Gower Salt Marsh Lamb is one of the most popular products that we sell on the Hugh Phillips Gower Butcher online shop.
But what makes this cut of lamb so special? Undoubtedly, it’s the environment where the sheep graze that makes the meat succulent and tender with the most incredible taste. The specific habitat growing on the Gower salt marshes like sorrel, marsh samphire and sea lavender provide nourishment to the grazing sheep which also gives the lamb its salty flavour.
Gower Salt Marsh Lamb Season
Salt Marsh Lamb is not unique to the Gower. There are many varieties of salt marsh lamb all over the UK and Europe. Farmers rearing this type of lamb bring the sheep to their coastal pastures in the spring when the weather is getting warmer.
The sheep graze closely to the water’s edge which is where the salty forage grows. The grasses and herbs they eat are never sown as a crop, but are wild and untreated and the flavours reflected in the taste of the lamb.
An interesting fact is that ‘leaders’ of the flock of sheep grazing on the salt marshes sense when the tide is coming in and lead the flock to higher ground, then when the tide goes out, the flock returns to the marshes!
Salt Marsh Lamb comes into season in June/July is normally available throughout summer and autumn. It’s the distinctive flavour and meltingly tender texture, which make it significantly different from mountain lamb. The juicy meat is also darker than mountain-reared lamb with less fat.
Gower Salt Marsh Lamb at Hugh Phillips Gower Butcher
Of great importance to us at Hugh Phillips Gower Butcher is our gate to plate ethos; we know the best meat comes from animals that are given the best quality of life and this principle applies to our Salt Marsh Lamb too. All our lamb that comes from the Gower Salt Marshes is fully traceable as the lambs are born on local farms and are transported to graze on the salt marshes.
Gower Salt Marsh Lamb is sold at Hugh Phillips Gower Butcher’s Swansea Market Stall as well as via the online shop. We offer a wide variety of cuts including breast, chops, racks, shoulders, leg and neck joints.
A leg of salt marsh lamb for example is delicious roasted – it requires just a seasoning of salt and pepper to bring out its unique flavour – and it goes really well with laverbread too.
To see our full range of Gower Salt Marsh Lamb products, click here or visit our stall at Swansea Market.
