# best tasting breed?



## Pops2

by best i mean mildest least muttony flavor? also please let me know if the breed is hair or wool.


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## bergere

Black Welsh Mountain, has some of the most mild flavor of all the wool breeds I have raised.
Even Rams 5 years old, which really surprised me.

I have raised Jacobs, Babydoll Southdowns, Brecknock Hill's... also had a couple of Soay's. And of course the Suffolks my Dad raised for many, many years.


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## Bearfootfarm

Most of the hair sheep have a milder flavor than the wool breeds.

Dorpers and Katahdins are the most common


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## jerryf

I keep Shetlands have a delicate flavor, very good tasting. Some will say the carcass is too small, but we hold our ram/wether lambs till Spring so they have more size. No off odor.....some keepers use the ram lamb to breed and then slaughter him for meat without any off taste. Shetlands are easily tamed and are a great ewe choice.
Jerry

5 month old ewe lamb









5 month old ram lamb


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## InHisName

We love the Icelandic-


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## ajaxlucy

We like Shetland meat, too, finding it mild but flavorful. Our favorite is from 1-2 year old animals, but older ewes are not too strong tasting.


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## birchtreefarm

Another vote for Icelandic here.. of course that's what we raise.


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## PA Katahdins

Katahidn here, but of course I raise them.


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## kabri

I've not tasted many breeds, but when we butchered our 7 year old border cheviot ram and the meat tasted good, I thought that showed a pretty mild tasting breed!


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## wendle

I've raised cheviot crosses, Leicesters, and katahdin. They all are mild flavored, but I didn't notice any difference in taste, but size of cuts and growth rate was less in cheviots and katahdins. 
Suffolks I had were stronger tasting.


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## Caitedid

We have grassfed Katahdins, butchering intact ram lambs at 8-9 months, and have had a number of comments about the mildness of our meat. I think a lot of it has to do with what they're fed and how it's prepared.


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## Bearfootfarm

> I think a lot of it has to do with *what they're fed *and how it's prepared


I agree.
Grassfed lambs generally don't have as much fat, and that is where a lot of the strong flavor comes from.


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## SilverFlame819

I don't eat lamb, but in researching breeds for the past few months, it seems to be a common consensus that Icelandic and Shetland are some of the best tasting without having that "sheepy" flavor... Both heritage/unimproved wool breeds. Here in Utah the choice is Rambouillet/Columbia mix, but I am pretty sure you have to butcher young to not get the strong flavor, whereas I haven't heard that the Icelandic and Shetland get the flavor much at all, even in mature breeding rams.


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## Ebenezer

ALBC had a taste test a year or so ago.


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## odieclark

Anyone butcher a 2 1/2 year old ewe who lambed Twins? She is a Columbia ewe about 250 pounds


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## TinaF

I also agree that what they eat changes the flavour, grass fed is always milder and even the varieties of grasses in the pasture can make a difference.

We pasture raise Romney and various Romney crosses. All wonderfully mild tasting. We actually hold over some of the rams to 2 and 3 years because in my opinion the meat is more flavorful but still not gamey/muttony. We also use fresh garlic for natural worming.... I like to think we are pre-marinating them!


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## 4tu

TinaF said:


> I also agree that what they eat changes the flavour, grass fed is always milder and even the varieties of grasses in the pasture can make a difference.


Absolutely it does.


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## odieclark

TinaF said:


> I also agree that what they eat changes the flavour, grass fed is always milder and even the varieties of grasses in the pasture can make a difference.
> 
> We pasture raise Romney and various Romney crosses. All wonderfully mild tasting. We actually hold over some of the rams to 2 and 3 years because in my opinion the meat is more flavorful but still not gamey/muttony. We also use fresh garlic for natural worming.... I like to think we are pre-marinating them!


So do the hold over males taste ok tibyou, but how do others feel about them? Have you ever sold that meat?

Do you band or castrate the males that you butcher at 2-3 years?

