Why Is Mutton Such a Rich Tradition in Owensboro KY?

In my youth, when Dad would say "We're going for barbecue," I knew he meant mutton. As a kid, with my then-limited vocabulary, it thought "barbecue" meant mutton. My love for this Owensboro and Daviess County specialty is shared by thousands, and always has been.

Why is that, you wonder?

I wondered, too, so I decided to get to the bottom of it. I've always loved mutton, but it doesn't have universal appeal, odd as that may sound to those who enjoy it. (I have many friends who are not from here who cannot stand it.)

The History of Mutton in Owensboro

First, it's good to know that mutton comes from sheep that are around two or three years old. With that in mind, it likely occurs to you that if it's become such a barbecue focal point in Owensboro and Daviess County, there must have been a proliferation of sheep at one time. You'd be right.

Agricultural records dating back to 1860 indicate the presence of nearly twice as many sheep as there were beef cattle. Sheer numbers dictated that if you were going to barbecue meat, it was going to be whatever you had more of.

Read More: 10 Reasons You Should Visit Owensboro, Kentucky

The Cost of Cooking Mutton

Jerry Morris and the Angels for Ashley Cooking Team do a lot of great charity work for our community. I've lost count of how many huge, portable smokers they have and use for preparing Boston butts, ribs, and chickens to sell at a given fundraiser. I once asked Jerry why his team had never prepared mutton, and he told me it was too expensive.

I did a Google search to find out why it's so expensive, and I received a lot of solid suggestions that made sense, but nothing definitive. Lower supply, fluctuating demands, and its status as a specialty meat were all cited as possible reasons. Production costs and a certain level of difficulty in processing were other explanations. One simple suggestion was that it was so good, people were willing to pay more.

How Expensive Is Mutton?

I checked some online retailers that sell it. Farmer's Fresh Direct has it at $14.95 a pound. Compare that to the average cost of ground beef, which ranges from $5 to $7 per pound. At one online butcher shop, you'll be out $130 for five pounds of roast mutton cuts, and that doesn't include sales tax.

When you look at those numbers and understand how much mutton a cooking team would need for a large crowd at, say, a company picnic or a huge charity fundraiser, you can understand why you only see mutton on a menu at select restaurants. Indeed, mutton lovers flock to places like Moonlite Bar-B-Q, Old Hickory Bar-B-Que, and Ole South Barbeque to sink their teeth into this amazing regional delicacy.

If other restaurants outside these county lines serve mutton, I'd love to know their names.