The secret to cooking tough cuts of meat (and older legs) is to cook it long and slow. Season your leg with a few sprigs of rosemary pushed into the flesh and a few cloves of garlic inserted into small cuts in the leg.

Brush with oil and place in a covered roasting pan, preferably on a roasting rack. Cook at a low temp.....about 120C for at least two and a half hours, basting now and then. About 1.5 hours before you anticipate serving, add potatoes, pumpkin, carrot etc and baste with oil/meat juices..... cook for the remaining 1.5 hours and you should have an unforgettable roast, even with a leg of mutton. (The last one I did, I cooked for 3.5 hours.....it just fell to pieces).

Haven't had Mutton for decades but it used to be even better than lamb

Slow cooking as suggested, is the way to go. I normally make a tray with foil add the garlic and rosemary + 1/2 cup of red wine .Use more foil to wrap all over, bake for 1/2 Hour at 220 then turn down to 120 for 5 hrs. You have to use spoons to carve it'

Also, if you have a slow cooker (crockpot),same ingredients + a few potatoes and carrots, lid on for 8 hours

One thing that gets me in Tassie is not being able to buy mutton or hoggett. Only lamb and reason all the butchers say is no one can cook it - I really think that is unreal. Still do and only ever have seen mutton as corned with bone removed. If Tasmanians can cook corned mutton than they can cook a roast leg of Mutton.



I always cook in foil as this means my oven stays clean and my roasts stay moist as it doesn't dry out the meat which happens in open roasting. Don't need to baste until last knockings either.



Mutton/Hogget slow oven in foil 150 electric for 3 to 3.5 hours according to size as already stated or slow cooker. YUM! Add parsnips carrots s[potato and swede and you have a really healthy meal as cooking in foil also gets rid of the animal fat leaving moist meat.





Mince this week is $4.75 a kg at Cole's. So I will be buying bulk and splitting it into meal sizes for two around 300grams and then freezing to be served in different ways. Lasagne, or with rice or pasta seasoned with garlic tomato and mushrooms red wine or with old favourite shepherds pie, or just plain casserole, plus onions, garlic and wine plus lots of cubed root veggies boiled with black pepper and served with the mince - I like it over the veggies - comfort food!

Hi BigVal

You really got me salivating when you mentioned Shepherds Pie. My problem here in Sydney is where to get hold of a fresh shepherd

Seems a reply of mine has gone off into the netherworld. I did give it a slow, low cook, and it was delicious. Baked some potato, pumpkin, carrots, parsnips and onions with it. Served with brocolli and gravy. Served up a couple of spare meals, which I have frozen, to enjoy later. Thanks for all your hints.

I have never had a slow cooker - sounds good to me - what is a good brand and how much am I looking at?



BTW I have rounded up a shepherd for tonight's dinner

James - got him at Cole's $4.75 a kg minced

rofl.........................

Hi BigVal

OMG $4.75 a Kilo, that's fantastic. However, be careful,was it fresh mince or was it frozen?



All jokes aside, I have a 4.5 Litre slow cooker from Sunbeam.From memory it cost me about $60 - 70 dollars.Any type of meat can be used, even use a "Glad oven bag" E.G I bought a piece of scotch fillet (about 1.5 kg) sprinkle the bag with flour (inside) ,Season the beef ,place in bag,add a couple of crushed OXO beef cubes, A cup of red wine (only a cheapie)) Tie the bag and then pierce the top of the bag with a skewer or scissors to allow the steam to escape. Place in slow cooker and cook for a min. of 6 hours on low.With the lid on.After this time use a wooden skewer and it should drop thro' the meat

Remember, this is a SLOW cooker and uses less power. If it is cooked to your liking, lift out and cut the corner of the bag and drain juices into a jug.Serve this with any green veg, Baked potatoes and Yorkshire pudding and use a horseradish sauce

and,of course wash down with copious quantities of red wine

(This time ,a good one)



Enjoy

Yeah thanks for that James- sounds good - had a look in our only department store in closest town yesterday - as went to Cole's 52K journey - and they are closing down at the end of the month - so all stock must go plastered all over the windows. No slow cookers on sale and the prices marked down for other kitchen stuff wasnt a lot anyway.



Mince was fresh so you were kidding - I always get my meat from there and only go in when they have good specials and they usually sell their mince 3 star for $4 a kg so up a bit this time - bulk but that is good buy big and then split down into meal sizes and freeze.



They also have Pedigree Dog Food 1.2Kg 2 for $5 instead of $3.10 each and 3 litres of a good Spanish Olive Oil for $24 instead of $38.99 so they were my target buys.