What do you think our Columbia ewe might taste like? Would ground be best if we need to make sausage? She has had grain and hay diet and lambed twins this summer in June. First twins, but she didn’t nurse them. We have bottled them. She did get mastitis . 
Now she seems to have a slight prolapse again, so it seems she is not going in the right direction at all. Very sad, but trying to figure out the best course of action 

Thank you


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## muleskinner2

Doll Sheep is the finest meat on the planet. I don't raise them, but I know a mountain in Alaska where we can get some.


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## Northof49

In general the more lanolin/oily wool a sheep has, the more sheepish the flavor. We ran mixed wool type sheep and always had the the whole carcass of old cull ewes turned into burgers. The fat all drips out and they were so good the butcher bought all we didn't need. Only salt and pepper seasoned.
Your Columbia ewe would be excellent for this.


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## Evons hubby

Angus


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## TinaF

odieclark said:


> So do the hold over males taste ok tibyou, but how do others feel about them? Have you ever sold that meat?
> 
> Do you band or castrate the males that you butcher at 2-3 years?
> 
> What do you think our Columbia ewe might taste like? Would ground be best if we need to make sausage? She has had grain and hay diet and lambed twins this summer in June. First twins, but she didn’t nurse them. We have bottled them. She did get mastitis .
> Now she seems to have a slight prolapse again, so it seems she is not going in the right direction at all. Very sad, but trying to figure out the best course of action
> 
> Thank you


Oh yes, we sell the meat from the 2-3 year old rams! I think it might be just personal preference, it is a stronger flavour but not muttony at all. Not as tender as the young ones but cook it right (low and slow) and that's never a problem.

We stopped castrating the males a number of years ago after we got set up with seperate pastures for ewes and rams. I find they grow better if left intact.

I'm not sure what to say about your ewe. For me personally, I think the meat changes after they have been bred and the flavour does become muttony. May be a good idea to get it ground and keep your sausage option open.


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## odieclark

TinaF said:


> Oh yes, we sell the meat from the 2-3 year old rams! I think it might be just personal preference, it is a stronger flavour but not muttony at all. Not as tender as the young ones but cook it right (low and slow) and that's never a problem.
> 
> We stopped castrating the males a number of years ago after we got set up with seperate pastures for ewes and rams. I find they grow better if left intact.
> 
> I'm not sure what to say about your ewe. For me personally, I think the meat changes after they have been bred and the flavour does become muttony. May be a good idea to get it ground and keep your sausage option open.


We don’t castrate or band either. The meat is supposed to be more lean, if not, so that’s been our goal as well. Most are butchered under a year on the Rams. One we had over a year for sure and he was awesome! 

We are thinking of keeping our options on sausage and such as it seems risky, though would like to do a test on a few chops to see for sure. However, as we wanted to try sausage this is our golden chance!

In Iceland they make hot dogs using lamb


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## 4tu

Yvonne's hubby said:


> Angus


Not a sheep but I'm with ya, I have tried mutton a half dozen times, and each time I was told this is the best way or spices, slow cooked, broiled on a pit on a spit in the air, buried in the ground and I did not like it anywhere not even at the fair said damn I am (if I will ever try that again) -- too much Dr Seuss sorry.


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## odieclark

Funny! So far none have been bad or mutton like, but they have all been young. This is our oldest one that we have to either put down or process, and neither option is one I want to do. She was one of my favorites from a young age!


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## muleskinner2

odieclark said:


> Do you band or castrate the males that you butcher at 2-3 years


You butcher at four or five months. Anything that was two or three years old would be very tough. As stated above hamburger would be best.


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## Evons hubby

4tu said:


> Not a sheep but I'm with ya, I have tried mutton a half dozen times, and each time I was told this is the best way or spices, slow cooked, broiled on a pit on a spit in the air, buried in the ground and I did not like it anywhere not even at the fair said damn I am (if I will ever try that again) -- too much Dr Seuss sorry.


Yeppers, I've had my fill of sheep. Love their wool for blankies, socks n sweaters, and the little baby ones are adorable, but just can't swallow the meat.


