The Cottage Smallholder

Fiona’s March copy of Country Living magazine arrived on Friday. I am an unashamed fan and often grab it first!

It has an article called The Thrifty Cook by Darina Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork. She has started running her Forgotten Skills course. The article focussed on lamb with some handy table of definitions (suckling, spring lamb, lamb, hogget, mutton) a map of the various cuts and some succulent sounding recipes including Listowel mutton pies that are served in a bowl of broth. I must try those.

“Our mothers and grandmothers knew how to eke out a small budget to feed a family by cooking with cheap cuts and using up leftovers. Sadly, during the recent boom years, butchers found it difficult to sell anything apart from the expensive cuts, such as rack of lamb, cutlets or leg, and were often left with lots of the cheaper shoulder, scrag end and breat of lamb

People lost both the inclination and the skill of thrifty cooking with less-than-prime cuts, not realising that they are sweeter and more succulent. The cuts of the animal that have the most exercise are more muscular – these are the least expensive cuts and those that benefit from slower, gentler cooking. There’s no such thing as an inferior cut of meat. Every bit of lamb can be turned into something delicious with sympathetic cooking.”