Thanks For Mutton

February 4, 2006 11:19 AM

Thanks For Mutton.Prince Charles, at a dinner for the Mutton Renaissance Club, pushed for a revival of the meat that has tragically "fallen out of favour over the years". Amongst other things, he noted that "links in the mutton supply chain needed to be strengthened." But first, mutton needs a makeover.
posted by FlunkedFlank (31 comments total)

So if he likes sheep so much why did he marry a horse?
posted by LarryC at 11:32 AM on February 4, 2006

I reckon that British lard is no longer good enough for His Bleedin' Lordship.
posted by Rothko at 11:33 AM on February 4, 2006

Although only tangentially related to the link, I'll take this opportunity to say that Charles is far, far too politically vocal to be an acceptable 21st century monarch, and with any luck will cause a republic.
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome at 11:38 AM on February 4, 2006

Lizzie Borden took her ax etc, supposedly because she was angry at her father who insisted that they eat all of the mutton stew even though it tasted rancid.

Mutton is kind of born rancid as far as I can tell.
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:38 AM on February 4, 2006

The world would end up a far better place if people ate each other rather than cute fuzzy animals.
posted by Shane at 11:42 AM on February 4, 2006

ELAINE: ... My cousin Holly is completely insane. She keeps calling and accusing me of stealing her napkins.
GEORGE: Napkins?
ELAINE: I mean, why? Why would I take her stupid napkins.
JERRY: Because they were in the pockets of my jacket.
ELAINE: They were?
JERRY: Yes. I was using them to spit out the mutton.
ELAINE: Spit it out? I had dogs chasing me for that mutton. I was almost mauled because of that mutton.
GEORGE: What exactly is mutton?
posted by madamjujujive at 11:45 AM on February 4, 2006

In the US we eat mutton all the time. Only it's labelled "lamb". Very old lamb.
posted by Nelson at 11:55 AM on February 4, 2006

Obviously nobody here has ever had the mutton chop at Keens. Yum.
posted by pnh at 12:22 PM on February 4, 2006

Came the dawn!

Mutton has so much more flavour than beef. The suppression of mutton is surely some sort of Texan Republican plot. Even the word mutton has a satisfying double-syllable Saxon heft to it that mere beef lacks.

(And lamb, besides being too cute to kill and eat, doesn't taste as good as honest-to-god mutton.)
posted by phliar at 12:28 PM on February 4, 2006

The world would end up a far better place if people ate each other rather than cute fuzzy animals.

Harvesting plants for food is still murder.

This has been a public service message from the metals recycling industry.
posted by Smart Dalek at 12:37 PM on February 4, 2006

I'll take this opportunity to say that Charles is far, far too politically vocal to be an acceptable 21st century monarch, and with any luck will cause a republic.

I'll take this opportunity to note that if your royals are reduced to being agricultural industry spokespersons, maybe you need one already. ;-)
posted by dhartung at 12:41 PM on February 4, 2006

phliar: mouton and boeuf are equally distant from having Saxon roots!
That aside, this is one of Charlie's rants that I can get wholly behind. Good mutton is a tasty delight.
posted by nowonmai at 12:42 PM on February 4, 2006

There's nothing like a good M-L-T; mutton, lettuce and tomato, with the mutton sliced very thin...mmmm...smack-smack
posted by briank at 12:49 PM on February 4, 2006

Mutton has so much more flavour than beef...
True. But so does rancid Chihuahua.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 12:53 PM on February 4, 2006

Mutton is a wonderful meat, but most people have no idea how to cook it properly.
The problem is it takes over an hour - in today's - 3 minute microwave - I want it now society it's no wonder muttons fallen out of favour. Worth the wait though.
posted by Lanark at 12:58 PM on February 4, 2006

Yeah, lambs are too cute to eat, until the mutton starts
buttin' when your back is turned. Then you can't wait to
slaughter'em. In uncastrated male lambs, that happens
at about 5 months age.
posted by the Real Dan at 1:02 PM on February 4, 2006

This is old news. Prince Charles first made an appeal for mutton in 2004.
posted by furtive at 1:12 PM on February 4, 2006

Doh, only after I submit did I think of the what's old is ewe again pun!
posted by furtive at 1:13 PM on February 4, 2006

I agree. Mutton tastes pretty good.
posted by caddis at 1:50 PM on February 4, 2006

The only time I ate mutton was with couscous at a low end restaurant, and I found the flavor disgusting. But then others there were gobbling it up.

