Back when I was still wearing a school uniform, I popped into the village butcher’s with my mother. Their conversation bordered on the inane. The pair of them were in raptures over a leg of lamb. A lump of meat. Talk about gagging on superlatives.
Fast forward about 15 years to the only butcher’s shop in Anchorage, Alaska. I’d spotted it driving by and begged my then boyfriend to stop. I went inside and saw a beautiful leg of lamb. I nearly swooned. Delighted by my reaction, the butcher walked into the cold room and brought out a gorgeous rack. I heard my mother speaking through me and got the land of my life. Mind you, now that I’m older, and wiser, and have come to appreciate my mother’s eccentricities, I’ve come to realise what a wonderful woman she is,. Turning out like her would be no bad thing at all.
Close to the top of my wish list for nearly five years now has been ready access to fresh lamb. It’s not asking much, is it? Just three hours away in Vienna, market stalls have some fantastic looking lamb. But here in Budapest, I have to resort to scouring the deep-freezers around Easter and bagging what I can. The other day, on the No. 4 tram between Mester utca and Corvin Negyed, I caught sight of a shop window emblazoned with the B word. Baranyi. Today I went to investigate.
I was like a kid in a candy store. The poor chap behind the counter didn’t know quite what to make of my orgasmic-like exuberance. And when I asked to take a photo, I know he officially wrote me off as being a couple of cutlets short of a rack. The shop is bright, airy, clean, and fresh. The meat is beaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuutiful. And it’s just around the corner. Ferenc Korut 39. No prizes for guessing what’s on the menu this Saturday night.
13 Responses
Fresh lamb is available around here, if you know who’s who, but you tend to have to take a whole one. If I had a bath I could make that gorgeous Turkish içi dolmuş kuzu kızartması – or more likely, I’d get you round to do it, it’s too clever for me!!
Name the date – am sure we could rustle up a bath somewhere
Mary Murphy http://www.stolenchild66.wordpress.com
I didn’t realise that they had started exporting Welsh lamb to Hungary but clearly from your description it must have started………..
Tisn’t all about the Welsh you know… 🙂
Hi Mary,
I guess you forgot that I have started importing quality beef and lamb, I thought you had wanted to buy one of my New Zealand leg of lamb? Mostly English guys have been buying them so far and said they are better and cheaper than the Hungarian ones. Check out http://www.primecuts.hu to see what I have, but I can bring in nearly anything. Btw, I met Sezgin, the Turkish butcher, nice shop and products. I am talking with him about offering his Saslik (skish kebabs) on my online shop, for those who do not venture downtown that often.
Cheers,
Rob
Saw the spread in the Budapest Times, Rob. Yes. Nice one. Nothing beats having a butcher in the hood though. Also have a contact for you from The Farmers Market in Bath… will dig out the card and send.
Hello Mary. I picked your blog from someone we both follow, got quite intrigued by your comment there, and it has landed me to this particular post. On the meaty side, I am not a fan of anything other than the traditional beef, chicken and fish, but given your ‘relentless pursuit’ of this childhood dream in the search for fresh lamb, I must say you have tempted me to consider acquiring that taste too. Am i right lamb is an acquired taste? Maybe I will find out what’s so enigmatic about it that it had to be your dream Lol! Great post, laced with nice humor. I liked it
I don’t think it’s an acquired taste, Rabiro, just one of the things you like or you don’t. Mind you, you can like it or like it a lot… depending on how it’s cooked. I have friends who never eat lamb because their mothers/grandmothers never ate it – some sort of odd hereditary distaste. Most peculiar. Let me know what you think then you try.
I would love to know your favourite lamb recipe, if you don’t mind. That could help when I try it out soon
My all-time fave… http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Anchovy-and-Rosemary-Roasted-Lamb-231791
Thanks so much