On Sat, 02 Apr 2016 20:03:00 -0500, "cshenk" > wrote:

>Jeßus wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> On Sat, 02 Apr 2016 12:19:00 -0500, "cshenk" > wrote:
>>
>> > Jeßus wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>> >
>> >> On Fri, 01 Apr 2016 16:32:18 -0600, Janet B >
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >On Sat, 02 Apr 2016 06:12:28 +1100, Jeßus > wrote:
>> >>
>> >> <snip>
>> >>
>> >> > > I'm looking forward to mutton sandwiches today.
>> >> >
>> >> > When cooked that long, I would expect the lamb/mutton to be very
>> >> > gamy. Or does the long cooking modify the stronger taste of
>> >> > mutton. I don't know, so am curious. Or perhaps you like the
>> >> > taste of mutton. My mother always went on and on about mutton
>> and >> > the strong taste so I am wondering.
>> >>
>> >> Yes, it is gamey. I do say that under protest, because I don't
>> find it >> gamey at all. But I know some ppl on RFC find even lamb
>> gamey, so... >>
>> >
>> > We've only only one name for all the other versions others use,
>> > from 2 to 3 tooth, hogget and mutton..
>>
>> Two-tooth is a common term here as well.
>
>That is what I thought. Peter used to mention it. I think 2 tooth was
>hogget and 3 tooth was mutton but I may have it wrong.

That is correct.

>All lamb
>critters regardless of age are labeled 'lamb' here in the USA. Hence
>you have the confusion. Some are not aware there is a difference. Some
>will even insist they have only 'lamb' meaning a baby lamb and complain
>that it is gamey.

Sheesh. how can lamb be regarded as gamey? And just to add
complication, the sheep I raise and kill for meat are actually all
wethers <G> (wether = castrated male)

lamb/hogget/mutton, the Wikipedia page on the subject explains the
differences-

Lamb, hogget, and mutton (UK, Pakistan, South Africa, Canada, Nepal,
New Zealand and Australia)[1] are terms for the meat of domestic sheep
(species Ovis aries) at different ages.

A sheep in its first year is called a lamb, and its meat is also
called lamb. The meat of a juvenile sheep older than one year is
hogget; outside North America this is also a term for the living
animal.[2] The meat of an adult sheep is mutton, a term only used for
the meat, not the living animals. The term mutton is sometimes used to
refer to goat meat in the Indian subcontinent.[3][4][5][6]

Lamb is the most expensive of the three types, and in recent decades
sheep meat is increasingly only retailed as "lamb", sometimes
stretching the accepted distinctions given above. The stronger-tasting
mutton is now hard to find in many areas, despite the efforts of the
Mutton Renaissance Campaign in the UK. In Australia, the term prime
lamb is often used to refer to lambs raised for meat.[7] Other
languages, for example French and Italian, make similar, or even more
detailed, distinctions between sheep meat by age and sometimes by
gender, though these languages don't use different words to refer to
the animal and its meat.

The definitions for lamb, hogget and mutton vary considerably between
countries. Younger lambs are smaller and more tender. Mutton is meat
from a sheep over two years old, and has less tender flesh. In
general, the darker the colour, the older the animal. Baby lamb meat
will be pale pink, while regular lamb is pinkish-red.
Commonwealth countries

Lamb — a young sheep under 12 months of age which does not have
any permanent incisor teeth in wear. (Note that the Australian
definition requires 0 permanent incisors, whereas the New Zealand
definition allows 0 incisors 'in wear'.)
Hogget — A term for a sheep of either sex having no more than two
permanent incisors in wear,[8] or its meat. Still common in farming
usage, it is now rare as a domestic or retail term for the meat. Much
of the "lamb" sold in the UK is "hogget" to an Antipodean farmer.
Mutton — a female (ewe) or castrated male (wether) sheep having
more than two permanent incisors in wear.

United States

Under current federal regulations (2014 CFR §65.190),[9] only the term
'lamb' is used:

Lamb — ovine animals of any age, including ewes and rams[10]

The terms 'mutton' and 'hogget' are rare [11] in the United States.
Nevertheless, the exclusive use of 'lamb' in the United States may be
confusing, particularly if it is assumed that only actual lambs are
butchered for their meat. Under the previous definition (2010 CFR
§65.190), 'lamb' meant 'meat, other than mutton (or yearling mutton),
produced from sheep

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_and_mutton

>I have to guess but I suspect the lamb shoulder (bone in but cut to
>thin steaks) may be mutton (3 tooth?). I like it expressly for that
>flavor.

It probably is if it has a stronger flavour.