Lawrence Murphy: Prime time for English lamb '“ the best baa none

Although new season lamb is associated with Easter I don't believe it's at its best until at least the end of May and tastes even better as the months go on.
By The Newsroom
Published 28th May 2016, 06:00 BST
Lamb sweetbreads with broad beans.Lamb sweetbreads with broad beans.
Lamb sweetbreads with broad beans.

Latter lambs are allowed to feed from their mothers in the open air and then start to eat grass to fatten and develop in flavour.

You can eat lamb all year round from places where they outnumber humans, but now is the time to consume the best British lamb for firm pink and tasty meat.

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Along with this beautiful produce comes a lot of other interesting cuts and I have fond memories of stuffed hearts and fried kidneys from my child hood. Hearts were a special treat.

A prized offal for chefs is lamb sweetbreads – the thymus or pancreas glands and not what most people think they are. You will have to pester your butcher to get this wonderful ingredient as most restaurants will be trying to get there before you.

They have a lovely creamy texture and delicate lamb flavour and I suggest you try them in small quantities as you will either love or hate them.

Cooking them does take a little time but it’s worth the effort.