I saw at the butcher's shop today that they sold the head of the lamb, cut in half down the middle. I became really interested because the brain was fresh, and I believed it to be really nutritious. However, when I told my family about it, they were rather freaked out. They argued that the brain portion could contain BSE (mad cow's disease), and that eating the head is inhumane. I have no idea whether the BSE part is true, and if it is, whether or not cooking will remove the BSE. I'm interested in a way to properly cook a lamb's head (ie boiled in soup, broiled, or something else), and convince my family to try it out. Thanks in advance.
How to safely cook a lamb’s head
food-safetylamb
Best Answer
My understanding is that no cooking method helps with BSE and that seems to be backed up by a U.S. Department of Agriculture fact sheet that states:
However having a look around at a few references like BSE in sheep from the UK department of Agriculture and Rural Development while there's a theoretical risk of sheep contracting the disease it's never actually been detected. There is a related disease in sheep called Scrapie but from that Wikipedia page:
I've never cooked a whole lamb's head but have cooked lamb brains and one word of caution is that they do cook quickly. Most recipes I've used seem to involve poaching for only five to ten minutes so it may be worth considering removing the brain while cooking the head and adding back late in the cooking process. Another idea might be to make two courses as a common theme, maybe a soup using the head and some crumbed brains.