I don’t think I’ve written about the 1BD lamb before. It took me two years to find out about this subsidy secret and I’ve made it my mission to make sure everyone on the island knows about it. At the market there are products from all over the world: apples from Chile, pomegranates from Syria, and avocados from Kenya. In the meat department we can get beef or lamb from New Zealand, Pakistan, India or Saudi. It all varies in price depending on the country of origin (and man, those Pakistani lambs look scrawny!).
Anyway, I’m kind of particular about where my meat comes from. I don’t buy from India or Pakistan even though they are the cheapest. Not for any good reason, but because I picture the animal being raised somewhere like Mumbai and automatically it feels like it must be contaminated. I’m sure when I eat out in a restaurant the meat comes from those places, but whatever. I didn’t say it was logical.
The cheapest beef or lamb here (from places where I imagine the animals are roaming on grass covered hills and are therefore safe to eat, Australia and New Zealand) starts at 3Bd/kilo ($3.60/lb) for ground beef and increases from there. Forget steaks. I can’t afford to feed my crew when they start around $8/lb.
So this lamb thing. I don’t even like lamb. I tell people that lamb tastes like a farm smells. Ugh. BUT, I have found that lamb here is different. It tastes a lot like beef with only a hint of farm if I’m looking for it. But lamb is expensive just like beef. Until my friend told me about the “local lamb.” It’s actually Australian lamb that is shipped over alive and then slaughtered here in a “halal” manner (similar to kosher). It’s subsidized and sold for 1BD per kilo for any cut. That works out to about $1 per pound. I think I’d eat actual farm at that price.
The trick is that it’s not advertised in the grocery story and it’s not out in the displays (at least I’ve never seen it anywhere). But my friend said, “Just ask for the ‘1BD lamb'” I’ve asked a few places and they knew what I was talking about, but didn’t ever have any, but then I hit the mother lode. The little grocery story near my house (that I don’t usually go to because it’s small) always has the 1BD lamb. And it’s out in the display right next to the 4 and 5bd/kilo lamb from other places.
Look at that. Legs of lamb, chops, shoulder, whatever you want. All for about a dollar/lb. The guy will even take your leg or shoulder, cut the meat off for you and turn it into ground lamb. Or he’ll chop the shoulder into cubes, including running it through the bone saw so you can easily make lamb biryani. That wasn’t for me, but the Indian guy ahead of me in line. It was fascinating to watch.
For Thanksgiving I had the bright idea of doing lamb chops instead of turkey. No turkey taking up all the room in my fridge for the 4 days it takes to defrost. No 5 hours of watching and basting the bird. No need to spend big bucks on a big turkey when the base was doing a free Thanksgiving dinner for all active duty members and their families — not turning down a free lunch!
So I asked the butcher for both racks of lamb chops that were in the case and he weighed them out for me — 5 kilos (11 lbs of lamb). Then he trimmed them and cut them so they’d be ready to go on the grill. Two meals worth of lamb chops only cost $13. And that’s with some kids who eat 3 or 4 each. Those in the above photo are all mine. Crazy.
So on Thanksgiving morning we slept in, spent the morning with friends playing football. A game for the adults . . .
and the kids on their own field.
Water and snack break
Swinging high at the playground!
After a great morning we headed to base for thanksgiving “dinner.” Plenty of dressing, turkey, ham, roast beef and mashed potatoes. No prep and no cleanup!
Then we went home and broke out Christmas — music, mulled cider, our Charlie Brown tree and ornaments and of course, lamb chops on the grill! An excellent Thanksmas weekend.