Calgary Opting for More Lamb On Its Menus

It’s been a long time coming, but lamb is finally making a dent in the red meat market in Canada.

Beef still dominates our collective palates, but lamb is gaining new fans. In Calgary, lamb is definitely appearing on more menus, whether it’s the smoky lean lamb ham at Charcut, the Driview Farm lamb tourtiere and housemade lamb merguez sausage at River Café, or the traditional lamb kebab sandwich at Ali Baba Kabob House. And while we can enjoy fresh lamb throughout the year, spring lamb is a tasty tradition.

THE FOOD
According to industry statistics, every Canadian consumes about 1.2 kilograms of lamb per year (just a fraction of the 31.7 kg of beef we eat), but lamb consumption continues to grow — it’s expected to increase by 40 per cent over the next 10 years.

Alberta is one of the country’s major lamb producers, but we don’t produce enough to feed our growing taste for it. Consequently, more than half of the lamb we eat is imported from places like New Zealand, the world’s largest lamb exporter.

Like other meat produced in Canada, Alberta lamb is raised both intensively (confined in barns and feed lots) or almost completely on pasture, usually finished (fattened) on grain for 60 to 90 days. While you’ll find some organic or 100-per cent free-range and grass-fed lamb in Canada, it’s rare because the climate requires feeding animals beyond the summer season.

Grain feeding makes Canadian lamb fatter and considerably larger than the grass-fed lamb imported from New Zealand, where the milder climate means sheep can stay on pasture year-round, minimizing the cost of production.
Grain-fed lamb is also milder in flavour — so mild, in fact, it can be difficult to discern much difference between a juicy Alberta lamb chop and a steak off the grill. But be prepared to pay the price. At one city supermarket, Alberta lamb loin chops were selling for $39 per kilogram, while fresh NZ chops were $24 per kg.

And despite the lower price, there is a case to be made for the quality of grass-fed New Zealand lamb, too. Pasture grass is a more natural diet and environment for lambs, while fattening lambs on grain in confined barns
and feedlots is not. Like grass-fed beef, meat and milk from lamb that’s kept on pasture tends to be leaner and denser, higher in protein and good things like omega-3 fatty acids, beta carotene and vitamin A than meat and milk from grain-fed animals.

But there’s more variation in quality with pasture-raised lamb and they gain weight slowly so are likely older before reaching market weight. The flavour is stronger — more lamb-like — and, because it’s leaner, grass-fed lamb is a little less forgiving on the grill.

THE FIND
Canadian lamb farmers don’t even produce half the volume of lamb we consume, so many big supermarkets rely on imported New Zealand or Australian lamb.

Sourcing Alberta lamb directly from farmers — at the farm gate or farmers’ market — or from a smaller local butcher is usually a better bet. Buying direct from farmers also allows you to ask exactly how the meat was produced.

At Ewe-nique Farms in southern Alberta, Bert and Caroline Vande Bruinhorst and their large family raise lamb the old-fashioned way. Their Suffolk/Hampshire lambs are raised on pasture over the summer months, then finished for two months on grain before going to market. They raise their lambs naturally, with no antibiotics or growth hormones. To guarantee quality, Bert cuts the lamb himself and the family packages it for sale at the Kingsland Market (with Hoven Farms Organic Beef) in Calgary, at local butcher shops and directly to city chefs. You’ll find lamb from Ewe-nique Farms at local butchers including Second to None Meats, The Better Butcher and SA Meats.

At Driview Farms near Lethbridge, the Van Hierden family raises the kind of premium lamb you’ll find on top restaurant menus. No hormones are used in the feed that includes whole grain, roughage and a feed mill ration. You can buy Driview lamb at the Millarville Farmers’ Market or direct from the farm. Driview offers whole or half lambs, cut and wrapped, individual cuts from legs to chops or shoulders and ground lamb, even lamb patties, merguez sausage, marinated kebabs and soup bones, and delivers weekly to Calgary.

Other Alberta lamb producers sell farm-direct, too. TLC Farm near Sundre sells naturally raised pure Katahdin lamb, a hardy hair breed sheep known to produce very mild-tasting, low-cholesterol meat, even from larger, meatier animals.