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## odieclark

Well, I will heed the advice here. She’s 2 1/2. Born March 1, so 2 1/2 on the first. But as she isn’t going to make it we will try her in grounf and make some sausage or gyros. We can always make pet food for friends or something. We love our lambs and eat the meat of the ones we can’t use for breed stock. Customers have been very pleased! 

Love the Wool and hides as well! 

We still have some Wool from shearing and when I get back to that it will sell! 

Working on hides too. Very popular and not enough of them to sell at all!


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## 4tu

Yvonne's hubby said:


> Yeppers, I've had my fill of sheep. Love their wool for blankies, socks n sweaters, and the little baby ones are adorable, but just can't swallow the meat.


Strange, but I don't mind goat eaten a lot of it Bar-B-Qed (slow cooked on a pit no sauce ) maybe onions garlic stuffed in the cavity salt& pepper all over, Great corn tortilla tacos w/ green Serrano salsa pretty hot compared to jalapeno salsa. Lingua or beef tongue, Puerco or pork, cabrito or goat, pescado fish, or camaro'n or shrimp I like but. no sesos or brains I never liked brains it's like fluffy scrambled eggs with no taste and with the diseases like mad cow I have decided it's not worth it since it has no flavor of it's own.

Mint sauce I just can't come to like it in fact I don't like mint in gum or anything else.

If your raised with eating most anything it's like comfort food and that's fine but, I will eat what I have to so I do not insult my host just the smallest portion I can get away with, I'll pass on the whale blubber ice cream and burnt tarantula bring on the raw oysters and I can even handle some escargot but lamb chops I would rather eat the burnt tarantula.

I do like gyros though forgot that has some mutton in it, but that cucumber sauce and pita bread combination is out of this world.


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## Ronney

I always think twice about answering this type of post simply because I'm a NZ'er brought up on sheep meat so what goes for me doesn't necessarily go for you.

To answer the initial question, I agree with those who state that the taste of any animal is what you feed it and the actual breed has very little to do with it. Age also has a part to play and of course it must. Comparing lamb to a 2th is like comparing veal to an 18 month old steer - there is no comparison.

Oldieclark, I don't think I would be wasting your ewe by putting her into mince. Depending on her size (and the size of your family) I would put one leg into Jewish ham, the other I would cut in half to make two roasts. I would bone out both forequarters (shoulder), put one into mince, or if you like to muck about making your own sausage, that's another possibility. Mutton makes for excellent curries so consider cutting into strips for that. The loin (chops) are definitely going to be chewier than you're used to (we don't mind them but that's not everybody's cup of tea). Having said that, I usually use these in the slow cooker - and I'm a great fan of the slow cooker as I'd rather be outside than inside cooking a meal. And neck chops are the best part of any sheep, slow cooker again or casserole. Flaps are always fatty but I bone them out, stuff and roll them. Excellent eaten hot as a roast meal, too fatty for the lunch the following day. Anyway, there is never anything left for lunch the following day!

I can eat the best of the best - but what is the best of the best? I could get tastier and better meals out of your 2.50 yr old ewe than I could ever get out of a 6 month old lamb that is bland of flavour and pale of colour.

My opinion only,
Cheers,
Ronnie


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## odieclark

4tu. Goat is awesome! Love goat, and very lean and healthy. We eat all goat just like beef. We have served grilled goat steaks and our families find it very similar to beef steaks. Much smaller animal, but very delicious and quite healthy for red meat! If they were larger we would raise all goats!

Ronnie, I hear what you say and have read many of your posts, thanks for your response as well!

I am taking your suggestions and running them by the Family and the butcher. I love the roasts, and we will see what we end up with! 

She was 268 pounds in June, but thinking as she limbed in July, her normal weight is more 225-250, which is still a good size Ewe.

If it wasn’t for this prolapse issue, we would be keeping her. She has been most friendly and gentle, and also a very worm and Coccidiosis free as any of our sheep, so it stinks this happened to her.


