"What is the difference between lamb and mutton?"
"I have never heard of hogget."
"If I am going to eat sheep, which one is easiest to start with?"
Sheep meat goes by several names: lamb, hogget and mutton.
Broadly speaking, the name changes with the age of the animal, and with it the tenderness, the aroma and the flavour.
But there is one thing worth knowing first.
The name alone does not decide the taste. Lamb is not always mild, and mutton is not always strong.
Hitsuji Gumi, the lamb specialist behind Azabu no Hitsuji and Ichigaya no Hitsuji, has worked with sheep meat from Japan and abroad.
In practice, flavour and aroma change with breed, producer, feed, environment, cut and fat, not only with age.
This article covers the basic differences between lamb, hogget and mutton, along with what we taste in the sheep we actually handle.
The main difference is the stage of growth
First, the basics.
Lamb, hogget and mutton are not different animals. All three are sheep.
What differs is mainly the stage of growth.
In Japan the common understanding runs like this.
Lamb: meat from a young sheep, usually described as under one year old.
Hogget: between lamb and mutton, often described in Japan as around 12 to 24 months.
Mutton: meat from a grown sheep, generally described as two years or older.
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries also describes lamb as under one year and mutton as two years or older.
That said, it is not as simple as a name changing the moment a certain month is reached.
Meat & Livestock Australia, for example, classifies sheep meat by the state of the permanent incisors rather than by age alone, and hogget is defined the same way.
So age is a convenient guide.
It is easiest to picture the animal growing: lamb, then hogget, then mutton.
Lamb is tender, with a gentle aroma
Lamb is meat from a young sheep.
It is generally tender, and the aroma particular to sheep meat is relatively mild.
The Japan Meat Information Service Center describes lamb as fine-grained and tender, with little of the characteristic smell.
In our restaurants, the reaction we hear most often with lamb is this:
"I thought I did not like sheep, but I can eat this."
People who are not used to sheep meat often notice the tenderness and the fat before anything they would call "sheepy".
So for anyone eating sheep for the first time, or anyone who finds a strong aroma difficult, lamb is the easier way in.
Hogget is more than "halfway between"
Hogget is still far less known in Japan than lamb.
It is usually explained as being halfway between lamb and mutton, which is not wrong.
But having eaten a lot of it, we feel that description sells it short.
It keeps much of the tenderness of lamb while the savour and aroma of sheep grow gradually deeper.
When you grill the fat in particular, the aroma is sheepy in a way lamb is not.
In the hogget we have handled, it sits in a genuinely interesting place: for someone who finds lamb a little plain but is not looking for a strong sheep aroma either.
The Hokkaido Regional Agricultural Administration Office also introduces hogget as sheep between 12 and 24 months, in a case study of a Japanese producer.
It is not widely distributed, so even a specialist restaurant cannot always offer it.
If you see it on a menu, it is worth tasting side by side with lamb.
Mutton is for the aroma and the depth of flavour
Mutton is meat from a grown sheep.
The texture is firmer than lamb, and the aroma and richness particular to sheep tend to be stronger.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries describes mutton as well covered with fat and full in flavour.
Some people find that aroma off-putting. Others say it is exactly what sheep should taste like.
In our experience, plenty of people come to sheep through lamb and, as they eat more, start looking for something more clearly sheep.
Mutton suits anyone who likes that aroma, and anyone who wants a firm texture with depth of flavour.
This is not a question of mutton being better than lamb, or lamb being better because it is easier to eat.
It is simply a different kind of good.
So which should you choose?
There is no rule that beginners must have lamb and enthusiasts must have mutton.
But if you are unsure, this is a reasonable guide.
Tender, with a gentle aroma → lamb
Still tender, but with more of the savour and aroma of sheep → hogget
The aroma and the depth of sheep, clearly → mutton
Even so, sheep meat is not fully described by those three words.
And this is the part we find most interesting.
Not all "lamb" tastes the same
Hitsuji Gumi has bought sheep from more than ten producers and suppliers in Japan, centred on Hokkaido and including the Tohoku region.
What that teaches you is simple: there is no single taste called "Japanese lamb", and no single taste called "hogget".
Two lambs from different animals taste different.
Two hoggets differ in the aroma of the fat and the flavour of the lean meat.
Breed, producer, feed, environment, age, cut and the individual animal all change it.
This is not a grand claim about terroir. Put several sheep side by side and the difference is plain.
So rather than deciding that lamb tastes a certain way, we would rather you ate it as an ingredient whose interest lies in those differences.
Japanese and imported sheep both have their strengths
People sometimes ask whether Japanese sheep tastes better.
We do not think one is simply above the other.
Imported lamb brings tenderness, approachability and consistency.
The Japanese sheep we have handled varies more between producers and animals, and the fat and aroma can be strikingly distinctive.
With older sheep such as hogget, that variation becomes especially interesting.
So where you can, taste them side by side rather than choosing one.
Beyond "Japanese or imported", you start to find your own preference.
"I like the fat on this one."
"I like the aroma of this cut."
"I prefer hogget to lamb."
Sheep meat gets more interesting when you compare
Look up the difference between lamb, hogget and mutton and the word "gaminess" comes up a great deal.
It is true that the aroma tends to strengthen as the animal grows.
Meat & Livestock Australia explains that changes in connective tissue, flavour compounds stored in fat and meat colour all play a part.
But we do not believe every trace of sheep aroma needs to be stripped away.
Handled properly, the aroma that rises from the fat of good sheep meat is part of what makes it delicious.
The gentle aroma of lamb, the richer aroma of hogget and the clear sheepiness of mutton each have their own appeal.
The main difference between the three is the stage of growth.
But on the plate, tenderness, the savour of the lean meat, the fat, the aroma and the texture all differ.
And that is not the end of it.
Even within lamb, origin, producer, breed, cut and the individual animal change the flavour.
Rather than learning the differences as facts, taste a few sheep and a few cuts side by side and find the one you like.
That, we think, is the most interesting way to enjoy sheep meat.
At Azabu no Hitsuji and Ichigaya no Hitsuji we serve lamb as standard, and Japanese sheep or hogget as availability allows.
References
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "Jingisukan"
- Meat & Livestock Australia, "Age and Dentition"
- Japan Meat Information Service Center, materials on lamb
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Hokkaido Regional Office, case studies of sheep producers in the Okhotsk region