Mutton forequarter this weekend

If you'll check the FIND at page top,you'll see several threads on it.

The relatives around Davies and Christian Counties will have their approaches to it.

That said,they all eat pulled pork.

Yes,the busloads of tourists that stop at the Moonlite in Owensboro will eat some-with plenty of sauce.

Don't know where they shipped your sheep from,but if it was local, it starts out very strong.
If killed past spring,when the wild onion ,etc is thick,it can really be strong.

Good luck,and I'b be careful about freezing leftovers for long.

Never smoked any mutton but I will be watching your progress closely.

A friend of mine back in the 60's talked me into flying down to Owensboro to get some mutton. Brought it back to Michigan... and it was excellent! However, I decided that most of the flavor came from the 'sauce' they provided which included a lot of the drippings from smoking the mutton.

And I've been to the Moonlite, but it just didn't seem the same.

Sure would like some more of that and I can see why your customer would be hankering for the same.

quote:

Originally posted by WaywardSon:
While watching last Sunday's Kentucky/Florida game with some friends, one of my regular customers informed me that while he loved my BBQ, he was lusting after some mutton. I knew there was something wrong with him.

Long story short, after several phone calls to my normal suppliers, I am now the proud owner of a forequarter of mutton. This stupid thing weighs over 22 lbs. and includes the shoulder, neck, ribs and part of the loin. Now what?

Having never cooked this before I am a bit nervous about how to proceed. I think the whole thing will fit on my FEC 100, but am leaning towards cutting it up to avoid overcooking parts of it while waiting for the shoulder to get done.

Any of you guys ever done this?

On the other hand, one of my burgoo recipes does start out with "Take a forequarter of mutton"......

Tom...I used that feature and read the threads which were mostly commentary on where to eat mutton. Nothing wrong with that, but there was not much advice on how to cook it which is what I am looking for.

I have eaten in most of the Owensboro joints several times...Moonlite, Old Hickory, Old South etc. Never made it to George's.

Unless someone with experience tells me it's crazy, my plan is to throw it on the smoker and cook at 225° to 250° until I think it is done. Shoulder chopped and sauced...ribs is ribs...and the rest of the meat from the neck, brisket and backbone will go into a large pot of burgoo.

Advice on doing this has been varied to put it mildly. One supposed competition cook from Owensboro advised to boil it for 2-3 hrs. and then put it on the smoker for another 3-4 hrs. Not sure if my leg is being pulled there or not...but have no intention of boiling anything BBQ related.

Maybe this old post of mine from the FIND,will get you started.
Re: Mutton (8/22/2003 8:40:58 AM by Tom-Fl)

I don't know about good,as it is an acquired taste-but I can tell you how they do it back home.

We don't see many mutton roasts here,but around an eight pound shoulder roast from a yearling lamb is close.

Marinate in refrigerator,at LEAST overnight.
Around Daviess County[Owensboro]they use about 1/2 gal. of water,one cup of worchestershire,one cup of vinegar,and 1/2 cup of your pork rub.

Use half and save the rest to mop with.

Just south,in Christian County,they just mop every 15-20 minutes with what amounts to a hotly spiced Carolina vinegar sauce with some extra lemon juice thrown in.

Drain well and use your pork rub,like you would on a butt.
Cook at about 220º to at least 170º internal,foil and let rest.

Around there,they serve it sliced,coarse shredded,and chopped.

Lots of chopped ,strong yellow onions,and dill slices on the side.

Lots of potato salad,slaw,and turnip greens on the side.

Plenty of sauce,and Moonlite has a very hot red sauce made with vodka,that will kill your taste buds.

Hope this helps some.

Tom

Good Q 2 Ya,Tom.

Tom,

I may try and figure out a way to marinate...it's a pretty large chunk of meat. Nothing to keep me from mopping it.

I did find and read that post, but like a lot of other things, managed to forget I had.

Thanks for your input!

Toss the sheep,and marinade into a doubled, scent free food service bag-or even glad bags.

Place in a cooler and toss a couple bags of ice on it-just like you do brining turkeys.

I can't imagine what mopping would accomplish in an FEC,except maybe keep the surface moist?

Let us hear,and especially when you decide to do another one.

Now that you mention it, I do have a cooler that would hold it...just not sure that I want it in there.

There won't be another one. It's expensive and there is very little demand for mutton around here. If the guy I am cooking it for were not a regular customer I would have told him to forget it up front. Probably looking at 70% shrinkage on this thing.

I will post on the outcome:-)