The Story of Shh'annu
Anthony has been developing sheep with an emphasis on taste, for 25+ years. After trialling this special lamb pre pandemic, Kirkwood (aka RealFarmMeat) started marketing shh’annu in 2021. The outstanding taste immediately caught the attention of top chefs throughout the UK. At first 21 Michelin star chefs asked to taste shh’annu and an amazing 20 of these reported it was delicious. Further an impressive 14 of these experts, and their top restaurants, requested to buy shh’annu.
From the South of England to North of Scotland, despite being asked to pay high prices, Michelin Star chefs are choosing shh’annu. Many think shh’annu is the best lamb they’ve ever tasted – both bursting with flavour yet beautifully tender.
What is Shh'annu Lamb?
The Facts
Shh'annu
The breed that makes shh’annu is the “Kirkwood composite” …a mix of many breeds but mainly (33:33:33) Suffolks:Cambridges:Texels. These 3 breeds have been closed flocks at Kirkwood, near Lockerbie, for many years where the primary aim has been to breed for taste. The policy has been quality, not quantity. Another reason to have Cambridges within the composite has been to add prolificacy because Cambridges produce lots of lambs, while Suffolks and Texels do not. Cambridges also mature slowly, and so help the composite to reach its prime at around 14-20 months old. Cambridges are skinny buggers, but the Texels/Suffolks make up for that, providing a bulky carcass. Cambridges make excellent mothers, and are bred to be hardy, with high survival rates, despite being run on an easy care, natural and extensive, system.
Shh'annu
There’s far more to the shh’annu technique… All lambs are solely grass fed after their mother’s milk, of course. No concentrates are fed to the lambs. A clover based, traditional pasture is all they need and it is 99% organic. Everything is as natural as possible. No artificial fertilisers, nor sprays, have been used on the fields for years. Thistles abound! No routine antibiotics, no growth supplements, no vaccines are used unless absolutely necessary. Any lamb that is injected at any stage is discarded from shh’annu because there is a small chance the needle might cause an abscess. Attention to detail is immense, but shh’annu are commanding very high prices so it is to be expected. The lambs never come indoors (we regard that as unnatural), with lambing all outside in May, and a “clean grazing” system is used to minimise parasites and the use of anthelmintics.
