Both come from sheep, both are halal at our counter, and they're not interchangeable. Here's the difference, which to buy for which dish, and how long each one needs.
What's the difference?
It comes down to age. In the UK, lamb is meat from a sheep under a year old. Mutton comes from an older animal, usually over two years. (In between, from one to two years, it's sometimes sold as hogget.)
An older animal has worked its muscles longer, so mutton is darker, firmer and much more flavourful, with more fat. Lamb is paler, milder and more tender, and it cooks faster.
Side by side
| Lamb | Mutton | |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour | Mild and sweet | Deep, rich and gamey |
| Texture | Tender | Firm until it's slow-cooked, then melting |
| Curry pieces on the bone | 45 to 60 minutes | 1½ to 2½ hours |
| Best for | Karahi, roasts, chops, kebabs, biryani | Slow curries, qorma, haleem, pulao, broth |
| Value | Whole and half lambs are the best value | Usually better value than lamb, kilo for kilo |
Which to buy for which dish
- Quick and fresh-tasting: lamb. A lamb karahi or Shinwari karahi cooks in about an hour; chops and kebabs in minutes.
- Roasting: lamb. Leg or shoulder; see the roasting times.
- Slow, deep, rich dishes: mutton. A mutton curry, qorma, haleem or yakhni pulao tastes of more when it's made with mutton, and the long cook makes it tender.
- Soups and broths: either. Mutton on the bone gives the fullest stock; lamb neck is cheaper and nearly as good in a Scotch broth.
Swapping one for the other
You can use mutton in a lamb recipe if you give it time: brown it the same way, then add water and simmer covered until it's tender before carrying on. Going the other way, lamb in a mutton recipe needs less time and less water, or it falls apart.
A pressure cooker cuts mutton's cooking time right down. Follow your cooker's instructions for meat on the bone.
At the counter
Tell us the dish and we'll cut either one to suit: bone-in karahi pieces, boneless chunks, mince, or large pieces for a slow pot. Mutton is sold on the bone, boneless and minced; see the mutton and lamb pages for every cut.