Linda & Bill Price's Black Mountain Hogget Meat Box

What's in this box?

• 1 x 2.5 kg Shoulder of Hogget, Whole
• 8 x 125g Hogget Loin Chops
• 2 x 220g Hogget Leg Steaks
• 1 x 500g pack Hogget Mince
• 1 x 500g pack Diced Hogget

Linda and Bill Price farm in the beautiful, rugged land of the Walden Valley. Their farm is quintessential of the area; it sits on steep slopes, with the highest point about 320 metres above sea level. This farming life is not for the faint hearted, it takes resilience, and a willingness to surrender to the environment, listen to the land, and let nature dictate what can be reared.

Linda and Bill are in tune with the valley, and farm a small number of native and rare breed animals in harmony with the surroundings. Their commitment to conservation and rare breed preservation is clear to see, and shines through in the quality of the meat they produce. These Black Welsh Mountain hogget* are a testament to their considered approach to farming the sheer slopes of the Walden Valley.

Considering the history of the area, rearing Black Welsh Mountain hogget in this corner of Yorkshire feels fitting. There has been Welsh migration to the area since 1270, and Walden translates from old English to “Valley of the Welshman”. As the breed name suggests, Black Welsh Mountain hogget are well suited to steep terrain and wild conditions, and can thrive where other livestock will struggle to survive.

The Black Welsh Mountain Sheep Breeders' Association describes the breed as “prolific and undemanding, hardy and self-reliant… they produce premium quality, lean meat with an excellent meat to bone ratio and a full flavour.”

The meat from a hogget sits squarely in between that of lamb and mutton on the flavour and texture spectrum. An extra summer on pasture gives hogget a more pronounced and evolved flavour than lamb, but it still retains a youthful tenderness, not yet grown into the characteristics of mutton. Hogget is the best of both worlds and a truly fantastic meat to cook with.

Linda and Bill Price’s Black Mountain Hogget Meat Box represents one side of the animal, from the shoulder, through the saddle and back to the leg. This range of cuts have been curated to best showcase the quality and versatility of the meat, and to give you, the home cook, a fantastic range of options in the kitchen.

Chef George Ryle inspires:
"We'd love you to try hogget shoulder, rubbed with harissa and then slow roasted, perhaps overnight, in stock with some chickpeas tossed in for the last hours or so. Or level up the old faithful Shepherd’s pie, it will be sensational with hogget mince. The leg steaks are divine with a classic anchoïade and some purple sprouting broccoli. The diced hogget is surely destined for a North Indian inspired curry, with plenty of black cardamom, cloves, green chillies and cumin. Imagine some potatoes, initially fried in butter and cumin and then folded through the curry for the last half an hour of cooking… sounds incredible. For the hogget chops we'd go simple and serve with crushed swede – enriched with butter and lifted with black pepper – an epic lamb gravy and some proper mint sauce; the loose, vinegar heavy type."

*Hogget are yearling lambs, aged 12-24 months that are left to develop and fatten naturally on the rich, nutrient dense grass of the spring and summer months. Grown in the way nature intended, and left to mature at their own pace, hogget is a testament to the superior quality, taste and texture of native breed meat. The meat from a hogget sits nicely between that of lamb and mutton; with a more pronounced and evolved flavour than lamb but far more tender than mutton, it truly is fantastic meat to cook with. Swaledale Hogget is Always Fresh Never Frozen®, butchered to order, vacuum packed, and shipped in recyclable packaging to arrive safely insulated and ready to enjoy.