BBQ'ed Lawnmower - how to buy a sheep in Canberra

The very delightful neanderthal lovelies were certainly well equipped for a bit of clubbing and hair-dragging, with nice, strong skulls and brows conveniently shaped to break up rocks as their faces bumped along the ground. Unfortunately they just don’t build them that way anymore. You may have to move with the times.

; )

neanderthalsis said :

I’m reluctant to let go of the old ways granny.

Old habits die hard.

L

I’m reluctant to let go of the old ways granny.

Neanderthalis, I hate to tell you this but dam heaving went out with clubs and hair-dragging!

*chuckle*

Being prodded through a sheep dip and going for a dog paddle (or maybe sheeppaddle) of your own accord are a tad different. I have seen a dorper willingly stroll into a dam, have a moist frolic and wander back out, whereas other sheep are a bit like cats and girlfriends , will swim if heaved into the dam, but will hate you for it afterwards.

SheepGroper said :

Mr Evil said :

When I was a little tacker, I cried over every orphan lamb we ever lost on our farm in NZ.

Aaaaw Mr Evil had a tender side.

Nah, I grew out of it by the time I reached 25. 🙂

Mr Evil said :

When I was a little tacker, I cried over every orphan lamb we ever lost on our farm in NZ.

Aaaaw Mr Evil had a tender side.

neanderthalsis said :

For a backyard lawnmowing sheep, I’d recommend a Dorper. They happen to be deciduous (well they moult, leaving tufts of wool about the place, negating the need to shear them) and they’re a great meat sheep and are the only sheep, to my knowledge, that swim.

That doesn’t sound right, I thought almost every species could swim to some extent, there’s no reasone one breed of sheep could where another couldn’t, and Merinos are still swum through sheep dips here, and the assorded British breeds were swum in England either through sheep dips or back when they washed the wool on the sheep before shearing.

Shearing wouldn’t be an issue in this case either, he or she wouldn’t be allowed to live long enough. Probably the same with castration and ram taint.

When I was a little tacker, I cried over every orphan lamb we ever lost on our farm in NZ.

Having grown up in rural NZ, most springs we would end up hand-rearing orphaned lambs (which you would teach to walk on a lead, come to call etc, then take along to school to compete in the annual Show Day. There was a bit of a heirachy though, kids with calves were automatically higher up the social order than kids with lambs, and goats were right down the bottom of the heap.) Alas sheep are fairly smart, so pet sheep realise very quickly that they can just shimmy through most fences, including electric ones, and will happily nosy on inside for a look if you leave the doors open (and leave you little presents on the carpet). Then if you put them back in a flock of sheep, they will proceed to teach all the other sheep how to go through fences and off in search of more interesting times. Generally at that point, we would do a pet lamb swap with the neighbour, that way you are eating someone else’s hand-reared pet, not your own.

I stand corrected on the alpaca thingy, peter@home has a link at #72 which has some info and where you could buy alpaca. You could also probably try Priam out at Fyshwick.

I somehow think you will have more takers for the lamb!

; )

neanderthalsis said :

For a backyard lawnmowing sheep, I’d recommend a Dorper. They happen to be deciduous (well they moult, leaving tufts of wool about the place, negating the need to shear them) and they’re a great meat sheep and are the only sheep, to my knowledge, that swim.

Excellent! I’m going to put in a pond for the sheep … !

neanderthalsis said :

Alpaca meat is also tasty, in a previous job, I met a breeder who was starting to develop a market for the meet here. There are a few butchers about that sell it, quite a perculiar taste, like a cross between venison and goat.

Seems like Granny was pretty close to the mark, after all 😉

L

neanderthalsis, the link starry gave me is to a classifieds ad for a bloke trying to sell dorper lambs, so I’m chasing that up. They can swim huh? That’ll be useful knowledge one day, I am sure. 🙂
I sure an alpaca will taste good with enough BBQ sauce 🙂

For a backyard lawnmowing sheep, I’d recommend a Dorper. They happen to be deciduous (well they moult, leaving tufts of wool about the place, negating the need to shear them) and they’re a great meat sheep and are the only sheep, to my knowledge, that swim.

