Lamb shoulders from the hay bed: One of the best lamb dishes in the world

Lambs and sheep have always been considered the most peaceful of all farm animals.

That's why they did not only find their way into our everyday language as adjectives like "lamb-friendly" or "sheepishly soft" - they used to be sacrificed to the gods just because of this character trait. An obvious thought, with the death of the most gentle of all creatures - Jesus himself is the Christian as the "Lamb of God" - to ask forgiveness from the heavenly powers.

Even today, lambs are slaughtered worldwide for religious festivals, but at least we eat them instead of letting them smoke in the sky. From a culinary point of view, however, the Western Christian tradition of the Easter lamb makes only limited sense. Of course, the brave fasting to the end, to be able to eat meat again on Easter Saturday, and there comes the born in early winter sheep new generation with his on the first bite quite wonderfully delicate pieces just right.

On the other hand applies the rather restrained basic taste of these "milk lambs" with friends of strong meat flavors as bland. Where should the taste come from? The animals were fed the milk of mother's milk during the winter and have not seen any green pasture until Easter, let alone eaten. Lambs from spring litters slaughtered in late autumn are - although of the same age - much tastier.

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A true Easter insider tip are therefore "spring lambs" from the previous year. After six months on the pasture, they were able to ripen one more winter in the stable. Usually they are in the trade as good as not available. If you do not have a corresponding farm shop nearby, you can do so next Easter in the online shop of the Bundesverband der Berufsschäfer eV to attempt. It is worth it .. The muscle meat of these 14- to 16-month-old animals is tender but tastier than that of the half-year olds. Officially, they may not be sold in Germany as "lamb" but only as "young sheep".

When is a lamb a lamb?

In this country, lambs may normally only be offered to baby sheep which were not older than twelve months before slaughter. "Milk lambs" come even earlier to the butcher: they are at most six months old and were allowed to have been fed only by breast milk. Both rules are mostly followed by suppliers from the most important lamb nations France, Ireland and New Zealand.

Of the approximately 30 culinary utilizable individual parts of the lamb according to the German decomposition method, most are not suitable for an opulent Easter roast. The back with its square, lobster or chops is too lean for long stew, the belly is too fat, the knuckles too small and the neck too flaky. Stay the classics club and shoulder.

We use the latter for our Easter hobby recipe "Lamb in the hay". We marinate the shoulders (one per eater) overnight in garlic and herbs and then cook them in a large, completely filled with mountain meadow organic hay for eight hours at a gentle 85 ° C oven temperature to the perfect softness.