# How come you can buy lamb, but not mutton? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034 "2008-05-29T17:00:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/1 "2008-05-29T17:00:56Z")
Do sheep get tougher as they get older? Is mutton used only in dog food, maybe, so there’s a stigma? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/2 "2008-05-29T17:03:23Z")
[QUOTE=a35362] Do sheep get tougher as they get older? Is mutton used only in dog food, maybe, so there’s a stigma? [/QUOTE] Mutton is an older sheep, the meat is tougher and often gamier. IIRC it is eaten quite a bit in Europe but not so much in the states. I think you can still get it, but it’s harder to find because there isn’t much of a market for it. It really only lends itself to braising/stews, etc. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/3 "2008-05-29T17:03:53Z")
You obviously have never been to western Kentucky. There, mutton is the King of BBQ. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/4 "2008-05-29T17:12:33Z")
You can find mutton if you know where to look. Anyhow, [Here’s a NYTimes article on mutton and why we don’t really eat it much here.](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/dining/29mutt.html) (Registration required). Relevant sentences for those who don’t want to register to view: > [@](#): > > [T]here was in fact a time when mutton was common on American tables. The 1918 edition of Fannie Farmer’s immensely influential cookbook, for example, gave instructions for preparing leg, saddle, chops and curry of mutton, although it also noted that “many object to the strong flavor of mutton.” > > That sentence harbors an important clue to our present-day aversion to mutton and, to a lesser degree, to lamb. Much as Americans adore some kinds of strong flavors […] most dislike strongly flavored meats, including game and innards. > > […] > > Erica Rosa of the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Lakewood, Colo., near Denver, traces the decline of mutton in the United States to the canned mutton sent overseas to help feed G.I.'s during World War II. They hated it, she said, and “when they came home they said they never wanted to see lamb or mutton on the table again.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/5 "2008-05-29T17:21:26Z")
[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil] Mutton is an older sheep, the meat is tougher and often gamier. IIRC it is eaten quite a bit in Europe but not so much in the states. I think you can still get it, but it’s harder to find because there isn’t much of a market for it. It really only lends itself to braising/stews, etc. [/QUOTE] It’s also the meat of choice (and necessity) in west Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/6 "2008-05-29T18:01:50Z")
Indian cooking uses mutton quite liberally. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/7 "2008-05-29T18:03:04Z")
If my dad and other men of his age with I talked are any indication, they had such bad experience with mutton in military mess halls that they forbade it ever being served in their homes. With nobody buying it, the stores stopped carrying it. Since the stores didn’t carry it, later generations didn’t grow up eating it and don’t request it. ---
**Author:** ![Polyperchon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@Polyperchon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyperchon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/8 "2008-05-29T18:11:10Z")
I live in the middle east, you can get mutton really easily. Not so much pork… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/9 "2008-05-29T18:16:36Z")
You can get mutton at butcher shops in NYC. (We’re one of the few places that seems to still have real butchers, not supermarket butcher counters.) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/10 "2008-05-29T18:18:37Z")
It is certainly available on the Navajo reservation. That smell never goes away. Worst smell in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/11 "2008-05-29T18:21:43Z")
I’m 34 and live in the Boston area and originally from Louisiana. I don’t think I have had it or even seen it. If you told me I could have $1,000,000 if I could find some in the next 2 hours I doubt that I could do it because I have no idea where to look. I would like to try mutton at least once just because I am adventurous eater. Finding Rocky Mountain Oysters (testicles) is probably much easier in the U.S. It barely exists. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/12 "2008-05-29T18:54:27Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I’m 34 and live in the Boston area and originally from Louisiana. I don’t think I have had it or even seen it. If you told me I could have $1,000,000 if I could find some in the next 2 hours I doubt that I could do it because I have no idea where to look. [/QUOTE] I would start in Middle Eastern or Arabic markets/butchers. Apparently, there’s a few Indian places that serve mutton curry in Boston, but it’s actually goat. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/13 "2008-05-29T18:54:55Z")
The only places that I’ve ever seen it were at Supermercados that service heavily hispanic populations. It did not look tasty in the package, so I wasn’t going to try it myself. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/14 "2008-05-29T19:00:17Z")
You can’t buy muttons because they get eaten when they’re lambs. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/15 "2008-05-29T19:43:52Z")
Here’s a page on mutton in the US: [http://www.chowhound.com/topics/366919](http://www.chowhound.com/topics/366919) Note that most of it’s actually on Goat, which you can get several places. They only name one place in the US, in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/16 "2008-05-29T20:02:30Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Here’s a page on mutton in the US: [http://www.chowhound.com/topics/366919](http://www.chowhound.com/topics/366919) Note that most of it’s actually on Goat, which you can get several places. They only name one place in the US, in NYC. [/QUOTE] You can also add the entire town of Owensboro, Kentucky, to that list. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/17 "2008-05-29T20:58:59Z")
[QUOTE=guizot] You can’t buy muttons because they get eaten when they’re lambs. [/QUOTE] Lots of lambs grow up for wool production, millions of sheep for millions of sweaters and millions of men’s suits. Now, farmers are efficient people, and they don’t just throw those sheep carcasses away when the sheep get old. If you want some good mutton recipes, go find your local sheep farmer. You’ve seen “lamb & rice” dog foods, but I suspect the lamb is more mature, actually mutton. Dogs don’t care about gamy taste in meat; they probably prefer it. If you were offered a wad of cash to go find some mutton, your supermarket butcher could get you some in a day or two. If you want it fresher than that, a sheep farmer will let you pick one out on the hoof. If he’s so equipped, he’ll butcher it while you wait. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/18 "2008-05-29T21:04:38Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] If he’s so equipped, he’ll butcher it while you wait. [/QUOTE] What would he need beyond a knife and some baggies? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/19 "2008-05-29T21:31:17Z")
Campbell’s “Scotch Broth” soup contains bits of mutton. Not available in all grocery stores, in my experience. ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034/20 "2008-05-30T00:45:15Z")
Southside Market in Elgin, TX has wonderful barbecued mutton. I am pretty sure that it isn’t goat because around here it would probably be marketed as cabrito if it were. That is the only place I have ever seen sell mutton. FWIW, Rob [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-you-can-buy-lamb-but-not-mutton/451034.md?page=2)