There are a few dorper breeders near Canberra, out near Hoskinstown. Try the dorper society website: http://www.dorper.com.au/cms/index.php

Alpaca meat is also tasty, in a previous job, I met a breeder who was starting to develop a market for the meet here. There are a few butchers about that sell it, quite a perculiar taste, like a cross between venison and goat.

starry, thankyou for the advice.
imarty, can you drop me a note to m.f.aurelius (at) gmail.com so i can query your extensive experience on some of these matters without boring everyone? Ta

Granny, I don’t know of any establishment in Australia that slaughters alpaca nor of any butcher or outlet that sells it. I’d imagine that anyone who eats or has eaten it has killed and dressed it themselves.
If it’s tender then it would be a limited number of cuts (a small percentage of the carcase as with all animals) and from a relatively young animal.

What do you reckon about alpaca meat, imarty? What have you heard in the business? Peterh’s mob claim it’s really tender. They didn’t mention what it tasted like though.

I know nothing of the subject except it was a whole lot of fun watching Vesna versus The Alpaca a couple of years back (if one were to watch Big Brother which I never would).

Aurelius, I asked hubby if he knows anyone who would be willing to sell, his best suggestion would be to call Landmark and ask if they know any farmers who will.

My daughter has been wanting to bring one back from my father-in-laws property for ages but he wont take the young lamb away from its mother and vice versa, unless of course the mother has passed away.

We bought one home years ago when my son was four, he loved looking after it, and playing with it till it was old enough to go back to the property. (not sure if hubby and i enjoyed the late/early feedings tho, in the end because i had the lunch time feeds durring work hours he had the early and late shifts)

We recently built a cool room at the property, was alot easier than bringing the meat home to hang.

imarty is right about the hot water being used on the removal of hair on pigs, never seen it used on on cattle or sheep.

You could also try here .
Good luck

Loquaciousness said :

Granny said :

Did you hear the one about the hermit who went out for a wood fired alpaca pizza?

Yeah, I heard he had a bit of a Downer, and got completely bagged.

L

LOL

I heard that he was spitting chips because Noone wanted to be his friend ….

[…back to offal]

Not now. Have worked in the industry for over 25 years and quite intensively in the area we’re discussing for over 5. Still love it.

imarty, do you work in a abattoir?

ant, sorry, you’re a bit misinformed here. I don’t quite understand where you’re coming from. Yes, hot water is used in abattoirs but pretty much only at the end of the shift to clean the place down and warm water is sprayed over the carcase at the very end of the process line just before entering the chiller as a final step for hygeine by removing any foreign material including hair, ingesta, bone saw dust (from splitting the carcase) that may be present.
Hot water is used in pig processing to assist the removal of hair and several upper layers of skin so we can enjoy crackle on our roast pork.
There is absolutely no increase in water content and in actual fact, a carcase will lose approximately 3% in weight through moisture loss in the first 12-24 hours. The “blood” that you speak of is commonly referred to as purge or drip and is not dissimilar to any excess juice you would get if you cut an orange and packed and sent it as meat is. It is certainly not blood but you are correct in saying that it does impact on flavour.
Sorry, for the overly long and potentially boring comment but this is one area that I have quite some experience in and I’m glad to have a say to correct so much misinformation that I see commonly spread.

Granny said :

Did you hear the one about the hermit who went out for a wood fired alpaca pizza?

Yeah, I heard he had a bit of a Downer, and got completely bagged.

L

Did you hear the one about the hermit who went out for a wood fired alpaca pizza?

Didn’t you hear? Herman’s Hermits (sans Herman, I’m told) went out for woodfired alpaca pizza only last week …

L

For a thread that’s gone for 75 posts (76 now) I’m surprised there hasn’t been more vitriol, discussion of woodfired pizza, or mention of Hermans Hermits here.