So for me, it joins liver on the list of foods that make me gag.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 4:24 PM on February 4, 2006

Good mutton is a tasty delight

Yeah, but bad mutton is a frigging jaw breaker. I bought a leg of "lamb" last week at my local market - OK, an open market in Budapest, but they usually have decent meat and lamb is not all that common here in the city - and damn, it was a cice looking cut that was sold as "lamb". Suspiciously cheap, though. It turned out to be one of the worst cuts of tough and gritty meat I have ever cooked, even though I had marinated it overnight! It was some damn old dwarf retired sheep.

That said, nothing better than chile made with even half decent mutton, but a less than nine month old goat is about as good as meat gets. Fresh young goat is the world's best meat. Absolutely. I have a couple of goats slaughtered for me every year for the skins (bagpipes, you know...) but get the meat as a bonus. After nine months old the skins are too big for bagpipes and the meat is useless - there ain't nothing that can get rid of the goat stink.
posted by zaelic at 4:27 PM on February 4, 2006

but a less than nine month old goat is about as good as meat gets

I often used to eat the Curried Goat at the old Somali Social Club when it was on Upper Parliament Street here in Liverpool, but I was very disappointed to later learn that 99 times out of 100, a menu that claims to be goat in the UK will actually be mutton instead.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:13 PM on February 4, 2006

The one English dish I miss is roast lamb with mint sauce.

Good lamb can be very flavorful, but there's nothing as tough, fatty, and gamy as sub-par lamb.

Most Persian dishes that contain red meat were traditionally made with lamb, but now they're made with beef for the most part. My dad says the best meat he ever tasted was a lamb sandwich he ate in Iran decades ago, which was made with mutton from the fetus of a slain pregnant sheep. But the guilt (much more palpable than the guilt caused by eating veal) he felt ensured he never ate it again.
posted by Devils Slide at 8:06 PM on February 4, 2006

Oh gosh, this is bad idea.
posted by R. Mutt at 8:37 PM on February 4, 2006

I don't know if mutton is any different than lamb, flavor-wise, but to me, lamb has a distinctive, weird flavor. I've had it in England many times, and mixed in gyro sandwiches in the US. You just can't compare it (or disguise it as) to beef or pork.
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:51 PM on February 4, 2006

Is Mutton like Liver?
I find that even the smell of either of them cooking makes me gag.

Does everybody that likes to eat mutton also enjoy liver?

Lamb, to me is very gamey but delicious.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:32 PM on February 4, 2006

Venison has been rechristened cervena and kangaroo may yet become Australus*, so perhaps the less-than-euphonious "mutton" simply needs a new name. Is curlicewe on the menu?
*Though how they could deny the prize to MOM (meat of marsupials) is beyond me.
posted by rob511 at 12:34 AM on February 5, 2006

I like mutton. I like lamb. I also like liver, but now I understand it isn't good for me.

Tonights menu: seasoned roasted rack of lamb. With brocoli and couscous. Yum! Lamb is fabulously cheap here in South Africa.
posted by Goofyy at 12:50 AM on February 5, 2006

I like mutton, and hate beef liver. Foie gras, pate and chopped liver are a different story. mmmmmm
posted by caddis at 6:30 AM on February 5, 2006

That aint lamb in that Rogan Josht you know.
posted by johnny7 at 12:50 PM on February 5, 2006

Briank misquoted "There's nothing like a good M-L-T; mutton, lettuce and tomato, with the mutton sliced very thin...mmmm...smack-smack'

No, it's "True Love is the greatest thing in the world, except for a nice MLT - mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, when the mutton is nice and lean, and the tomato is ripe. "

For misquoting the Princess Bride, you're stripped of your Geek Reference membership for 2 weeks. No Buckaroo Banzai quotes, no Monty Python quips and don't even think of referencing Ice Pirates, Big Lebowski or Brazil. A fortnight of Seinfieldisms from rote and jokes you heard on Friends to get a laugh, may what ever God you believe in have mercy on your soul.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:27 PM on February 6, 2006