Mutton

[rcaisse]

Does anyone know where I can find mutton anywhere around Boston, or even anywhere in New England for that matter? Either a restaurant or a butcher shop of some kind?

[JOGRE]

Trick of the trade. All USA lamb is also considered mutton.
That name has been phased out by the industry to include larger older lamb into the production for consumption.

[qianning]

Several of the farms that sell lamb at our local farmers markets in s. nh do sometimes have mutton available, although it is usually a "special" order (i.e. they don't bring it to market with them). Here's a list for the for NH that lists several resources:http://agriculture.nh.gov/publications/documents/nh-livestock-directory.pdf
and if I remember correctly this farm sometimes has mutton: http://www.kellycornerfarm.com/page/p...

You might also call Blood Farm in Groton Mass. They have a good idea of just about everything that's being raised in that part of Mass.

[lipoff]

Many butcher shops have goat, including the al-Hoda meat market in Cambridge. If you see "mutton" on a menu, either they are selling goat, or they are selling lamb and calling it mutton. You will not find mutton qua mutton, that is older sheep, for sale commercially in the United States, anywhere.

[steinpilz]

Here's an old Chowhound-Boston thread about this:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/366919

I also remember another discussion on Chowhound saying that there's no culture of butchering mutton for food in the US but maybe one farm in New England might have (older sheep) available.

@castorpman on Twitter

[Aromatherapy]

I've eaten meat from a friend's pretty old ewes, and while it's sometimes tougher than her lamb, I haven't really noticed much taste difference.

[keith]

I think a couple of the small groceries in Newmarket square (at least the carribean one), typically has some cuts of mutton. Limited selection typically, but incredibly cheap.

[VivreManger]

The further complication is that often restaurants and butchers call goat mutton. I too have been looking for real mutton, but I have yet to find it fresh. Some halal butchers might have it locally.

[Blumie]

Do you really want mutton and not lamb?
If so, you'll probably need to contact a quality butcher, like John Dewar in Wellesley, or Savenor's in Boston and Cambridge.