We love lamb for a number of reasons. It is juicy, succulent, tender and, depending on the cut, it can make for quick and easy cooking for those weekday occasions. We also love it for its natural flavour – that indescribable “umami” savoury taste that is neither sweet, salty, sour or bitter, that you can also smell when cooking.
Fat and what the lamb feeds on are big contributors to the meat’s natural flavour. Keeping this in mind, you can maximise lamb’s organic taste by the choices you make when getting and cooking your meat.
Go for cuts with more fat
Meat scientist Dr Nicolette Hall explains that most of the aroma molecules carrying flavour in meat dissolve in fat. She further notes that meat’s fat content varies from animal to animal and, within each animal, it varies from cut to cut.
“Muscles that are used most by the animal contain the least amounts of fat. The more tender cuts that contain muscles that are less used by the animal will contain more fat and, as a result, more intense flavours,” Dr Hall explains.
So when choosing your lamb cuts, go for ones with more fat. According to Chef Kabelo Ratlhotshe, who specialises in Karoo lamb in Kimberley, these are concentrated on the lower part of the animal, which is the lamb breast.
“I respect lamb fat and its fatty acids called ‘branched-chain fatty acids’. This gives lamb its original flavour and that gamey, earthy taste,” Chef Kabelo says.
The chef says it is best to medium cook the meat to retain the natural flavour from the fatty acids.
“The less cooked fat, the more the acids can incorporate with the meat to retain the original flavour. With roast leg of lamb, for example, cook the leg of lamb slowly at a temperature of 135°C for 1hr 30min to 1hr 45min to get the optimum medium cooked meat with the natural flavour of lamb intact,” Chef Kabelo advises.
Flavour can be enhanced by brining, marinating, and adding salts and spices, but Dr Hall emphasises that the inherent flavour in meat is largely influenced by the animal feed.
Know where your lamb comes from
Whatever the animal feeds on comes through in the taste. The recent over-pouring of rain across the country means we will be tasting plenty of what animals are feasting on. The majority of South African sheep are reared on natural pastures and open fields, which also aligns positively with environmental debates.
Dr Hall says lamb and mutton from certain grazing regions such as the Karoo or Free State have been associated with unique flavours, often sought after by consumers who prefer a certain taste, and are prepared to pay a premium for it.
She refers to a study by Professor Hettie Schönfeldt at the University of Pretoria that found that mutton from the Karoo region (Northern Cape and Kalahari) had definite flavour characteristics present in the meat that could be attributed to the grazing plants in the areas on which the sheep graze.
Dr Hall explains: “Lamb and sheep from this Karoo region graze on bossies (indigenous plants) found exclusively in this part of the world. These hardy bossies can endure heat, cold, wind and hail and provide feed for animals year round, as grass can only be found in rainy seasons. There are various types of karoo bossies and each type is specialised in different ways to survive the harsh conditions of the Karoo. These bossies are also most likely to be responsible for the distinctive flavour of meat from animals that grazed on them.”
“The Free State is a summer rainfall region, which gets very cold during the winter months, especially towards the eastern mountainous regions. The western and southern areas are semi-desert, but agriculture dominates the landscape. This tranquil province presents the classic African scene of sunny, spacious grass-covered prairie land with deep-blue skies. These grasslands contribute to the associations of mild grass-like flavour attributes in meat from animals produced in this region,” Dr Hall says.