, pork chops, pork ribs, yum! Beef ribs - yuck, and I'm not much for flank steak, shank or prime rib (too fatty). So - what cuts of lamb am I most likely to like? What parts should I just have them turn into lamburger?

This thread is also interesting because my sheep are Icelandics, and they don't have as much lanolin as many other wool breeds - so maybe that is part of the reason they are said to taste milder? I have a wether who's not quite a year old, and I'm considering letting him graze most of the summer and processing him when he's just under 18 months old. Challenge one is, can I actually take him? And challenge two is, can I eat him? (I saw him born, my first). If I can't eat him, believe me I have people lined up who want to! LOL

 

[alsea1]

We cut ours up like you would a deer. Trimmed the fat and all.

 

[norseofcourse]

We cut ours up like you would a deer. Trimmed the fat and all.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about cutting up or eating deer, either

I saw that you got about 18 pounds of meat off your ram - that seems low, but I'm still learning, so maybe there's things I don't realize... is it because of his breed, or because he was a ram, or because you deboned or only kept the best parts? Thanks!

 

[Roving Jacobs]

I got about 35-40 lbs off of my 18 month old jacob and most of it was deboned except chops and legs, just for reference. Someone I know who does their jacobs at around 7-9 months usually gets 20-25 lbs finished cuts. The more primitive breeds just don't have a ton of meat on them, especially as youngsters.

I thought I was going to feel really bad about sending my first boys off to freezer camp but are so much more useful sitting in my freezer (and the freezers of my customers) than loafing around the pasture causing trouble. There have been a number of times this winter where I have been thankful that I didn't have 5 extra mouths to feed and take up space in the shelter. Plus it feels good knowing exactly what went in to the meat I am eating and that they had happy lives right up to the end.

 

[alsea1]

We kept no bones, trimmed all fat. We only weighed out what went into freezer as people food I think. We cooked the trimmings up for the dog.
The primitive sheep are smaller than the dorpers or katahdins for sure.
We utilized as much of the carcass as we could.

 

[bonbean01]

Being there when they are born, loving on them, enjoying them...then they get older and ours are hair/meat sheep. Was it easy taking them to a processor? No...I cried the first time, cried every after too, even after all these years. When we pick them up frozen and put them in the freezer, more tears are shed...I put a towel over that part of the freezer and can't look at it for a little while. Then I'm okay with it...we love lamb meat...we know they had the best lives possible and if we don't eat any or sell any for meat...that means no more baby lambs, and no more sheep. I love being a sheep owner...lambing time is my fav part of the year. Will it get easier? Probably not...could I live with no more sheep ever???? NO!!! So...however you reconcile it in your own head and heart, I wish you nothing but the best in your adventure. These are awesome animals...enjoy them, and know that they had good lives, and you are feeding your family "clean" meat.

 

[Parsnip]

We had our wether lamb butchered a while ago and my parents made stew from some chopped up shoulder steak.
He was mostly Dorper with a bit of Romney.
Apparently he was incredibly tasty. I was too disturbed by seeing Jimmy in the stew pot, so I passed on trying it lol
Smelled amazing.
We have some of the bones for soup, and we got his heart and liver as well.
Has anyone here ever had lamb liver or heart?
We also have pig and beef heart in the freezer, all raised by us
( can you tell my father loves to cook up heart?)
Gosh, we got the chance to have elk heart once, given to us by a friend who had gone hunting...
My dad stuffed it and baked it (SO GOOD)

But lamb and pig hearts are considerably smaller haha
I was actually surprised at how small the wether lamb's heart was.

 

[greenmulberry]

I have had lamb liver, from a local grassfed lamb. I bought it because I was trying to learn to like liver. It was less liver-y than beef liver, but I am just not a liver person and did not care for it.

 

[geniebell]

Our very first lamb was born on 4/17. It's a ram lamb, so he will be going to freezer camp. My sheep are Dorpers. I look forward to trying lamb...we bought Dorpers because, like many have said, the meat is supposed to be milder. Have NO idea what cuts to get. And lamburger? We eat a lot of hamburger, so I am wayyy curious how the lamburger will taste!