We’re buzzing here at Black Welsh Lamb as we’ve just won THREE Gold Stars for our leg of hogget lamb at the Guild of Fine Food’s international Great Taste Awards. There were 14,195 products entered this year and only 1.8% won a 3-star rating so are you can imagine we are feeling very proud … Continue reading Three Star Celebrations!
Author: blackwelshlamb
Slow matured, regenerative organic, pasture-fed Black Welsh Mountain lamb sustainably reared on a traditional farm in rural Monmouthshire.
We sell to selected restaurants, shops and private clients.
Umble Pie with Black Welsh Lamb
This is the recipe that Stephen Terry wowed the judges with on the Great British Menu. A bit complicated, but worth the effort. Alternatively, something similar is often on the menu at the excellent Hardwick, as part of the baa baa black sheep platter! Ingredients For the lamb 1 x 1.4kg/3lb lamb shoulder, ideally Pen-y-Wyrlod … Continue reading Umble Pie with Black Welsh Lamb
Abergavenny Food Fest
Abergavenny Food Festival Our home food fest is always a busy time for us here at Black Welsh Lamb and if you missed the festival you can share some of it with us. This year we were really delighted to support Belazu with their #cookforSyria meal, where Anna Hansen cooked hogget legs and shoulders to an appreciative audience … Continue reading Abergavenny Food Fest
Earth Stories 2018
In the twenty years that we have been at Pen y Wyrlod we have been through waves of activity; developing the flock (both human and the sheep), careers and businesses, restoring the buildings, creating tourism spaces and developing relationships with some amazing chefs across the country. This year we felt we wanted to go beyond … Continue reading Earth Stories 2018
Election Special – A Sheep’s Perspective (Retrospectively)
So - election time again and we've got a few things to say. If sheep could vote (which they still can't despite years of campaigning for eweniversal suffrage) things could really change. For a start, we need more wooly thinking: It's time we saw a fair price for our hard-grown locks. We've been fleeced by … Continue reading Election Special – A Sheep’s Perspective (Retrospectively)
It’s all kicking off here
When the weather is as lovely as its been this month it is the best time here at Pen y Wyrlod Farm. We've been lambing for three weeks and now nearly a hundred little black lambs are racing around the fields as their mothers bleat for them to return. Our lambs are mainly born outside but some … Continue reading It’s all kicking off here
All In
Down here at Black Welsh Lamb we are relieved to have a barn full of hay to see us through the winter. Being grass-fed means that we have to rely more than most people on a good store, as we can't fall back on cereal-based feeds if the hay runs out. Haymaking; a hugely romantic, … Continue reading All In
So what’s so special about Black Welsh Lamb?
We are often asked what it is that makes our lamb so special, or at least different to other products. To be honest, it is hard to know where to start: We aim to produce the tastiest, most tender, natural meat by the most sustainable means and with the least impact on the World. … Continue reading So what’s so special about Black Welsh Lamb?
Caroline’s lamb blanquette with barley
This is a recipe from our French friend Caroline, who writes.... "As promised, I'm coming back to you with a recipe using the beautiful lamb shoulder you offered us to taste, when we met you end of september just off the Offa's Dyke, by your farm. I made a simple stew on a slow cooker, … Continue reading Caroline’s lamb blanquette with barley
Pasture for Life
We take producing pasture-fed lamb very seriously here at Black Welsh Lamb and are delighted to be one of very few pasture-fed accredited farms in Wales. Whereas on the face of it you might expect most sheep to be pasture fed, this is far from the truth. The difficulties of raising sheep on a mixed … Continue reading Pasture for Life
Time to Celebrate Difference
As you will know if you read our blogs, we produce organic lamb on the farm here for sale to restaurants and direct to private customers. We think we know some of the issues involved in getting great local produce, especially meat, out to consumers. This got us to thinking about how we market and distribute … Continue reading Time to Celebrate Difference
Hogget – Lamb as it Used to Be?
Many people that we speak to say that they prefer a leaner meat these days. That is good news from our point of view, as our organic grass-fed Black Welsh Lamb is very low on fat compared with more mainstream commercial breeds. At the same time, our ancient, species-rich pasture offers higher-levels of minerals, vitamins and omegas … Continue reading Hogget – Lamb as it Used to Be?