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## 4tu

Ronney said:


> I usually use these in the slow cooker - and I'm a great fan of the slow cooker as I'd rather be outside than inside cooking


I like a slow cooker, but I have gone to a multi cooker it can slow cook fry and cook it's just an electric pot that you can use the thermostat, because some slow cookers are not hot enough to kill biologicals or take so long to come up to temperature that there is an increase growth of unwanted biologicals. this is basically from poorly made units or old units not working up to specs. I can braise my meat and add vegetables spices and stock lower the temp and walk away for an extended period of time.


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## Silvercreek Farmer

odieclark said:


> Funny! So far none have been bad or mutton like, but they have all been young. This is our oldest one that we have to either put down or process, and neither option is one I want to do. She was one of my favorites from a young age!


Is it just me, or does that sheep have bottle jaw?


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## ArmyDoc

We butchered a katahdin ewe at about 20 months. She had had one lamb. She had a very mild flavor, less "lamby" than what I've had at restaurants.



odieclark said:


> Anyone butcher a 2 1/2 year old ewe who lambed Twins? She is a Columbia ewe about 250 pounds


Columbia is a wool breed, where as our katahdin ewe is a hair sheep, so I would expect the columbia ewe to have a stronger flavor. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to butcher her if that's what you want. I would get the cuts you want, and if she's too strong for a your taste, just focus on curry dishes or dishes with more spices.


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## odieclark

So we had to process the ewe. We did as you suggested and got prime cuts and ground the remainder. Very mild flavor. Very pleased with the Columbia lambs and sheep. Sadly we had to process our ewe, but we-or I shall say I need to toughen up.


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## Sourdough

Pops2 said:


> by best i mean mildest least muttony flavor?


Dall Sheep tastes the very best.


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## Bob M.

lol...thought this subject title was "Best tasting bread"


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## odieclark

Good one Bob! I do love bread!

Also, I think whatever breed that you raise is often your favorite! Lol

Could be the number one criteria is actually knowing how they have been raised and fed. That matters to us


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## [email protected]

I have never butchered a sheep.
you all probably know if the following is true or not, but I was told to never let the wool touch the meat .
I follow that rule with every animal I skin. 
I have never had a 'gamey' tasting deer .
I am 76 years old , so that is a lot of deer..
........jiminwisc......


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## chester5731

I was hoping for a comment on Finnsheep. We have some but none of us has ever tried lamb.


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## odieclark

chester5731 said:


> I was hoping for a comment on Finnsheep. We have some but none of us has ever tried lamb.


I would be very surprised if you don’t love it! Lamb is so good and if you raised it, it should be fabulous! Remember what you get put to eat or at a grocery store is often nothing like what you raise yourself. Imported, shelf life, freezing and packaging. Report back and let us know ♥


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## chester5731

odieclark said:


> I would be very surprised if you don’t love it! Lamb is so good and if you raised it, it should be fabulous! Remember what you get put to eat or at a grocery store is often nothing like what you raise yourself. Imported, shelf life, freezing and packaging. Report back and let us know ♥


Will do. We have raised our own beef for years. I know what you mean about home raised being better.


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## odieclark

Totally is! I feel as if we are biased sometimes, but then we have guests who come for dinner and they are so amazed at the difference! Plus, we have recently had meat to sell, and our buyers are very impressed and come back for more. That’s very gratifying❤


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## Joleneakamama

We have raised sheep for a number of years now. We started with Suffolks, threw in some Barbados, then got Katahdins and Dorpers.
Right now our animals are a mix of hair sheep breeds and have been selecting for milking ability because they grow out nice big lambs, and the milk is the best in the world! This last year we were blessed with the chance to get some nice 50% East Friesian 50% Katahdin stock. I now have a bumper crop of lambs on the ground. 19 ewes and 11 ram lambs, and more coming.

@odieclark I understand losing an animal you planned to keep. I have a lovely yearling that had mastitis on one side when he lambed this year. Of course she was/is the friendliest one in the barn! At least you know she was cared for and appreciated.
I have learned to cull, and it got a lot easier after tasting a 20 month old Katahdin ewe that didn't make the cut. (She had small teats and a BIG mouth! Lol) I have not had better meat ever then those ribs off the wood coal grill!
We made 180+ pounds of sausage this last year, and it is excellent! I traded for a very fat three year old that didn't breed the last year, and we mixed it with younger growthy animals that hadn't had time to fatten.

