Best Occitan Sheep Types
Agneau de Lozére is fresh lamb meat from the male and female Blanche du Massif breed of young lambs, their age right between suckling and adult, pasture fed lamb. They are born, reared and slaughtered in the French regions of Lozére, Cantal, Ardéche and Haute Loire.
Because the sheep are highly adaptable to the harsh weather and can access hard-to-reach terrains, they feed on pastures with varied vegetation and their milk strongly influences the lamb meat. It is silky and pink-white in color with firm white fat, fine texture and with a delicate taste and scent of grass.
Baréges-Gavarnie is fresh meat from adult sheep born, reared and slaughtered in the mountainous French region of Hautes-Pyrénées. There are two products - the doublon, a castrated male that has spent at least two summers in the pastures, and the young ewe, aged between 2 and 6 years.
The sheep have thick wool and dense bones so they can withstand the harsh climate and find food even in the hard-to-access landscape. The meat is well marbled without any excessive fat, aromatic, and tender with an aftertaste of Alpine herbs. It is strikingly bright red, tender and succulent.
Agneau de l'Aveyron is meat from young lambs weighing 17 kilograms on average, born and reared in the Aveyron region in France. The lambs come from a local breed of sheep called Lacaune which is traditionally reared in sheep-folds.
The Lacaune breed also gives the milk necessary to produce the famous Roquefort cheese. The meat is rose-pink, tender, juicy and so tasty making it popular enough to even has its own fan club comprising around thirty French chefs. Try it roasted with walnuts and truffle oil or in spring stews for the best experience.
Agneau du Quercy is lamb meat from the dry Quercy region in France, using lambs that have been slaughtered between 90 and 180 days of rearing. The lambs are reared on farms and feed on their mother's milk for at least 70 days before feeding on cereals and assorted vegetable based food.
The animals are long-legged and can easily withstand the heat in the region. When slaughtered, they weigh a little less than 20 kilograms, and the meat is succulent, subtle-tasting and tender while the color is very light or light pink. It is best to cook the meat in an oven, grill it, barbecue it, make meatballs, ragout or prepare it with rosemary and goat cheese.
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