Pampered Lamb Chops
The Age
Tuesday July 24, 2007
We've heard about wagyu cattle being pampered with beer and massages; now sheep are getting in on the act as well. Lambs raised for Aurora Gourmet Produce in northern Tasmania drink only filtered rainwater, eat expensive natural grains and are treated to "gentle handling techniques" to minimise stress, we're told in the publicity blurb. You might ask why sheep would be grain-fed at all. It's a valid question, but it doesn't alter the fact that the meat from these cosseted babies makes astonishingly good eating. Based on our tastings, it's apparently superior in flavour and texture to grass-fed lamb. And while the marbling content is higher, the fat has a different quality, with none of that lanolin-like smell that some find off-putting - it's no surprise most of Aurora's output goes straight to Asia. The lambs are kept in pens of a size well in excess of the RSPCA recommendation, are free to go outside and are hormone and antibiotic-free. For all this good treatment you pay, of course - about 20 per cent more than for premium grass-fed lamb. -- NECIA WILDEN
Aurora grain-fed lamb: about $23.90 for a leg; cutlets $3.90 a point. Available at Peter Bouchier, Toorak.
© 2007 The Age
