Have you ever had surf and turf? Have you ever had Hogget as opposed to Lamb? Do you enjoy garlic enough to ward off Dracula?  If you answered yes to any of these questions this recipe is for you. Herdwick Hogget, Anchovies, Garlic and Thyme.

Let me tell you about my love of Herdwicks, it all began about five years ago when my mother gave me a Herdwick money bank, from then on I called it my Herdypig – I have just managed to save enough money in it for a 10p mix! From that day I have always had a fascination with the breed and when Joel decided to buy some I was obviously over the moon.

Herdwicks are usually found in the Lake Districts of Cumbria, they live on the highest mountains in England and are built for it, it is said that Herdwicks are the hardiest of all the domestic sheep breeds and they are happy to graze in fells which are over 3000 feet.  

Despite all this the Herdwick we used was born and raised in Northern Ireland and despite there not being any fells the Herdwick still had a great life in the fields around Kilnacart Road. They are a slow growing breed which is why they are older by the time they are ready for the table (a hogget is a sheep between 1 and 2 years old). This older meat is better worked resulting in a much richer flavour than the younger lambs!

The Herdwick Hogget Recipe

This recipe is super dooper simple but before you read all about it turn your oven on and up to the highest it will go. 

List of ingredients

2.5kg hogget / lamb shoulder (preferably on the bone)

2 tablespoons of butter 

2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves 

1 small jar of anchovies 

6-8 cloves of garlic

½ teaspoon of sea salt

2 teaspoons of ground black pepper 

250ml/large glass red or white wine 

Let’s begin!  Make sure your meat is at room temperature and cover it with 2 tbsp of unsalted butter (it has to be unsalted due to the high salt content of anchovies).  Once the hogget is covered make around 8 incisions in the fat, measuring around 1.5 inches – make sure you have 2 tbsp of thyme, 8 cloves of garlic (halved) a jar of anchovies at the ready.  

Now is when you get your hands dirty, you need to insert the garlic, thyme and anchovies into your incisions. Season but not too much salt, remember the anchovies will provide this.  



Place in the oven in a roasting tin adding 250ml of red or white wine, covering with a lid or tin foil and reduce the heat to 170 degrees and cook for 3.5 to 4 hours. 

Once the lamb is cooked use the juices to make a gravy, reducing if necessary.

The Side Recipe

We opted for a cauliflower mash on the side, which you can prep while the lamb is cooking. 

List of ingredients

2 medium cauliflowers 

2 large leeks

1 tablespoon of english mustard 

2 tablespoons of butter 

Sea salt and pepper to taste 

You will need around 15 mins to make this and we added leek mustard to ours too which I will also cover. First of all cut up your cauliflower so you just have the florets, give them a quick blast in the blender.  Prepare a large saucepan with 2 tbsp of water and 2 tbsp of butter, place the cauliflower on top and steam for 5 mins or until soft. At the same time cut two leeks into small slices and sweat over some butter, when cooked add 1 tbls of English mustard. 

Once both are cooked just add them together. For extra flavour add some mature cheddar and don’t forget to season. 

This recipe is bursting with flavour and there was so much of it even I was too stuffed to want seconds (very unusual for me), we accompanied it with some delicious roast potatoes.  

I really do think the hogget added to the overall flavour but you can use lamb if you want, don’t forget don’t over season.  If you want to go the full hog(get) check out Helmsley & Helmsley where we got this recipe from. They recommend a mint and kale salad with this but our mint hasn't re-appeared in the garden as of yet so we left it out.

Until next time.

Sophia