What’s a more Northern way to feed a crowd than a lamb hotpot? Our traditional Lancashire Hotpot recipe combines tender Cumbrian Herdwick Lamb shoulder and lamb chops with classic baking potatoes and a little topping twist — sweet potato stars.
To make our easy lamb hotpot we’re first searing the lamb, then cooking it slowly with vegetables, spices and garlic until the meat is tender. It’s then topped with thinly sliced potato and baked. This dish can be made with Herdwick lamb or Herdwick mutton, bear in mind that the cooking times will be longer for the mutton. We like to serve this dish with a little something pickled to cut through the richness, such as beetroot or red cabbage.
What’s Herdwick Lamb?
Herdwick is a traditional breed of hardy hill sheep native to Cumbria, the name originates from “Herdwyck”, meaning sheep pasture. Roaming freely on the Cumbrian hills at heights upwards of 1,000 feet, the sheep graze on wild grass and forage which gives the lamb a distinctive gamey flavour.
Our Herdwick comes to us from fifth-generation Lakeland farmer Ian Knight, who we’ve formed a unique, decade-long partnership with. The farming team are a close and hardworking traditional family, everybody mucks in on the farm and supports one another. From Ian (the boss), who does everything and more to Alan (Dad – the old boss), who keeps an eye on the new boss, to Joe (the REAL boss – aged 8 at the time of writing), who tells the old boss and the new boss where they are going wrong!
We’re proud to support Ian and his hardworking farming family by being the only major retailer to stock this heritage breed. We aim to improve the viability and profitability of upland farming, guaranteeing a fair price for local farmers. The lamb season usually runs from mid-January until mid-June, with mutton available to order at Christmas.
Ian says:
“One of the worst things about farming is the uncertainty of the value of lamb. Working with Booths guarantees secure demand and a fair price for our Herdwick lamb. This enables farmers to plan ahead and invest in a sustainable future for their businesses.”
Booths meat buyer David Simons explains:
“Herdwick is certainly one of Booths hero products and there is growing demand for this meat, with its distinctive gamey flavour of the fells.”
Meet the man himself in our video
What is a Lancashire Hotpot?
Hot pot or Hotpot? Lancashire hotpot is a traditional dish that’s cooked low and slow including lamb or mutton and seasonal vegetables topped with sliced potato. ‘Hotpot’ is thought to originate from its origins of combining a hodge podge of available ingredients in a large pot.
Click here for the full ‘how to cook lamb hotpot’ recipe:
Serves: 8
Time to Prepare: 5 hours
Ingredients for Lamb Hotpot:
• Booths Herdwick Lamb Shoulder
• Seasonal Vegetables
• Baking potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Pickled Beetroot
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What Is Booths Country?
Celebrating 175 years in 2022, Booths is a family business. Since 1847 we have worked closely with local suppliers and producers from the Northern counties we call home: Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, and Yorkshire, which we affectionately call ‘Booths Country.’ We’ve taken Booths Country beyond our traditional home counties to include the best food and drink crafted by the people who know best, whether that’s pasta from Italy or Port from Portugal.
We’ve developed strong, mutually supportive relationships with our producers and we’re proud to be able to put their goods on our shelves, in our fridges and on our fresh counters.
Our Booths Country Kitchen Recipe series is a collection of recipes that celebrate Booths Country. In each episode, we’ll share a recipe you’ll love to cook, inspired by the counties we call home and beyond.
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