You do have to be careful with buying Olive Oil as some of them put Hazelnut Oil in it as there is not extra levy on it in Europe to save money but it makes the oil spit badly. Not what it is supposed to be either!

A simple recipe for Leg of Mutton



[b]Ingredients [/b]

1 leg of mutton

Flour

Salt and pepper



[b]Method[/b]



Preheat oven to 180'c

Wipe the leg of muffin with a damp cloth, remove the outside skin and excess fat and sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour

Place in a roasting tray and cook for around 30-40minutes per kilo of mutton



You can even use the drippings to make a nice gravy. Remove all apart from 1 tablespoon of fat, add 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 and a half cups of boiling water and stir until thickens and cook for two minutes. Make sure you strain it before serving!

I've since enjoyed one of the meals I had frozen - delicious. Think I'll invest in one of those food savers that Aldi have every now and then for $99. That way, I'll be able to cook up a storm, just once a month, and enjoy the results for the rest of the time.

A simple recipe for Leg of Mutton



[b]Ingredients [/b]

1 leg of mutton

Flour

Salt and pepper



[b]Method[/b]



Preheat oven to 180'c

Wipe the leg of muffin with a damp cloth, remove the outside skin and excess fat and sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour

Place in a roasting tray and cook for around 30-40minutes per kilo of mutton



You can even use the drippings to make a nice gravy. Remove all apart from 1 tablespoon of fat, add 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 and a half cups of boiling water and stir until thickens and cook for two minutes. Make sure you strain it before serving!



Very naughty old recipe this. 180 is far too high for Mutton or Hoggett.



You cant buy mutton in Tassie because they say no one knows how to cook it and if you cooked it as above then it would be as tough as old boots. Did this receipt come from Tassie and maybe why I cant buy it.



Mutton or Hogget has to be cooked SLOW - 150 maximum for around 2-3 hours depending on size.

In foil so it keeps moist in its own juices and chuck away those juices as pure animal fat.



Also no no no never eat or use animal fat to make the gravy as this will cause you to block your arteries.



Use a gravy mix that does NOT contain animal fat of any kind -they are available in Cole's.



sorry can't let this one pass as it is why so many have had to have heart by passes consuming the fat of animals - never eat the skins either - never use Lard or Dripping as these old animal fats are the cause of what they used to call hardened arteries and now we refer to as bad cholesterol.



The slower you cook any jint the better it will be and cooking mutton for 3 hours in foil on low oven it will fall off the bone just about and taste better than lamb.

I cannot imagine anytime of the year without a slow cooker. In the 37 years of having these items, I have only ever owned 3, yes 3!!

My first one was a bright orange and brown crockpot, the second was an orange one with painted vegetables around the base, and my current one is all white.

You can cook anything in it, honestly, you cannot ruin any meal, & they are so economical.

This sound very unhealthy, but I had an everlasting casserole in one for 4 days. You just kept adding anything to it. I'm still here, and healthy toboot!



Mutton, Hoggett, Beef bones, corned meat, Liver, will all turn out yummy, dont forget the garlic, celery and onion, and oh yes! a bucket of the ole red to wash it down.

I have never had a slow cooker - sounds good to me - what is a good brand and how much am I looking at?



BTW I have rounded up a shepherd for tonight's dinner

James - got him at Cole's $4.75 a kg minced

rofl.........................





Slow cookers are fairly reasonable if you check the flyers that came in the post box. There is a lot of discounting on different brands.

I bought my first one over 40 years ago, when I was working at three jobs and needed to have an easy meal on hand for a teenage daughter and for my now ex husband who came home from the pub at all hours of night and early morning. It cost around a weeks wages for a woman then, but they are cheaper now, and women now have equal pay.. The microwave has been my boon for many years as I worked until past 60, and my second husband was courting me , and won a big one in a raffle when they were expensive. He followed up by arriving for some meals, so I attended a microwave class and learned to cook most things in the microwave. Sure saved time, and I still don't like to waste a lot of time cooking. I bought my third slow cooker recently as the automatic feature had gone on my last one. Mine cost $35 at GO LO and is a big one ( 6,5 litres) Lovely for soup( we had chicken soup at weekend.) Casserole chicken pieces and vegies first night then soup from the chicken pieces and vegies which made another 3 lunches.. I also use a pressure cooker for meat, some vegies and steamed puddings. My husband bought me this at a garage sale, brand new. Someone was scared of it. Many young people are. The rings are expensive and hard to find, and my old one had worn out. Used to make stews and casseroles in it but use my slow cooker now I have it.