The state of lamb product in the US now is pitifull. It's all imported.
It's fatty and gamey tasting. Lamb chops as we once knew them are no more.
Lamb chops are either pigmy sized hordourves or totally riddled with fat.

WTF are they feeding those lambs down there? Shoulder and legs are almost all fat and
they have a gamey taste when cooked.

I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey tasting.

Can someone tell me wtf is going on?

jdc1 wrote:

The state of lamb product in the US now is pitifull. It's all imported.
It's fatty and gamey tasting. Lamb chops as we once knew them are no more.
Lamb chops are either pigmy sized hordourves or totally riddled with fat.

WTF are they feeding those lambs down there? Shoulder and legs are almost all fat and
they have a gamey taste when cooked.

I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey tasting.

Can someone tell me wtf is going on?

I often buy New Zealand lamb and I don't find it fat and gamy. The only cuts I have had
lately that had a lot of fat was bags of stewing chunks, and they made a fantastic stew.

jdc1 wrote:


I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make
lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey
tasting.

Can someone tell me wtf is going on?

How odd? I get nothing but the nicest NZ lamb when I buy it. Not overly
fatty, and has a great taste too. Those being the little rib or loin chops.
I do have two lambe shoulder slices in the fridge ready to cut up for a
lamb ragout. Maybe tonight is the night? Hmmmmmmmm..?
Try another market perhaps?

jdc1 wrote:
The state of lamb product in the US now is pitifull. It's all imported.
It's fatty and gamey tasting. Lamb chops as we once knew them are no more.
Lamb chops are either pigmy sized hordourves or totally riddled with fat.

WTF are they feeding those lambs down there? Shoulder and legs are almost all fat and
they have a gamey taste when cooked.

I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey tasting.

Since I grew up here in California, I suppose it's not unusual that I
prefer Calif. lamb to that from NZ and Oz. When I've had their lamb it
was tough and muttony tasting. And their exported meat is quite common
in my local markets but we do have a local lamb packer (Superior) so I
do have the choice. I suspect the difference is in the finishing. When
I was working up in the Amador County wine country, I had farm
butchered lamb and was among the best I've eaten. I can't tell you how
they were fed but they were raised in fenced pasture and not open
range. One lamb grower up there used to feed his animals grape pomace
from local wineries but I never had the chance to taste it. :=( I also
had really excellent lamb in Croatia where they butcher it a little
younger than here.

D.M.

jdc1 wrote:
The state of lamb product in the US now is pitifull. It's all imported.
It's fatty and gamey tasting. Lamb chops as we once knew them are no more.
Lamb chops are either pigmy sized hordourves or totally riddled with fat.

WTF are they feeding those lambs down there? Shoulder and legs are almost all fat and
they have a gamey taste when cooked.

I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey tasting.

Can someone tell me wtf is going on?

Fifteen years ago I would have agreed that lamb from the U.S. was
better than that which we got from Australia and New Zealand. I was
told at the time it was not because of different breeds or feed but
simply that U.S. lamb was younger, and the older the animal was the
gamier it got.

Then the stuff from Oz got better and the stuff from the U.S. got
worse, and they ended up about the same, so far as I can tell nowadays.
I still think it's the age of the beast that matters. No doubt the
"organic" movement is working on some way to make it all purer for us.
I just wish they'd butcher the animals younger. -aem

In article .com,
says...
I just wish they'd butcher the animals younger. -aem

I'm not a sheep farmer, but my neighbour is. So I'm kind of observing across
the fence. His ewes were dropping lambs back in August, and he's been sending
off groups of lambs for the last 4 weeks or so - he operates on a target weight
17-20 kg afaik; once the lambs reach that weight (i.e. the one that gives him
the best buck for bang) they are off. So that makes them just around 3-4 months
old when they go to slaughter. Not exactly granny aged.