We like roasts and use the drippings in rice seasoned like poultry dressing (onion and celery cooked in a bit of butter with sage n thyme)
Like most folks, we will have some animals available most years.
I have enjoyed reading and thought I'd comment a bit.
I'm a country living mom that likes grafting fruit trees and getting out horseback or hiking.


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## odieclark

Today at 4:35 AM

*JoleneakamamaNew Member*

*Very kind!*

*Yes, I miss Mary! *

*Miss Mary was my favorite and she favorited me! So sweet! Fortunately we have her daughter and she has been one of our best ewe lambs on the farm from that batch of babies! She was on a bottle and then a bucket, but she is healthy, large and friendly just line her mom was!







*


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## AmericanStand

20 + years with Finns they tend to be a bit leaner than other breeds due to their taste for brambles and such but that leads to a bit more intense flavor.


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## odieclark

Hmm. Love lamb!!!!


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## Willowdale

Fat tail sheep raiser here, Awassi crosses plus now some karakul (haven't eaten those). The Awassi store their fat externally (in their tail) and the fat itself "fluffier" rather than greasy. It sounds like all of us are raising the best tasting lambs in the world  But fat tail sheep are the *real* best tasting lambs in the world.


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## Joleneakamama

Willowdale said:


> It sounds like all of us are raising the best tasting lambs in the world  But fat tail sheep are the *real* best tasting lambs in the world.


Then I sure hope I get to try fat tail sheep someday!


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## odieclark

Willowdale said:


> Fat tail sheep raiser here, Awassi crosses plus now some karakul (haven't eaten those). The Awassi store their fat externally (in their tail) and the fat itself "fluffier" rather than greasy. It sounds like all of us are raising the best tasting lambs in the world  But fat tail sheep are the *real* best tasting lambs in the world.


What you raise almost always tastes the best! Love it!

Knowing your food is important. 

People will ask, how can you eat an animal you raised? I say, how can you eat anything that you don’t know how it’s raised, Fed, or treated?
Another, which I love says, how can you eat meat that you haven’t had a personal relationship with, as at least you know what was given to that animal


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## GTX63

odieclark said:


> People will ask, how can you eat an animal you raised? I say, how can you eat anything that you don’t know how it’s raised, Fed, or treated?


Because 100 Goats/Sheep/Cows/Chickens/Pigs or pick an animal as pets would be very expensive and I'm not a bread line for critters.
Most folks that feel that way haven't considered and understood the difference between livestock and a family animal.
Rule #14 Don't personalize your food.


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## odieclark

GTX63 said:


> Because 100 Goats/Sheep/Cows/Chickens/Pigs or pick an animal as pets would be very expensive and I'm not a bread line for critters.
> Most folks that feel that way haven't considered and understood the difference between livestock and a family animal.
> Rule #14 Don't personalize your food.


I hear your point

Naming them can make going to the processor more difficult no doubt. 

Not trying to get argumentative or stir up the nest either 

Just saying we would rather know where our food comes from versus not, along with how it is raised and cared for. 

We don’t eat our pets, and the livestock we raise we try not to name, but sometimes we do. Worst thing is when we do name them, and one of our breed stock has a problem, it’s painful and sad if we lose them, or have to put them down. We care about them and that is part of farming, it’s a life and we treat them with care and respect.

We prefer to raise what we can and purchase locally whenever we are able. When we buy from the store, we check the origin of the food, and if in doubt we stay away from it. We are lucky to have choices and we will forego some purchases if and when needed.


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## GTX63

I agree. 
I know what they ate, where they been, who they've been with and how they were treated.
I've yet to find bacon in the grocery store locally that touts their product was fed a diet of clover, pasture grass and acorns.
Just for the sake of discussion with them, I suppose you could name your critters after ex wives, girl friends, old bosses, neighbors, mother in laws, and on.
You'll either learn to soften your heart towards mankind in general or feed a somewhat bent urge at retribution.


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