Last Updated on February 16, 2022
From fell to fork: Bespoke butchery delivered to your door
Visitors to the Lake District will undoubtedly see a lot of sheep. I certainly did when I holidayed in Grasmere but at that time I had no knowledge of the special breed that forages on those steep hills. I learned more from Lakeland butcher, Rob Unwin. Roast Mutton is his new initiative, an online scheme that enables customers who cannot visit his shop to order top-quality mutton with the added benefit of bespoke butchery.
We are all familiar with the taste of lamb, but perhaps few of us have access in the supermarket to the more mature mutton. Any sheep over the age of two years is defined as mutton and the meat has developed a deeper flavour as the animal has grown older. A conversation with affable butcher, Rob, revealed that the mutton he sells is from a special breed that live a free range life. Rob buys his sheep from three farms around Grasmere which, as anyone familiar with the region knows, is very hilly. The hills are unsuitable for arable crops and sheep farming is one of the only sustainable farming options. The national park ground is tenanted to fell farmers and their Herdwick sheep are hefted on the hills, roaming freely for 8-9 months of the year. The Herdwick breed is over a thousand years old and the flocks are generations old, with the ewes teaching their lambs where to roam. These animals are as close as they can be to wild meat (only venison can be said to be wilder). In the winter months the sheep are moved to the West of the Lake District where they pasture and receive winter feed.
This traditional way of farming Herdwicks is ethically sound and produces a very natural, free range product. The long months of foraging adds a lot of richness to the meat which is leaner than what customers might be accustomed to from other breeds of sheep. The sheep grow more slowly because they are not fed soy products. This results in a more flavoursome meat.
Roast Mutton offers customers the option of ordering a quarter, half or a whole carcass. The idea is an interesting one and reminds me of how my mother used to buy meat in the 1970s. Rather than purchasing plastic-wrapped portions in the supermarket, whole carcasses would be bought, having been butchered, and our large freezer would fill up with the family’s future meals. Rob revisits this waste nothing approach and sells boxes of mutton cuts. Once an order has been received, Rob arranges to call the customer to discuss – or advise – on the specific cuts they prefer. He explained the options very clearly to me so that I could think about how I might want to cook the neck or shoulder for example. As I love bony bits, slow-cooked, Rob suggested I order the neck cut on the bone, rather than the meat removed and minced so that I could make an osso buco type casserole. The shoulder could be sent out on the bone or deboned and I could order the bones to be included alongside so as to make a stock. When we discussed the leg joint, Rob enquired as to how many people I would be feeding with it as the whole leg would satisfy a dinner party but be far too much for my husband and me. What personal attention. It really had me looking forward to the meals we would be eating once the order arrived.
Roast Mutton is aimed at consumers who are concerned about the provenance of their meat. It is a limited product as there are a limited number of hill farmers around Grasmere. The farmers benefit as their farms are quite remote from the abattoir and now the sheep can be slaughtered and butchered locally. Rob is keen to promote the butchery side of the business which is tailored to the exact specifications of the customer. He describes the joy he experiences building relationships with his customers and wants to make the public aware of butchery as a specialist trade with hanging and cutting both skills that affect the product he sells. Being an ethical butcher means supporting sustainable farming and Roast Mutton enables its customers to benefit from this relationship between farmers and the butcher.
‘I’m not Amazon Prime’, Rob jokes. The process takes place over a week. Put your order in by Monday evening, the phone call takes place, and the carcass is prepared and out for delivery by the weekend. It arrives packed in wool and can wait for a while on your doorstep as it is well insulated. All packaging is recyclable. After my chat with Rob, I was genuinely excited about the delivery and the cooking that lay ahead. I planned the lunch where we would sit down to eat a slow roast leg of mutton. In addition, I received – from a half carcass – the neck cut into chops, a boned shoulder for a hotpot, a French trimmed rack, a loin fillet to pan fry, and chump chops. My freezer is full. The quality of the meat was excellent and my family all enjoyed the flavour of the meat. I felt secure in knowing exactly where the meat came from and that my purchase supported the farmers and the butcher, all part of the process of bringing a fine product to my table. Rob advises to keep things simple and let the meat shine. I agree wholeheartedly.
I began my cooking spree by roasting the leg and gathered a few carnivore friends around my table to share this feast. As it was a leg of mutton, I thought that a slow roast might be a better option than a shorter roast that comes up pink – a leg of lamb should ideally either be served pink (a shorter, hotter roast) or slow-cooked at a low temperature over many hours. As I had a bottle of Rioja to try out, I opted for one of my favourite slow roast recipes, a Nigel Slater gem from umpteen years ago where he makes a simple spice rub and lets the heat and the meat do the rest. 6 hours later we sat down to dinner. You can get the recipe for slow roast spiced lamb below. The original recipe is for three and a half hours but this mutton leg happily cooked for longer.
Want to make this at home? You can read more about Roast Mutton and put in orders at:
Slow roasted leg with spice rub
- 1 2.5 kg lamb or mutton leg
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 pinch sweet paprika
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 thick slice butter
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Take meat out of the fridge half an hour before to get to room temperature.
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Preheat oven to 160 C while you make the spice rub.
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Bash the garlic cloves in a mortar and pestle with the sea salt. Then add in the thyme, cumin and paprika. Now pour in the olive oil and stir to form a thick paste.
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Melt the butter in a small pan. Add it to the paste and stir.
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Place the meat in a roasting dish - or a large casserole dish if you have one large enough for this size of leg. Rub all over with the spice mix.
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Place the meat in the oven for half an hour. Then pour over 250ml of water. Baste. and cover with the casserole lid or a thick layer of foil.
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Continue to baste the meat every hour. Add more water if the liquid is drying out.
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Nigel Slater's recipe roasts for a total of three and a half hours but I roasted mine for a total of 5 and a half hours with a further half an hour to rest the meat.
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While the meat is resting, pour off the oil from the roasting tin and pour the juices over the meat.
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