Dorsets and Crossgar Meats

Dorset Lamb First Choice for Crossgar Meats

One of the key elements in customer satisfaction is enjoying a product which is consistently of the highest quality: traditionally this has been difficult for the butcher or chef when marketing lamb and it has often been viewed as a seasonal meat by the connoisseur. There is a rush to get it on the menu around Easter when the young, new season spring lambs become available but just a few months later its popularity quickly wanes. This problem can easily be overcome by using the Dorset breed as the ewes will lamb at any time of the year. This unique attribute of the Dorset sheep means that breeders can have batches of ewes lambing throughout the year and therefore provide lambs ready for killing when all other breeds can only produce spring born lamb, which quickly loses its new season flavour.

Crossgar Meats spotted the potential of marketing Dorset lamb to the leading chefs in restaurants throughout Northern Ireland. Taste testing began back in Autumn 2010 when renowned chefs were given 3 cuts of lamb: a shoulder, loin and leg from a 14 week old Dorset lamb and similar cuts of a lamb from a different breed. Without exception the reports showed that there was no comparison between the two carcasses, no matter what cut was chosen, the Dorset lamb was superior in terms of colour, texture, succulence and flavour. Encouraged by such favourable results, Crossgar Meats approached the NI Dorset Breeders Club to explore the possibility of a marketing scheme. After much discussion a scheme has now been in place for six months and it is hoped that from small beginnings this will be an outlet for many years to come.

Dorset lamb has been added to Crossgar Meats Provenance Range; in their brochure on the Provenance Collection they claim that "when sourcing the meat they were looking for food which stood head and shoulders above the rest in terms of both the way it was produced and its flavour. All of which is top quality from native breeds, locally produced and satisfies customer demands for taste and succulence." They find that by making a commitment to the Dorset Breed they can ensure a consistent supply of young lamb throughout the year.

All the lambs which enter the scheme must go through the Northern Ireland Dorset Sheep Breeders’ Club and must be pure bred Dorsets, this ensures that they can be marketed as Dorset Lamb. The NI Dorset Club has nominated Mr Trevor Knox as co-ordinator of the scheme, so all breeders have to contact him to book in their lambs. In order to ensure a constant supply and plan ahead he advises farmers to weigh their lambs regularly and give him 2-3 weeks’ notice when they will have lambs reaching the optimum weight. Lambs can be delivered to the breeder’s local abattoir and the carcasses are taken from there by Crossgar Meats. As long as the lambs are only 12-16 weeks old there is an upper weight limit of 25 kilos and no grading is required, which is very attractive for the producer. Crossgar Meats pay a bonus per kilo over the LMC quote for the week in question. For pedigree breeders this scheme provides the answer to achieving a fair price for lambs which are not suitable for breeding purposes. For further information contact Trevor Knox 07967148006.

The NI Dorset Sheep Breeders’ Club have elected a new Chairman for 2011/2012, Mr Ben Lamb, Richhill, Co Armagh and he, along with the committee members are busy planning the seasons’ events. One of the first dates in the calendar is the May Fair, which is the premiere sale of the Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset Sheep Breeders Association held in Exeter Livestock Market. Ten exhibitors from Northern Ireland are travelling over with 33 ram lambs for sale. Expectations will be high as Northern Ireland breeders have produced the champion exhibits in the last three years, both in the Horn and Poll sections.

The club members are also making preparations for the upcoming NSA event which takes place on Monday 4 July 2011 at Ballymena Livestock Market so come along and visit our stand, you will be warmly welcomed. For further information on the NI Dorset Sheep Breeders Club please contact club secretary William Carson – 07841 746705

Jason Hamilton (commercial manger Crossgar Meats)
examining some of the choice Dorset lamb cuts