Granny said :

(It’s probably the Bolivian quinoa that nullifies the donkey aftertaste).

Gold!

Can I just say … tagline?!

L

Lay some of that Char-grilled Alpaca Sirloin with Bolivian Quinoa and Chimichurri Sauce on me, baby! (It’s probably the Bolivian quinoa that nullifies the donkey aftertaste).

peter@home said :

found this great link for alpaca recipes….

http://www.laviande.com.au/content/recipes/index.shtml

/me licks her lips.

Thanks Peter!

L

Loquaciousness said :

Granny said :

They probably taste a bit like a cross between a goat and a camel.

Possibly with a hint of Llama, I would imagine, and an aftertaste similar to that of donkey.

*rolls eyes*

L

found this great link for alpaca recipes….

http://www.laviande.com.au/content/recipes/index.shtml

Granny said :

They probably taste a bit like a cross between a goat and a camel.

Possibly with a hint of Llama, I would imagine, and an aftertaste similar to that of donkey.

*rolls eyes*

L

ant said :

Steaks in outback pubs taste great because they hang their meat for the proper time. And if you keep the flies off (it’s usually done in a cool room of some sort, but not cold) there’s no maggots. The meat tenderises, and develops good flavour.

I age my meat in the fridge using kitchen towels for a week, usually, and the difference it makes is quite amazing.

get a meat safe – hang it up in the garage, and soak the hessian in water prior to hanging the meat up. keeps it cool, and allows the meat to age.

I had a very old safe that it wood and flyscreen with hessian covering it. it was called an evaporative safe, and ensured that it kept the meat cool via evaporation.
it allowed it to age, and at night, you could remove the hessian and use the natural coolness.

They probably taste a bit like a cross between a goat and a camel.

Granny said :

Probably the only good alpaca is a barbecued alpaca, I should think. Give it a go, I say!

Indeed. I wonder if they taste any good though?

L

Probably the only good alpaca is a barbecued alpaca, I should think. Give it a go, I say!

Aurelius said :

I am yet to track down a suitable lamb, though yesterday a friend offered me two alpacas.

Can you barbecue alpacas?

L

Imarty, abattoirs nowadays largely use hot water to process the carcasses faster, which impacts on the meat flavour, and increases water content, which also casues the meat to go off easier. the meat packed in trays is still bleeding, and it is the sitting in blood that causes teh “off” taste some meat has nowadays.

I am yet to track down a suitable lamb, though yesterday a friend offered me two alpacas. The quest continues though, so advice for obtaining lamb is still desired.
Oh, and the advice re looking after said lamb, and post-slaughter BBQ preparation is also well received.

Aurelius, good luck with finding the sheep, not sure I can help there but there seems to be some good suggestions!
ant, you’re right about the aging, beef should be aged minimum 5 days, up to 3 weeks if you’re dry aging (not in a vacuum bag), lamb and pork about 3. The naturally ocurring enzymes in the meat breakdown the connective tissue within the muscle thereby increasing the tenderness and contributing (slightly) to the flavour. Feed and fat (marbling) is the major influence on flavour, personally, I prefer grass fed beef which is not that easy to find nowadays.
Where you got the hot water in abattoirs and continuing to bleed idea from and it’s impact on flavour and tenderness has got me buggered. Doesn’t happen in terms of trying to improve quality.
Also much of the meat you eat has been dead for about a week anyway, minimum.

Steaks in outback pubs taste great because they hang their meat for the proper time. And if you keep the flies off (it’s usually done in a cool room of some sort, but not cold) there’s no maggots. The meat tenderises, and develops good flavour.

I age my meat in the fridge using kitchen towels for a week, usually, and the difference it makes is quite amazing.

Still no go, bloody hopeless. I’m gonna quit while I’m behind.

href=”http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/je_ne_sais_quoia”> try this again

Not the link I was looking for

Yummy! And thanks for the French lesson. I had to look up “http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/je_ne_sais_quoi”

Maggots provide that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’, Matto!

