Mary had a Little Lamb… No! Make that a Thousand.

An excerpt from my upcoming book “The Gourmet Butcher’s Guide to Meat”…

There are several methods of raising sheep, depending on what the farmer’s aim is, the size of the flock, and the local environment. Large commercial sheep operations are either range band flocks or farm flocks. Very large flocks are often called mobs. As in, a mob of sheep (I now have an image of masked evil sheep in my head.) 

Huge range band flocks are managed by shepherds and sheepdogs, who often live with the flock as it moves. Photo by Stephen Ausmus. Courtesy USDA.

Range band flocks are generally groups of over 1,000 sheep grazing in large fenced or open-range pastures. Since the areas are so large, the sheep eat only what they find in the natural environment. Range band management is the main type of sheep operation in the United States and places like Australia and South America. 

In these large bands and in rugged terrain, it’s obviously extremely difficult for the shepherd to keep track of his sheep, so a black sheep is often added according to a ratio of 1 to 100 or 1 to 50. That way the shepherd only has to count the black sheep daily to know that the flock is intact (is that cool or what?). Since high-quality nutrition isn’t necessary for the production of wool, wool sheep are often kept in poorer climates or arid regions than are meat sheep.

Farm flocks are typically found in places where large tracts of open land are less common.

 Farm flocks differ in that they’re kept in much smaller fenced pastures. Often farm flock sheep are fed supplements like grain, but they also thrive on well-managed and intensively grazed pastures.

There are also other kinds of flocks: for example, flocks comprising only purebred sheep, hobby flocks, fiber flocks (sweaters!), domestic pets (sheep instead of lawn mowers), and so on.

Shaun the Sheep, from the Wallis and Gromit films

 

And now for a delectable recipe, just in time for Thanksgiving…

Lamb, Ginger, and Fruit Sausage

4 feet of sheep or small hog casings (sheep casings will give you a smaller sausage)

2½ lbs. lean lamb, cubed

½ lbs. pork fat cubed

1 tablespoon of kosher or coarse salt

1 tablespoon of ground black pepper

2 tablespoons of finely chopped dried apricots

2 tablespoons finely chopped dried cranberries

1 tablespoon of finely chopped crystallized ginger

2 tablespoons lemon juice or white wine