You may have heard about it by now but here in Kentucky it is “Lamb Month” which means it’s Agriculture chance to promote all things, Lamb! For us here at Quarles Farm that means we are going to let you have the chance to learn a little bit about the type of sheep we raise, types of meat cuts we carry, herd practices and other tidbits that relate to all things Lamb. So Without further Ado here we go!
I have mentioned before that the family raised sheep on the home farm back in the 50’s before selling out and concentrating mainly on our cattle herd and row crops. Those were strictly wool sheep meaning they were raised for their wool (didn’t bring much) and meat (mutton, and cuts), market demands change, things happen and the flock was dispersed long ago. Returning from college in 2009, I started helping out more in the marketing of our farm products and we decided to expand our operation in to retail cuts of beef; after a couple of years we decided to expand the business with the addition of Sheep in 2012. When coming back into the business we decide to take a different route and came back in with Hair Sheep breeds. Basically these sheep were bred for one reason only, meat. They shed their coats each spring which makes them heat tolerant and genetically focused on meat production. We started with Katahins which were great mothers and were a gentle breed to ease back into the business. After our first couple of years marketing we grew to know our product and started to look into breeding that would improve our final product for our Customers. We wanted a hearty Chop and a thick rack combined with a easy finishing animal that also kept the mothering ability as we have several predator issues in and around the farm. Basically, I needed a sheep that was great on the table and still able to momma bear enough to take on dogs and coyotes that cross over and thru the farm. After several conversations with some of the best sheep producers in the state I landed on the Black headed Dorper.
Our Black headed Dorpers are the all-around package. Short stout and packed with muscle, our females have some of the best instincts when it comes to predator control, having seen them take on our stock dog from time to time, they will also take a weaned calf just for the giggles. We started noticing a difference on our lamb racks and chops as they increased in size, they were full of meat and lord do they taste divine. The great thing about meat breed (hair sheep) is they don’t develop a rank taste after year 1. We utilize lambs that are a little older for our lamb brats and ground products. We have brats in our Original and Sweet Italian, we also carry a hot chorizo lamb brat as well.
This week we are sharing with you our Roast leg of lamb. You don’t have to wait till the holiday to try this exquisite dish. We carry Legs of Lamb in both Bone in and Boneless cuts. There isn’t a major difference between the two but depending on your cooking experience you can use the boneless version to allow you in play with injecting different flavors. For those that want the Leg of Lamb but know you will never finish the whole leg we also offer our leg of Lamb Steaks which are bone in leg steaks that are cut an inch and a half thick.
I present Quarles Farm Roasted Leg of Lamb
INGREDIENTS:
1 QUARLES FARM LEG OF LAMB
6 CLOVES GARLIC, GRATED
1 TABLESPOON FRESH ROSEMARY. CHOPPED
1 TABLESPOON FRESH THYME CHOPPED
1 TABLESPOON DIJON MUSTARD
2 TEASPOONS OLIVE OIL SALT PEPPER
DIRECTIONS
1. PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350F. START BY ADDING THE GRATED GARLIC, ROSEMARY, THYME, DIJON, OLIVE OIL AND A PINCH OF SALT AND PEPPER TO A BOWL. MIX UNTIL COMBINED. 2. PAT THE LEC OF LAMB WITH PAPER TOWELS TO REMOVE EXCESS WATER. ADD IT TO A TIN FOIL LINED BAKING SHEET FAT SIDE UP. USING A SHARP KNIFE SCORE THE FAT WITH SHALLOW CUTS. 3. RUB THE HERB & MUSTARD MIXTURE INTO THE FAT AND SHALLOW CUTS. MAKE SURE THE WHOLE LEG IS COATED. INSERT A MEAT THERMOMETER AND PLACE IN THE OVEN TO ROAST. FOR MEDIUM DONENESS, LET THE LAMB ROAST UNTIL THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE IS 135F-MOF (DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE CUT, THIS CAN TAKE ANYWHERE FROM 1 HOUR TO 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES). 4. ONCE THE LAMB IS TO TEMPERATURE. REMOVE FROM THE OVEN AND LET REST FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES. SLICE SERVE AND ENJOY!
