NORTH RONALDSAY HOGGET......

The rarest breed of sheep in the world

Furthest North from Orkney mainland lays North Ronaldsay. This Northerly isle is home to a rare, Neolithic breed of sheep, a breed that has continued to survive only in North Ronaldsay while becoming extinct throughout the rest of Europe.
With the rest of the UK starting to breed more profitable breeds of sheep which yielded more meat and more wool, the laird of North Ronaldsay certainly didn’t want to lose out, but was wary to introduce a new breed that might not stand up against the traditional breed.

So, these sheep were banished to the beaches, where they quickly adapted to a diet of seaweed. Self-sufficient and effectively wild, the sheep are left to their own devices even through the winter months and are ‘punded’ on agreed days in old Orcadian communal fashion.

Owing to a diet of seaweed, the meat is very high in iodine and omega-3 and has a taste unlike anything else. This meat is all about flavour and should be very slowly cooked. In fact the meat is so bursting with flavour that islanders believe it doesn’t need garlic, salt, rosemary or anything else.

As these sheep aren’t reared for farming, they are rarely eaten as lamb. The sheep must be allowed to grow into adulthood and reproduce otherwise the breed will die out. The season runs from October to March and ends as soon as lambing begins.
North Ronaldsay Hogget is best eaten as a slow-roasted joint, gigot or shoulder