Mutton question

Can I substitute ground mutton in recipes that I normally use ground turkey or ground beef? The ewe is a 2 year old, if that matters and the breed is supposed to be mild tasting. I've read somewhere that I can make bacon from lamb/mutton too but I'll have to look that up again. Can't have pork due to a severe allegery and I miss bacon so much. I have a friend with a smoker and I was wondering if mutton could be smoked too.

Hi yesyou can use your lamb/mutton in place of the other meats, in Australia we still make Macon which is leg of mutton brined and smoke like ham, very tasty. and O do a bone out shoulder of mutton rolled in netting and smoke as east carve Macon, here a nice recipe for your ground mutton., It one I had printed in our local newspapper I write a recipes collum for it each fortnight. hope you like. MM

Greek Lamb Meat Loaf
©Mick Blake
© Mountain Griller 2010 by Mountain Mick the Mountain Griller.

Now I hear you, Oh no not meat loaf again, but this meat loaf a world away from what you are use to, I got base for this recipe for a grandmother of a Greek landlord we had back in the !980’s she was 97 back than so R.I.P Yana Katmatos, we love your meat loaf , I have cut the amount of garlic in the recipe and increased the amount of pepper , and red capsicum instead of just green. Servings 8

Ingredients that is what you need.
⅓ cup pine nuts
1kg lean ground lamb
½ green capiscum, fine diced
½ red capsicum, fine diced
1 onion, fine diced
2 clove garlic, minced +
2 lg eggs
2 tsp ground pepper
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp salt
150g feta cheese, crumbled
200g of can diced tomato
1 garnishes: dried parsley
-fresh preferably

Cook pine nuts in a shallow frypan at 170 degrees Celsius. stirring
occasionally, 5 minutes or until toasted not burnt.

COMBINE pine nuts and ingredients except the can con tomatoes; press half of mixture into a lightly greased 23cm X 13cm loaf-pan. Sprinkle with feta cheese, and press remaining lamb mixture over cheese. So the feta is locked up inside the meat loaf.

BAKE at 190 degrees Celsius. for 1 ½ hours; remove from pan, and place on a rack in a broiler pan to catch any juice the will run over the sides, trust me it saves you cleaning your oven.. Pour tomato sauce over top; bake 10 more minutes or until done. Garnish, if desired.

Serve with toasted pita or turkish bread & yes a nice Greek salad look back in back-iusse of the Argus for what is in this salad and yes if go well with chips but try spraying with olive oil and baking instead of deep frying.
Happy eating Mick.

__________________
Mick&Karin Blake Karmic Aviaries, Sculptor,Potter www.karmicaviaries.comThere is only one God,Only One life so live it to the full,no regrets as you are dead a long time"Mick Blake

Thanks so much! I knew the folks from down under would have some ideas about mutton! Many years ago, my boyfriend won a trip to NZ, I was in my early 20's and didn't appreceate the trip at the time but I do remember all those sheep-at that time NZ had more sheep than people and that was also the cause of the hole in the ozine layer down there too. I also remember the sun burn I got in 50 degree (f) weather too. But it is beautiful country and I look back on that trip with bitter sweet fondness, the boyfriend and I broke up, he was a jerk so when I delete him from the memories they are much sweeter. The people were wonderful and I think that the trip planted an idea in me that I had to raise sheep one day too, which I now do with a much better man in my life. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe, we love meatloaf and eat it almost every week and now when we send our ewe in to be processed I will be better prepared and even looking forward to those little white packages.