The neck of a sheep is a tasty cut of meat. It has the perfect ratio of meat to bone and cooks up tender in curries, stews, soups, and all-in-one rice dishes such as Cook-up Rice and Pelau. Everyone goes for the prized cuts of lamb/sheep such as the leg, shoulder, and loin chops but I tell you, give the neck a try, I think you’ll like it.
Let me clarify the lamb/sheep labelling. In Guyana we simply say sheep and refer to the meat as mutton but in other places, there is a differentiation, and with that differentiation comes a variance in price. You pay more if it is lamb because of the young age of the meat. Lamb meat can range from 10 weeks to 6 months old. Mutton refers to the flesh of sheep that is at least one year old. Either way, the neck, is a cut worthy of your culinary attention.
I first got turned on to lamb necks when a Guyanese friend of mine, living here in Barbados, made a wicked stew of the necks served with rice and peas made with fresh pigeon peas. I still have memories of that meal. Along with some pickled cucumbers and sliced tomatoes on the side, we chased the meal with ice-cold swank (lime water). Since then, whenever I go to the market and there is lamb, I buy and cook lamb necks, preferably, you guessed it – in a curry!
You know how there are certain cuts or parts of poultry, pork, beef or even fish that you like and prefer to have? And you wish that the entire dish was made up of that one particular cut or part? You want more of the same thing. Well, that’s what it’s like for me with lamb necks; there is enough meat to eat and bones for me to suck on. I have a friend who likes chicken foot and would make curry and stew with only chicken feet. Oh yeah! Last year another friend told me about a nice curry her mother used to make with only chicken necks. Sounds good doesn’t it? I’ve had all-turkey necks stews at a friend. Chicken gizzards; I love gizzards. I remember whenever mommy would cook chicken, whether curry or stew, there would always be questions about getting the gizzard. Instead of leaving it whole, she would cut it in half so my sister and I could each have a piece. Thanks to the popularity and demand of certain cuts, one can buy packages of them; cook and eat to your heart’s delight.
Here in Barbados, a lot of lamb is imported from Australia and New Zealand. The biggest sellers are the necks and shoulder chops. Most of the necks are cooked as stew. The older folks prefer to cook them in soups. A good friend of mine here, her late mom, every weekend, used to make a big pot of split pea soup with lamb necks. It’s such a good combination with the natural flavour of lamb mixed with that of the peas and fresh herbs.
The next time you go to the market or wherever you get your fresh meat from, be sure to ask the butcher about the neck of the lamb/sheep. There is only one centre bone so depending on how you plan to cook it, they can cut the neck maintaining the shape, into 1 or 2-inch rounds or cut them into rounds first and then halve them. Over here they are sold cut into 1-inch rounds. However you plan to cook the necks – stew, curry, soup or in a rice dish – they need to benefit from slow cooking in order to become meltingly tender. Therefore, turn the heat low after adding liquid to the stew, curry or soup. If using a pressure cooker, 5 or 8 minutes on low heat should do it.
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
