From today's Lexington HeraldLeader newspaper in Kentucky (http://www.kentucky.com/food/story/348438.html):
The new taste of Kentucky lamb Farmers who raise hair sheep tout its milder flavor By Sharon Thompson [EMAIL PROTECTED] It's likely that lamb is a meat that you love, or that you never touch. For some, lamb is the traditional entree for Easter Sunday. But if you shy away from cooking lamb because it's something your family never cooked, then take a look at the new American lamb for this year's holiday meal. Many Kentucky sheep producers are raising hair sheep along with, or instead of, the traditional English breeds, and many consumers are raving about the milder flavor. Traditional, or English, breeds of lamb have large bodies that produce large cuts of meat. The hair sheep, from Caribbean and African breeds, have smaller bodies that produce smaller cuts of meat and have a different and more subtle flavor, LaRue County sheep producer Gil Myers said. Hair sheep breeds do not produce wool, which saves producers the cost of shearing, Myers said. Two breeds, Katahdin and Barbado, are generally well-adapted to Kentucky. Kay Coyd, secretary of the Kentucky Sheep and Wool Producers Association, has a small flock of Katahdin sheep, which she raises as breeding stock. It's a hair sheep that was developed in Maine by a breeder who wanted to get the quality and growth rate and frame size of woolly breeds and not have to shear them, Coyd said. He used some hair sheep from the Caribbean, which are originally from Africa, and cross-bred them with different breeds of woolly sheep. One selling point is that the meat of hair sheep, particularly Katahdin, tends to have a milder taste. There's no hard-core scientific research that shows that, but it's a matter of opinion that it's milder in flavor, Coyd said. Hair sheep have less lanolin than wool lambs, causing the taste of the meat to be slightly different. Ray Bowman, executive director of the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office in Frankfort, said even though Kentucky is a major cattle-producing state, the lamb and goat population is strong. The estimated sheep population is 37,000 and holding steady. In 2007, there were 83,000 farms in Kentucky, and 1,400 of them were raising sheep, he said. Bowman said the biggest impediment for lamb growers is processing, although a processing plant is in the works at Paint Lick. Bluegrass Lamb & Goat, an organization of farmers, is working to have the processing plant in operation soon, which will make fresh lamb more readily available to consumers. Nothing beats the taste and flavor of fresh lamb, Myers said. Since it is a locally produced product, consumers can be confident that it is a wholesome product. Lamb chops and roasted leg of lamb are traditional Easter dishes, but for St. Patrick's Day, lamb is used to make shepherd's pie. Conor McCarthy, chef at Wilson's of Keene, said shepherd's pie dates to the 1700s. It was a way to use up leftover lamb, and mashed potatoes were a convenient pie crust. Most commonly today, he said, ground lamb or beef is used to prepare the pie, and the added ingredients can be basically whatever you have available. Reach Sharon Thompson at (859) 231-3321 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3321. {From Carol: f you think your sheep-selling business could profit from an article like this, why not ask your local newspaper to write one? They all like to use local human-interest stories with a positive beat to them.} _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info