; )

ant said :

Anyway. You wouldn’t want to slaugther the food right before the BBQ. That’s the trouble with meat nowadays, it’s not hung and aged properly. They take shortcuts in teh abattoirs, using hot water, adn the meat is sliced and packed way too soon. Then it continues bleeding and sits in teh blood and you end up with tough, unpleasant-tasting meat.

Nothing better than scraping out the maggots before you throw a cutlet/steak on the barbie. I’ve heard they should hang for about 3 weeks?

Anyway. You wouldn’t want to slaugther the food right before the BBQ. That’s the trouble with meat nowadays, it’s not hung and aged properly. They take shortcuts in teh abattoirs, using hot water, adn the meat is sliced and packed way too soon. Then it continues bleeding and sits in teh blood and you end up with tough, unpleasant-tasting meat.

Loquaciousness said :

Granny said :

We just have to figure out what to say to Troopers Headbonius, DJ and vg ….

Yeah, “you’ll never catch me alive” is a bit dramatic for me, I must admit.

How about “It wasn’t me” … ?

L

“Bugger Off” would probably work better. I am sure they’re used to that.

I’ve always thought this would be a great idea, but mostly been hot air and a few tinnies, so nothing ever came of it. From what it seems like, more hassle than reality. Isn’t there and old drover rule that involves something about only pinching one sheep and as log as you leave the hide hanging from a tree or fence, you’d be good to go? Something along those lines. I remember someone mentioning it when I was kid.

Aurelius – You’re probably better off paying the kid down the street 5 bucks and a glass of lemonade, if that’s what kids take for payment these days. They probably only accept visa or mastercard nowadays. Better yet, when you have the barbie, give him a knife and a slice of bread, and let him at it.

LOL

How did you know?!

I think it goes back to my cattle-rustling Scottish ancestry. That’s where I inherited most of my talent. I reckon I could snaffle Cutlets with one hand tied behind my back, fair dinkum. Lock up your lambs when I’m around, you scurvy squatter dogs!

Granny said :

If we gave them a bit of a chase we might make it onto the six o’clock news!

But I think we should name the victim of the lambnapping “Lamb Chop. And I think, since we are writing our own history, that we should mention that we were ravishingly beautiful women of great intelligence, wit and character … and that we lithely vaulted over the barbed-wire fence!

; )

What about “Cutlets”?

And what are you saying? Of course we’re beautiful, intelligent and witty! And I leap a few barbed-wire fences in a single bound every morning before breakfast, don’t you? 😉

L

Isn’t SheepGroper the woman who zooms around town in a WRX and has a back yard dotted with woolly creatures? I think her view would be that if you buy a lamb to keep the lawn down then come BBQ time there is no way that what has become a darling sheep is going to be dinner.

If we gave them a bit of a chase we might make it onto the six o’clock news!

But I think we should name the victim of the lambnapping “Lamb Chop. And I think, since we are writing our own history, that we should mention that we were ravishingly beautiful women of great intelligence, wit and character … and that we lithely vaulted over the barbed-wire fence!

; )

Granny said :

We just have to figure out what to say to Troopers Headbonius, DJ and vg ….

Yeah, “you’ll never catch me alive” is a bit dramatic for me, I must admit.

How about “It wasn’t me” … ?

L

We just have to figure out what to say to Troopers Headbonius, DJ and vg ….

Granny said :

I was rather hoping for an authentic tucker bag, but we can always improvise with a hatchback.

LOL

Might be a bit far to struggle with a wiggling lamb in a tucker-bag. We might have to do a modern take on the old classic?

Down came a lamby to drink near the fence,
Up got the women and grabbed him with glee,
And they sang as they stowed that lamb in the backseat,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.

I was rather hoping for an authentic tucker bag, but we can always improvise with a hatchback.

LOL

Granny said :

I vote you and me show ’em how it’s done … Thelma-and-Louise style!

