Mary's Little Lamb is safe with me

Interesting. Both my wife and I get a pronounced bitter taste from almost all lamb. Once in a great while we'll be served lamb in a situation where we have no choices. We can eat it alright but only in maybe 1% of the time do we not get the bitter taste.

I spent some time flying out of a "sheep station" in NZ a few years ago. They had 5,000+ Merino sheep. The owner told me that most "lamb" served around the world was actually hogget - 2 year-old sheep. So maybe that is the difference. Maybe it is hogget that gives us the bitter taste. I guess we could find a custom butcher or farm so we knew exactly which meat we had.

Interesting, Adams... do you have a reaction to goat meat too?

First time I had lamb was Irish spring lamb in a cottage on the River Shannon in the west of Ireland. It was cut in medallions with a rich brown gravy over boiled potatoes. It's still the best lamb I've ever had. A couple years later, I had lamb shank in Columbus, Ohio and had the same feeling you're talking about. Wonder if the cut and method are the culprit for you?

For all you guys that are lamb intolerant, I will happily eat your portion. Perhaps the difference in being affected by some and not other is based on what the are feeding on?

I grew up eating lamb. That was generally the only form of grilled "steak" served in our house. I always found it bizarre how my friends thought lamb tasted gamey, bitter, or heavy. Then I started eating it outside the house and found that not a lot of restaurants, even the fancy kind, do not a good job with it. They serve more expensive cuts than the shoulder chops we had at home regularly and yet they always tasted off. It was the flavor, it was the texture, it was the seasoning, I mean man it was God awful. I don't understand the fascination with using cinnamon and other funky spices on lamb. If it doesn't go on my beef steak it doesn't go on my lamb. My parents never seasoned lamb with much more than onions, salt, and pepper that's it. Run it through the food processor into a paste maybe add a touch of tomato paste or lemon juice if you insist on being fancy and that was as complicated as things got. If you had a chance you let it sit in that for a few hours otherwise straight on the grill she went. Amazing stuff.

It took me many years to find the stuff at restaurants that could actually cook lamb properly. Actually Outback Steakhouse used to serve an exceptional rack of lamb but alas like the rest of their food that's gone down the toilet. However you can find copy cat recipes of that lamb seasoning and sauce online and I highly recommend it.

At the end of the day people all have their preferences but for me lamb is lovely.

PS If you ever wind up in NYC try Keens steakhouse mutton chop

I love lamb, my inlaws( Dutch) not so much, the older ones reckon it stink
Matter of fact
They sailed into melbourne on a Sunday which was traditional roast lamb day and said the smell made them gag
I love lamb in so many ways

I love it, but my wife won't eat anything but well done. She just sort of sneers when I say "if you don't like your red meat red, you don't like red meat." Man! I get tired of chicken and hamburger now.

I like lamb (and sheep).....
In fact, I just bought a whole one from my neighbour a couple of days ago.
It's now in the freezer.
I will need to make some time to cut it into chops etc and throw it on the braai.
BUT, it is 43 oC here (110 F for the metrically challenged), so a little on the warm side.
However, that hasn't stopped me before...

AussieTitch: I am Dutch and I like Lamb :-D
If you ever get to Hollans, you should try some Texel's lamb