The Dorset is lighter, with a clean, floral finish. The Navajo-Churro lamb is remarkably tender - even the braising cuts can be grilled. The Tunis is earthy with notes of buttermilk. Ben especially loves the Horned Dorset, “because both males and females grow horns!” Amazingly the taste and flavor of all three breeds becomes more subtle and mild as the animal ages on the hoof. The Dorset Horn is very moist and mild flavored. He remembers the Navajo Churro as being a bit drier but still delicious and succulent. Many of their local restaurant customers have taken a beating with recent global events, but sunny days on grassy pastures look to be in the future, which is good news for chefs and lovers of lamb! Ben and Grace have increased production on Hogget (1-2 year old sheep) and mutton (2+ year old sheep) on their farm because of increased demand.Īccording to Ben, the Tunis breed is lean but has the richest taste of all.
Today with a fifth generation in the mix, there is even more reason to continue their efforts on the farm despite new challenges. Grace came with a background in architecture, site design, landscaping, and gardening, and together they purchased the land and built a barn. In 2006, in Herb’s last days, Ben made the monumental and wonderful decision to dedicate himself to revitalizing the family flock. Years later, Ben's grandfather, Herb, began to work with Dorset Horn sheep for a 4-H project. But for Ben and Grace it’s worth it: Ben’s great-grandfather started a Tunis flock in the 1920s. Heritage breeds are inherently less productive, in general, than the modern breeds. There are incredible challenges to raising heritage breed animals. Ben and Grace have participated in a program with the Swiss Village Foundation and the Smithsonian, who collected eggs and semen from 80 of their animals over a 10-year period to store in cryogenic freezers. Dopers are proving essential to allowing sheep farmers to adapt to climate change in various parts of the world, and it’s the heritage breed in them that allows them to be so resistant and strong. The fastest growing sheep breed worldwide is the hybrid White Dorper and it would not exist if not for the foundational Horned Dorset genetics that were used to create it, the kind currently grown on Tamarack Farm. But Ben and Grace are 100% committed to heritage breeds, both because they have a family tradition that’s almost 100 years old, and because they feel that the genetics are potentially quite important to the future. Most of the more successful commercial breeds of lamb are a mix of quite a few other breeds - hybrid vigor is a really big deal in the industry. Supplements for the lamb include whole grains as opposed to ground or pellet feed. They fertilize the fields and cut them three or four times each year to keep the quality high. They have four old John Deere tractors, and all the equipment to make round bales. In the summer, this means grass growing in the field, in the winter, or for animals that are housed in the barn, this means hay.īen and Grace make all their own hay, managing about 120 acres of hay land.
MODERN MUTTON CHOPS FREE
100% Heritage breeds raised on pasture and 100% antibiotic free.Access to hogget and mutton hardly ever happens! In its second year the meat is called hogget, and when the sheep is older than two years, the meat is called mutton.
Lamb is a seasonal livestock that is available four or five times a year.Ī sheep in its first year is classified as lamb and its meat is also called lamb. Our mutton is sourced from our long time farm partners in Vermont, Tamarack Sheep Farm, where three rare breeds of mutton are raised on pasture - breeds that have been raised there since the 1920s. Each sheep only yields a couple pounds of these special chops. The chop is the most decadent, tender, succulent, rarified, and esteemed cut. These mutton chops are a pure treat, and so easy to prepare: just rub the meat with salt and pepper and perhaps a bit of fresh rosemary. Additional discounts cannot be applied to sale items.
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