Granny, I’m game! There’s a bunch of fields further down the Kings Highway full of little lambs. They wouldn’t notice if we took one – and it’d fit in the back of my hatchback, easy! 😛

L

Loquaciousness said :

Apologies SheepGroper … especially after my comment about assumptions on another thread. :blush:
L

No offense taken, I should have incuded a smiley. I will have a snigger over you being hoist on your own petard though, been there, done that : – )

peterh said :

Aurelius said :

Peter, what guys in Hall?
And who’s sheepgroper?

I think it is called landmark – it is the local CRT outlet in hall, for me, a great place back in the day to pick up fencing supplies, drenches, etc, etc.

Aurelius – otherwise known as “The Rural”. We have one here too.

L

Loquaciousness said :

tylersmayhem said :

Just go and nick one Waltzing Matilda style Aurelius. Mind you, keep in mind the Billabong part of the story?! 😛

I’ve tried to convince him of this, but he won’t have a bar of it.

Well, that’s a bit wussy!

*guffaw*

I vote you and me show ’em how it’s done … Thelma-and-Louise style!

and sheepgroper has already posted whilst I was away from my computer.

*sigh*

SheepGroper said :

BTW I’ve never been to KiwiLand, and what’s this asumption that people who love their sheep have to be male?

Apologies SheepGroper … especially after my comment about assumptions on another thread. :blush:

L

Aurelius said :

Peter, what guys in Hall?
And who’s sheepgroper?

I think it is called landmark – it is the local CRT outlet in hall, for me, a great place back in the day to pick up fencing supplies, drenches, etc, etc.

sheepgroper is another riotactor – they may know about who to speak to or could help you out, they have made reference to sheep in the past, they may be a farmer, or not…

Aurelius said :

Loq, perhaps we should *get* the lamb before you invite people to the party?

I was never one to stand on ceremony.

tylersmayhem said :

Just go and nick one Waltzing Matilda style Aurelius. Mind you, keep in mind the Billabong part of the story?! 😛

I’ve tried to convince him of this, but he won’t have a bar of it.

amarooresident said :

Buying a cheap second hand lawnmower sounds like the easier option to me. Like all domestic animals, keeping a sheep ain’t cheap once you add in supplemetary feed, and worming etc.

I have a lawnmower – I just can’t convince Aurelius to use it.

amarooresident said :

And I’d bet you become attached to it so when it comes to the bbq you won’t be able to do it.

I had a pet calf when I was a kid. His name was T-Bone. We ate him for Christmas. ‘Nuff said.

L

Buying a cheap second hand lawnmower sounds like the easier option to me. Like all domestic animals, keeping a sheep ain’t cheap once you add in supplemetary feed, and worming etc.

And I’d bet you become attached to it so when it comes to the bbq you won’t be able to do it.

Just go and nick one Waltzing Matilda style Aurelius. Mind you, keep in mind the Billabong part of the story?! 😛

Loquaciousness said :

Party anyone?

L

Loq, perhaps we should *get* the lamb before you invite people to the party?

yeah, the sheep at my old man’s property only eat the short stuff, if it grows above six inches they don’t want to touch it…

Gee, and I thought my daughter was a fussy eater …

L

skaboy12 said :

There are several mobile butchers around that will come and cut it up before the barbie and make all the bits small enough to freeze. A whole lamb, after its been slaughtered and cut, fills the freezer quite nicely

Or just get them to come out and whack it on a big stick. Aurelius can build a fire underneath it.

Party anyone?

L

They would starve at our place then!

nicolae said :

The farm is a couple of hours out of Canberra. Not sure how they’d feel about backyard butchery though. Sounds gruesome.

There are several mobile butchers around that will come and cut it up before the barbie and make all the bits small enough to freeze. A whole lamb, after its been slaughtered and cut, fills the freezer quite nicely

Granny said :

Let’s not go there ….

*chuckle*

Too late – I fear we might already have done so …

L

I know you’re allowed to keep any animal that isn’t prohibited by law, in suburbia, at least that was the case when I bought my house around 16 years ago. I asked my lawyer to check as I knew I wanted to keep pet sheep but didn’t know how quiet I’d have to be about it.