I have a suspicion that there may be different grades of lamb sold as "prime
lamb" and "lamb" where the latter can be up to 9 months old or so, but I am
not in the industry so I am not sure. Hogget is definitely an older animal (not
sure if they even sell that over there) and mutton is older again.

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

aem wrote:
jdc1 wrote:

The state of lamb product in the US now is pitifull. It's all imported.
It's fatty and gamey tasting. Lamb chops as we once knew them are no more.
Lamb chops are either pigmy sized hordourves or totally riddled with fat.

WTF are they feeding those lambs down there? Shoulder and legs are almost all fat and
they have a gamey taste when cooked.

I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey tasting.

Can someone tell me wtf is going on?


Fifteen years ago I would have agreed that lamb from the U.S. was
better than that which we got from Australia and New Zealand. I was
told at the time it was not because of different breeds or feed but
simply that U.S. lamb was younger, and the older the animal was the
gamier it got.

Then the stuff from Oz got better and the stuff from the U.S. got
worse, and they ended up about the same, so far as I can tell nowadays.
I still think it's the age of the beast that matters. No doubt the
"organic" movement is working on some way to make it all purer for us.
I just wish they'd butcher the animals younger. -aem

Personally, I like the more distinctive flavor of mutton.

--

================================================== =============

Louis Cohen

Bah! Humbug!

Unlike everyone above me in this thread, I totally agree with you. The old
IOWA lamb 15-20 years ago was wonderful, and can't be compared to the
imported stuff labelled as lamb now. I don't think there is any solution for
this, as, 1. no one seems to recognize it, and 2. the Aussie and NZ product
will continue to pervade this market and the US lamb won't.
All we can do is hope and dream.

" jdc1" " wrote in message
...
The state of lamb product in the US now is pitifull. It's all imported.
It's fatty and gamey tasting. Lamb chops as we once knew them are no
more.
Lamb chops are either pigmy sized hordourves or totally riddled with fat.

WTF are they feeding those lambs down there? Shoulder and legs are almost
all fat and
they have a gamey taste when cooked.

I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make
lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey
tasting.

Can someone tell me wtf is going on?

In article ,
"Kent" wrote:

Unlike everyone above me in this thread, I totally agree with you. The old
IOWA lamb 15-20 years ago was wonderful, and can't be compared to the
imported stuff labelled as lamb now. I don't think there is any solution for
this, as, 1. no one seems to recognize it, and 2. the Aussie and NZ product
will continue to pervade this market and the US lamb won't.
All we can do is hope and dream.

Buy locally. We buy from the 4-H kids, or from farmers we know.

Regards,
Ranee

Remove do not & spam to e-mail me.

"She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." Prov 31:13

http://arabianknits.blogspot.com/
http://talesfromthekitchen.blogspot.com/

"Don Gray" wrote in message
...

I have bought New Zealand lamb for the past 40 years in both England and
on
the continent. I have never once found this to be of an inferior quality.
In
fact I would have to say that the very opposite is true.

Indeed NZ lamb is rightly known as some of the very best lamb to be had, but
as with produce from all countries, *it will vary greatly between some
individual producers*. I mean FFS, a LOT of French wine is **** poor.







Shaun aRe

"aem" wrote in message
oups.com...

jdc1 wrote:
The state of lamb product in the US now is pitifull. It's all imported.
It's fatty and gamey tasting. Lamb chops as we once knew them are no
more.
Lamb chops are either pigmy sized hordourves or totally riddled with
fat.

WTF are they feeding those lambs down there? Shoulder and legs are
almost all fat and
they have a gamey taste when cooked.

I used to buy a US lamb Shoulder or Leg and cut it up in cubes to make
lamb curry.
Now...all I buy is this New Zealand lamb shit that is fatty and gamey
tasting.

Can someone tell me wtf is going on?

Fifteen years ago I would have agreed that lamb from the U.S. was
better than that which we got from Australia and New Zealand. I was
told at the time it was not because of different breeds or feed but
simply that U.S. lamb was younger, and the older the animal was the
gamier it got.

