#29 Mutton in Onion Ale Broth

When I announced that I was making Mutton in Onion Ale Broth, I got a message from a friend currently attending law school in Oregon. I should mention that she has a major in Sociology with a dual minor in Anthropology and Biology. She has a love of dead languages and philosophers. And so I blinked twice when she asked: "What's a Mutton?"

"I go to the supermarket and see signs for Beef and Pork and Chicken, and Lamb. I don't go to the supermarket and see signs for Mutton..."

This really amused me, coming from someone so educated as she is. But as I was explaining to her that meat from a sheep is called mutton or lamb, much the same way meat from a pig can be ham or pork, I realized that I didn't know why.

Turns out, mutton is meat from an adult sheep, and lamb is meat from a sheep less than one year old.* I did not know that.

A little heavy on the saffron, but delicious.

I used lamb shoulder for this recipe.  I could not find lamb soup bones, but the bony shoulders worked well plus supplied extra meat for this recipe and for the as-yet-to-be-prepared Bowls of Brown.

Were I to make this again, which I may, I will season the whole dish with Rosemary and Sea Salt.


 * Citation