I have mentioned before that the family raised sheep on the home farm back in the 50’s before selling out and concentrating mainly on our cattle herd and row crops. Those were strictly wool sheep meaning they were raised for their wool (didn’t bring much) and meat (mutton, and cuts), market demands change, things happen and the flock was dispersed long ago. Returning from college in 2009, I started helping out more in the marketing of our farm products and we decided to expand our operation in to retail cuts of beef; after a couple of years we decided to expand the business with the addition of Sheep in 2012. When coming back into the business we decide to take a different route and came back in with Hair Sheep breeds. Basically these sheep were bred for one reason only, meat. They shed their coats each spring which makes them heat tolerant and genetically focused on meat production. We started with Katahins which were great mothers and were a gentle breed to ease back into the business. After our first couple of years marketing we grew to know our product and started to look into breeding that would improve our final product for our Customers. We wanted a hearty Chop and a thick rack combined with a easy finishing animal that also kept the mothering ability as we have several predator issues in and around the farm. Basically, I needed a sheep that was great on the table and still able to momma bear enough to take on dogs and coyotes that cross over and thru the farm. After several conversations with some of the best sheep producers in the state I landed on the Black headed Dorper.
Our Black headed Dorpers are the all-around package. Short stout and packed with muscle, our females have some of the best instincts when it comes to predator control, having seen them take on our stock dog from time to time, they will also take a weaned calf just for the giggles. We started noticing a difference on our lamb racks and chops as they increased in size, they were full of meat and lord do they taste divine. The great thing about meat breed (hair sheep) is they don’t develop a rank taste after year 1. We utilize lambs that are a little older for our lamb brats and ground products. We have brats in our Original and Sweet Italian, we also carry a hot chorizo lamb brat as well.
This week we are sharing with you our Roast leg of lamb. You don’t have to wait till the holiday to try this exquisite dish. We carry Legs of Lamb in both Bone in and Boneless cuts. There isn’t a major difference between the two but depending on your cooking experience you can use the boneless version to allow you in play with injecting different flavors. For those that want the Leg of Lamb but know you will never finish the whole leg we also offer our leg of Lamb Steaks which are bone in leg steaks that are cut an inch and a half thick.
I present Quarles Farm Roasted Leg of Lamb
INGREDIENTS:
1 QUARLES FARM LEG OF LAMB
6 CLOVES GARLIC, GRATED
1 TABLESPOON FRESH ROSEMARY. CHOPPED
1 TABLESPOON FRESH THYME CHOPPED
1 TABLESPOON DIJON MUSTARD
2 TEASPOONS OLIVE OIL SALT PEPPER
DIRECTIONS
1. PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350F. START BY ADDING THE GRATED GARLIC, ROSEMARY, THYME, DIJON, OLIVE OIL AND A PINCH OF SALT AND PEPPER TO A BOWL. MIX UNTIL COMBINED. 2. PAT THE LEC OF LAMB WITH PAPER TOWELS TO REMOVE EXCESS WATER. ADD IT TO A TIN FOIL LINED BAKING SHEET FAT SIDE UP. USING A SHARP KNIFE SCORE THE FAT WITH SHALLOW CUTS. 3. RUB THE HERB & MUSTARD MIXTURE INTO THE FAT AND SHALLOW CUTS. MAKE SURE THE WHOLE LEG IS COATED. INSERT A MEAT THERMOMETER AND PLACE IN THE OVEN TO ROAST. FOR MEDIUM DONENESS, LET THE LAMB ROAST UNTIL THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE IS 135F-MOF (DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE CUT, THIS CAN TAKE ANYWHERE FROM 1 HOUR TO 1 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES). 4. ONCE THE LAMB IS TO TEMPERATURE. REMOVE FROM THE OVEN AND LET REST FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES. SLICE SERVE AND ENJOY!