At Big Sky Lamb, Shelley and Craig Jessop sell naturally raised lamb every fall and take reservations for whole “freezer lamb” early in the season.

You can also contact Denis and Linda Jabs for their Cakadu heritage lamb. This black-bellied heritage breed comes all the way from Barbados to the Jabs’ farm near Innisfail, where it’s reared in a natural, sustainable manner.

There is some local lamb to be found in grocery stores. Sunterra Markets is a sure bet for buying Alberta lamb, since the company also owns a 15,000-head feedlot, and the country’s largest federal lamb plant, where much of the lamb produced in Western Canada is processed. The lamb — branded Canada’s Freshest — is finished on grain for 60 to 90-plus days. The Sunterra plant near Innisfail is also halal-certified. You can find fresh Canadian lamb at local supermarkets like Calgary Co-op and Safeway, but imports are more common in the meat case and freezer.

The city’s halal meat shops are a great place to shop for lamb, too, whether you’re looking for prime cuts or inexpensive parts — neck, breast, shank or mutton for stews and soups.

Looking for bargains on lamb? The imported stuff is always available in the freezers at T&T Supermarkets, particularly good braising cuts like boneless shoulders and shanks that are great for lamb curries. Costco offers good value, too.

THE FIX
The demand for Alberta lamb is outstripping supply, in part due to the influx of new immigrants from countries where lamb is a primary protein.

So when you’re cooking lamb, it’s natural to look to those Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries for recipes and spicing cues. Try rubbing or stuffing a boneless leg of lamb with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and mustard or black olive tapenade for a classic French feast.

Marinate lamb with fresh lemon juice, garlic and olive oil before slow-cooking or grilling Greek-style. Or rub your lamb with Moroccan spices like cinnamon, coriander seeds, paprika and cumin and grill some kebabs or create a tender tagine.

Darren Nixon, chef-owner of Divine restaurant in Okotoks, works with Alberta Lamb Producers to promote local lamb, and his locovore restaurant has become a magnet for those who love lamb.

Nixon is creative when it comes to cooking lamb. He might braise cubes of lamb shoulder with sherry and citrus, or slow-cook shanks in a Thai coconut broth with ginger and chilies. He always has a variation on his famous lamb burger for lunch, and likes to get creative with whatever cuts his small, local farmers can supply.

The chop or rack is the prime cut — simple to sear on the grill. Shoulder is perfect for slow-cooked lamb curry, and a meaty lamb shank, braised in red wine with lots of garlic and rosemary, makes a rustic and comforting feast.
Just don’t overcook it. Lamb should be pink and juicy, so cook it to an internal temperature of 68°C (155°F), then let it rest for 10 minutes to finish cooking before serving.

And don’t forget the red wine. Lamb can stand up to the big guns, whether it’s an intense Bordeaux, an Australian cabernet or shiraz, an earthy Côtes du Rhône or an Argentinian malbec.


Lamb tagine with Israeli couscous.

Find It

Restaurants

Ali Baba Kabob House
1602 14 St. S.W.,
403-541-1115

Charcut
101, 899 Centre St. S.W.,
403-984-2180,
charcut.com

Divine restaurant
42 McRae St., Okotoks,
403-938-0000,
divinefood.ca

River Café
Prince’s Island Park,
403-261-7670
river-cafe.com

Markets and Producers

The Better Butcher
377 Heritage Dr. S.E.,
403-252-7171

Big Sky Lamb
403-335-9686,
bigskylamb.com

Denis and Linda Jabs
403-728-2398,
cakadu@telusplanet.net

Driview Farms
403-553-2178,
driviewfarms.ca

Ewe-nique Farms
403-897-3737,
eweniquefarms.com

Kingsland Farmers Market
7711 Macleod Tr. S.,
403-255-3276,
kingslandfarmersmarket.com

SA Meats
106, 2120 Kensington Rd. N.W.,
403-270-0739,
sameatshops.ca

Second to None Meats
2100 4 St. S.W.,
and two other locations,
stnm.ca

Sunterra Market
200 12 Ave. S.E., 403-261-6772,
plus seven other locations,
sunterramarket.com

TLC Farm
403-638-3173,
tlcfarm.ca