@Thumper – I had no problem with my lambs, but that may be because they had an old wether for company, who didn’t mind them too much once they realised it wasn’t a teat they were trying to suckle on ( you’d think the taste would clue them in ) and I came home at lunchtime so they had three feeds/day. Plus a little luck helped, no doubt.

As for mowing the lawn, is your yard one big lawn? My sheep only ate grass if I cut it and brought it to them, they ate everything else when they got out, especially the roses. What will you do when all the grass is eaten, are you going to buy hay? A single sheep will be lonely and will probably call for the rest of the flock. Are your fences escape proof/dog proof?

And how are you going to kill your sheep? The slaughterhouse will kill him or her and slice them up for you.

BTW I’ve never been to KiwiLand, and what’s this asumption that people who love their sheep have to be male?

Let’s not go there ….

*chuckle*

*chuckles* @ Mad Kiwi

nicolae said :

Call me gutless, but I’m only happy to eat a sheep I’ve never met.

Gutless!

(well, you did ask …)

L

Granny said :

I can’t believe you haven’t noticed Sheepgroper!

: )

I noticed him, and just figured he was a Kiwi. Is that bad? 😛

L

pull out your lawn and plane the emo grass i heard about

I got a lamb (in chop form) from these people once: http://riverglenfarm.com.au/?page_id=39
The farm is a couple of hours out of Canberra. Not sure how they’d feel about backyard butchery though. Sounds gruesome.

Personally, like Thumper says, I’d go for a sustinable mowing solution. Call me gutless, but I’m only happy to eat a sheep I’ve never met.

ant said :

An orphan lamb won’t be eating your grass for quite a while. they eat milk. And after you’ve poddied it, it’ll be pretty hard to butcher it.

Only if you’re soft.

ant said :

An orphan lamb won’t be eating your grass for quite a while. they eat milk. And after you’ve poddied it, it’ll be pretty hard to butcher it.

Get a goat, I noticed one of the neighbour’s goats had got out today, and was gleefully feasting on the grass by the roadside. you can eat them, too.

… and lose your washing, your outdoor furniture, your garden …

L

/me reads Thumper’s comments, and begins to remember all them bass player jokes he’s heard…..

Lizard! *rolls eyes*

moff said :

You could start by obtaining some sort of sheep womb and doing it diy?

You don’t have a womb! Where are you going to keep it? In a box?

L

Or perhaps a swarm of pet locusts? That’ll solve you grass problem (maybe).

Your local butcher will sell you all the parts you need.

You could start by obtaining some sort of sheep womb and doing it diy?

An orphan lamb won’t be eating your grass for quite a while. they eat milk. And after you’ve poddied it, it’ll be pretty hard to butcher it.

Get a goat, I noticed one of the neighbour’s goats had got out today, and was gleefully feasting on the grass by the roadside. you can eat them, too.

You may need to call an emergency bbq.

Thumper, An older sheep would disrupt the BBQ plan, so I was hoping for something where I get a feast as part of the bargain. You’re right though, that an old wether would be an easier option.

Wombat, Have pursued the ‘friends with farms’ option to no avail.
And I don’t have neighbours close enough to worry about. I more concerned the neighbour’s dog will make a meal of my mower.

I can’t believe you haven’t noticed Sheepgroper!

: )

Peter, what guys in Hall?
And who’s sheepgroper?

the guys in hall may be able to help you. or sheepgroper – maybe he has a better idea?

Farmers tend to have orphaned lambs that need to be hand reared. If you know someone with a hobby farm, they may know someone with a couple of orphaned lambs.

Also just check that none of your neighbours are Kiwis…

Do you live in suburbia and have you sought out whether you’re allowed to keep stock on your block of land?

If so and you can keep a bit of bbq, perhaps head out to the rural supply centres (or give them a call) and ask where you could get one. Sheep should be lambing by now or very soon surely.