Then the stuff from Oz got better and the stuff from the U.S. got
worse, and they ended up about the same, so far as I can tell nowadays.
I still think it's the age of the beast that matters. No doubt the
"organic" movement is working on some way to make it all purer for us.
I just wish they'd butcher the animals younger. -aem

I do know that older lamb tends to be much more strongly flavoured but much
tougher, therefore ideal for long and slow cooking.



Shaun aRe

"Shaun aRe" wrote in message
reenews.net...

"Don Gray" wrote in message
...

I have bought New Zealand lamb for the past 40 years in both England and
on
the continent. I have never once found this to be of an inferior quality.
In
fact I would have to say that the very opposite is true.

Indeed NZ lamb is rightly known as some of the very best lamb to be had,
but
as with produce from all countries, *it will vary greatly between some
individual producers*. I mean FFS, a LOT of French wine is **** poor.


Exactly. I find the NZ lamb, usually bought at Costso, to be almost 100%
high quality. I tried lamb from a local producer who sells at the farmer's
market. It was tougher, less flavorful, and cost at least 2X compared with
the NZ lamb. I like the idea of supporting local farmers but there's a
limit!


--
Peter Aitken

Shaun aRe wrote:

"Don Gray" wrote in message
...

I have bought New Zealand lamb for the past 40 years in both England and
on
the continent. I have never once found this to be of an inferior quality.
In
fact I would have to say that the very opposite is true.

Indeed NZ lamb is rightly known as some of the very best lamb to be had, but
as with produce from all countries, *it will vary greatly between some
individual producers*. I mean FFS, a LOT of French wine is **** poor.

Shaun aRe

The best lamb I've had in the US was at a Native American gathering.
Some Navajo women were roasting lamb over a wood fire. Served up in
fresh fry bread topped with roasted New Mexico green chile.

But the NZ lamb we can buy is much better than any other American lamb
I've eaten. English lamb is great as well but unavailable locally.

With all the sheep raised in NM, surprised none of it seems to end up in
retail markets.

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 18:48:35 -0700, Arri London
wrote:



Shaun aRe wrote:

"Don Gray" wrote in message
...

I have bought New Zealand lamb for the past 40 years in both England and
on
the continent. I have never once found this to be of an inferior quality.
In
fact I would have to say that the very opposite is true.

Indeed NZ lamb is rightly known as some of the very best lamb to be had, but
as with produce from all countries, *it will vary greatly between some
individual producers*. I mean FFS, a LOT of French wine is **** poor.

Shaun aRe

The best lamb I've had in the US was at a Native American gathering.
Some Navajo women were roasting lamb over a wood fire. Served up in
fresh fry bread topped with roasted New Mexico green chile.

But the NZ lamb we can buy is much better than any other American lamb
I've eaten. English lamb is great as well but unavailable locally.

With all the sheep raised in NM, surprised none of it seems to end up in
retail markets.


Up in Colorado, they refer to sheep as desert lawnmowers. They chew
the land so close, cattle cannot browse.


jim

"Peter Aitken" wrote in message
...
"Shaun aRe" wrote in message
reenews.net...

"Don Gray" wrote in message
...

I have bought New Zealand lamb for the past 40 years in both England
and
on
the continent. I have never once found this to be of an inferior
quality.
In
fact I would have to say that the very opposite is true.

Indeed NZ lamb is rightly known as some of the very best lamb to be had,
but
as with produce from all countries, *it will vary greatly between some
individual producers*. I mean FFS, a LOT of French wine is **** poor.


Exactly. I find the NZ lamb, usually bought at Costso, to be almost 100%
high quality. I tried lamb from a local producer who sells at the farmer's
market. It was tougher, less flavorful, and cost at least 2X compared with
the NZ lamb. I like the idea of supporting local farmers but there's a
limit!

Yup - I agree! We are lucky with local lamb, though, *very* much so!


Shaun aRe