How Many Legs does a Lamb Have?
Sometimes I think we must have been doing this too long. I remember when we first moved into the farm back in 1996, we were baffled by some of the maths our neighbours employed when discussing anything to do with sheep. Our late friend John used to report auction prices in terms of "lambs making … Continue reading How Many Legs does a Lamb Have?
Summer’s End……
The summer’s coming to an end .. autumn is beginning and our ewes are on the best grass, preparing for tupping and the start of another farming year. The rams, all too aware of the time of year, are peeping through the hedges in keen anticipation. There are around four hundred bales of our meadow … Continue reading Summer’s End……
True Acclaim
True acclaim today from one of our favourite clients, Matt Tebbutt of the Foxhunter Restaurant, Great British Menu and Market Kitchen fame. We always welcome feedback on our lambs and especially from chefs, whose own reputation depends so much on the quality of the ingredients they serve to their customers. Matt described his last delivery … Continue reading True Acclaim
Outstanding at Trealy Farm
Yesterday we were priviledged to be part of Outstanding in the Field's first UK event, at Trealy Farm, Monmouth. I arrived late, but still in time for a glass of Ancre Hill sparkling 2008 Seyval Blanc - which was a really good start to the afternoon. Ruth Tudor and James Swift gave us a great … Continue reading Outstanding at Trealy Farm
Outstanding in the Field
Just selecting lambs for the amazing Outstanding in the Field banquet, to be held at Trealy Farm, Monmouth, next week. OITF is a legendary American organisation that travels around the States in an iconic tour bus, holding large scale banquets outdoors on farm, to promote communal dining, links to farmers and enjoyment of local food. … Continue reading Outstanding in the Field
End of Part 1
We're enjoying a couple of weeks of respite, having finished our first batch of (unexpected) lambs. It all went really well, with no major problems and a really healthy set of lambs running around enjoying the spring weather. Another week before we start again!
Oops!
Only yesterday I was smugly telling a friend that we were not starting lambing until the first week of April - (Remember the saying that Bonfire Night makes April Fools?). I went up to feed the sheep tonight and heard a higher pitched bleat amongst the hungry ewes. First lamb - six weeks early! Oh … Continue reading Oops!
Lamb Winners
Lucky winners of a half organic lamb in our prize draw at the Abergavenny Winter Fair were Clare and Guy Ingram, from the Vale of Glamorgan. Their prize was slightly delayed when Nick got stuck in snow in Cardiff before Christmas, whilst attempting to deliver to one of our regulars. Despite heavy warnings to take … Continue reading Lamb Winners
Market Kitchen: Big Adventure
Just discovered by accident that our film with chef Mark Sargeant is on Market Kitchen: Big Adventure on UKTV's Good Food Channel today and next Sunday. Mark visited the farm a few weeks ago, walked the ground with Sarah and tried trimming some sheep's feet with Nick before going on to cook some delicious Pen-y-Wyrlod … Continue reading Market Kitchen: Big Adventure
Recipe of the Day
For anyone like us with a massive crop of quinces this year - a recipe to go beyond membrillo and quince jelly: Qorma-e-Behi or Afghan Quince Stew. We love Afghan recipes. Almost every one, including desserts, begins with "take one lamb"........ This is a toned down version, stolen from the excellent Noshe Djan, by Helen … Continue reading Recipe of the Day
New Star Ram Makes his Entrance
Our search for a new ram is over. Meet Allt y Brain Leroy (not our choice of name!) who arrived at the farm last weekend from a beautiful farm deep in the Breconshire Countryside. He is in quarantine for a couple of weeks, as any new stock has to be, but he is less than … Continue reading New Star Ram Makes his Entrance
Welcome to the Black Welsh Lamb blog
This is the blog for Black Welsh Lamb - high quality organic black welsh mountain lamb from Pen y Wyrlod Farm in the uplands of North Monmouthshire. On this site we want to show you how our lamb is grown, the sustainable methods we are trying to adopt and the historic landscape that we farm … Continue reading Welcome to the Black Welsh Lamb blog