MONITOR:ITALY, FRANCE, SPAIN and Portugal have more than a hundred each, Greece and Germany are not far behind that number, while Ireland has just four. The terms PGIs and PDOs may not exactly leap out at you, but the EU has never been known for its catchy phrasing. Protected Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication are very similar and in essence are aimed at recognising foods or food products that are unique, such as Parmesan and Parma ham.
One of our four is Connemara hill lamb, and I am looking at two legs, the Connemara one is sinewy and dark; the other – standard grass-fed Irish lamb – is paler and somewhat bigger – a good 30 per cent bigger at a guess. If this PGI is all it’s cracked up to be, this lamb is going to have to punch above its weight.
I roast both legs on a bed of potatoes, boulangère-style, in the same oven. I roast the larger leg for 15 minutes longer, but otherwise they are both treated and seasoned the same way. The difference between the two is dramatic. The Connemara lamb is herbaceous, with an unmistakably meaty sweetness to it; the sort of lamb that makes you realise what a really wonderful meat it is.
It is also less fatty, so much so that when you eat the fat with the meat it is delicious. I can’t quite say the same for the larger leg, where the fat cover is too much, both in terms of quantity and texture. It may keep the meat moist but there is far less balance. And the meat of this bigger leg – perfectly acceptable just not exceptional – is pale, anemic almost, in comparison.
Connemara lamb is indigenous to the region, the Blackfaced Horned Ewe having roamed these hills since the 1800s. And while lowland lamb munches on grass these beasts are more likely to be knocking back herbs, heathers and wild grasses. It is this diet which gives the meat a rose red colouring and also leads to the fat composition. Buy Connemara Hill Lamb and you are likely to pay 10 per cent more. Yet weight for weight there is far less wastage, so the price difference in the cooked meat converges.
You might wonder why lamb is being featured in January when we have, for so long, associated lamb with spring. This really exceptional meat has a season that runs for another three weeks and then runs out. A seasonal treat that will disappear until the end of June. Given the wild weather of the western seaboard these lambs are not ready for eating until the summer is almost upon us.
Seasonality is something we are far too quick to pay lip service to. Love the idea, hate the reality of being told we cannot have something. But we can, of course, as freezing remains one of the best preserving methods we have and MK meats, which wholesales this lamb around the country, can do packages of anything from a rack or a leg to a half or whole beast, for collection or delivery. harnold@irishtimes.com
MK Meats, tel: 01-4587942, mkmeats.eu
