Why isn't lamb or mutton more available in the U.S.?

[Marthe48]

I got some lamb chops at Aldi yesterday-they had a special buy, and I haven't gotten lamb for years. I wish it was sold regularly along with beef, chicken, pork and fish.

[BlueGreenLady]

1. Yes, Lamb makes a nice switch up

in the menu line up. I usually get a gyro sandwich when I'm in the city. It is more available where I am, but it's usually much more expensive than beef.

[XanaDUer2]

2. I'm not sure

Publix has chops. I don't like lamb, but I do see it sometimes

[hlthe2b]

3. If you live in areas with signficant Middle Eastern populations, it is more available. Otherwise

the holidays where lamb is featured including several Jewish and Eastern Orthodox holidays.

I love Middle Eastern food and rack of lamb cooked properly is still considered for many (especially out West) a very special meal. That said, I will never cook it at home again. The house smells rather unpleasant for weeks afterward, though I freely admit that may be of my making.

[canuckledragger]

4. Not many farms raising sheep?

I live in southern Ontario, close to Toronto, and never see lamb here either.

Although I know that someone close enough used to raise them (A friend's grandfather, passed away over 10-15 years ago) They're never in the stores.

[Kali]

5. I have never seen mutton in a regular store

lamb is available sporadically but expensive and often imported. not sure why, probably lack of demand more than anything. from a livestock raising perspective, at least in my area - sheep are much more labor intensive because they must be guarded from predators. cattle can mostly do their own guarding. same problem with goats. too easy to catch and eat for big cats and wild "dogs."

you can often get specialty meats through farmer's markets or specialty butchers. talk to whoever is selling beef/chicken. they may have it or know someone who does, or they may be willing to raise it for you. premium pricing, though.

[poli-junkie]

6. Cuz lamb is yucky

[Zambero]

7. If not prepared properly

Marinated with garlic and rosemary and grilled eventually won me over!

[poli-junkie]

12. Bad childhood memory of mom serving

lamb patties for dinner. I’d dash to the breadbox, grab 2 slices & mustard, and try to pretend I was eating a hamburger.

[Marthe48]

8. I wanted to try mutton when I was in Iceland

But I didn't make it to a place that served it. I had a gyro in Iceland, think it was my first one ever. II like lamb in stews. don't usually get chops, but figured they'd be a treat.

I grew my first eggplant ever and harvested it today. I'm going to make a sauteed vegetable mix to fill a wrap, and have a chop on the side

[cilla4progress]

9. We buy from a neighboring farm.

Yummy! Sweet and strong-flavored..some might say gamy, but not if well raised and butchered.

Thank you lamb babies and mamas - glad they had a happy existence and non-brutal death, sacrificing for my dinner plate!

[Tetrachloride]

10. Muslim holiday this weekend Eid al-Adha

Special meats may be in short supply

[cate94]

11. I guess we are lucky

I’ve never had any problems finding lamb, most of the stores around us carry it. (Chicago suburbs). You might ask the butcher at the store you frequent why they don’t sell it.

[Marthe48]

14. I had friends who ordered fresh lamb from Columbus Oh

Middle East heritage and they loved stuffed grape leaves

[comradebillyboy]

13. Costco and my local Whole Foods usually

have lamb. At least two butcher shops here in the backwater city of Albuquerque carry lamb. It’s not hard to find.

[Marthe48]

15. Do native Americans in your area still herd sheep?

I remember from my long-ago geography and social studies that the Navajo nation had sheep, esp. for the wool. Might be why you see it more often.

[Tanuki]

18. A recipe from New Native Kitchen cookbook, by Navajo chef Freddie Bitsoie:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/12/10/sumac-lamb-new-native-kitchen/

Sumac Navajo leg of lamb with onion sauce

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=1023

[Marthe48]

23. That looks really good!

If my dinner turns out half as good

[comradebillyboy]

21. Navajos do raise sheep but I don't

think they market them commercially.

[Tanuki]

16. I grew up in WV and nobody ate lamb or mutton. In the 8th grade, the teacher

asked if any of us had ever eaten it and only one student raised his hand, and said it was just once, when he was in the hospital. Later I lived in Boston for several years and it was popular, which I attributed to the large Irish population.

[2naSalit]

17. Cattle industry domination.

Personally, I can't stand the taste and I'm allergic to mint so that's no help.

[Haggard Celine]

19. For a long time in the South, chicken and pork

were about all people ate or, if you lived on the coasts or rivers, fish and crustaceans. That was because pigs and chickens were rather inexpensive to feed. Ham, pork, and chicken are still very popular here, but people eat a lot more beef down here nowadays.

Lamb just isn't thought about much down here. I never ate lamb when I was growing up. The first time I tried lamb was as an adult on a trip to California. I got a lamb falafel in San Francisco and I loved it! Since then I'll order lamb if I'm in a Greek or Middle Eastern restaurant. I love that type of food, but don't get it very often. I wouldn't order lamb in most restaurants down here, though. Most people down here just don't know how to prepare it.

[elleng]

20. Dunno, been a while since I've had any.

Was Dad's favorite, so we had chops often, 'roasted' for occasions, and soup/stew whenever possible. (In NYC suburb.)

[rsdsharp]

22. I worked in a full service meat department when I was in high school

in the late 60s early 70s. This was in northeastern Iowa. We didn’t carry lamb, and I asked the manager why. He said there was no demand, and the reason was that what was sold as lamb during the war years was actually mutton. I never knew him to lie, but that didn’t make a great deal of sense.

[Marthe48]

24. Mutton is stronger flavored

and not as tender. I can see people buying mutton they thought was lamb and being disappointed in the flavor and quality.

Campbell's used to sell a product called Scotch Broth. It had lamb and barley in it, and I loved it. I think they stopped selling it when I was a teen

My parents owned a grocery store southeast of Cleveland. My Dad stocked beef, pork, chicken, and sometimes shrimp and swordfish. I got a taste of lamb stew at my friend's house once. I got some fair lamb after we moved to southeast Ohio. The 4 H kids would raise lambs for the fair, and local people would bid on the lambs. The local regional grocery offered fair lamb, pork and beef right after the fair. I would get it then, but haven't seen that custom since I moved to Marietta.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

25. Personally, I find lamb to be inedible.

Growing up, my mom fixed leg of lamb at Easter, and I ate it then. I recall it being okay. Perhaps 20 years later, I got lamb on a trip to Tehran, and found it inedible. I did not start out assuming I wouldn't like it, rather the opposite.

I've never eaten lamb since.

When my younger son was about 7 or so, we were at a restaurant and he wanted to order the lamb chops. I was not about to set him up to dislike them, but I whispered to my husband that since he'd never had lamb, we needed to be okay if he didn't like them and needed to order something else instead. As it turned out, he loved them and ate all of the chops quite happily.

This is really a lesson in expectations. If you think you'll like something, you probably will. If you think, you won't like it, you probably won't. In my case, I didn't like the lamb. My son did.

Perhaps more to the point, you might want to talk to the butcher where you did get the lamb chops. Or, if you are fortunate enough to have an independent butcher where you live, talk to them. Hope you get what you want.