Scragg End

The meat counter at Waitrose sells cheap cuts alongside dry -aged cote de boeuf. I have spotted Pig cheeks, ox cheek, shin of veal and oxtails. No tripe yet but today I saw that they had scragg-end of lamb. This is the neck of the animal and it has a high ratio of bone to flesh. It needs slow cooking but the bone adds great flavour to stews.

Dorset breed sheep are the only breed of sheep that will breed naturally at any time of year.  They provide us with New Season lamb from as early as January, with flocks lambing between September and December. Dorset breed lamb is supplied by a group of specialist sheep farmers in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Avon and is available in Waitrose between January and May.

I looked up Felicity Cloake’s recipe for Lancashire hotpot and browned the “chops” having coated them in seasoned flour.