Never had mutton myself but other meats I like that are uncommon to find in US grocers are duck, quail, and goat. Duck has gotten easier to find I suppose, the whole foods near me will sell both whole and breasts. I don't remember this being the case 3 years ago.
But finding goat is very hard. I don't tend to go to butchers since there are none near me within walking distance.
When I lived in Florida I'd routinely eat at Caribbean or Dominican or other tropical cuisine restaurants that would all serve goat. Some of my favorite meals I've ever had were in those small hole-in-the-wall places.
I honestly can't believe duck isn't more popular in the US. Yes, it's more expensive than chicken but part of that (I suspect) is its rarity. But unlike lamb (which I love) being something of an acquired taste, duck is unambiguously delicious.
My only real guess is that both duck and lamb–to me–seem more sensitive in general to preparation. Beef, chicken, and pork are less enjoyable when they're not cooked well but they're still alright. Duck and lamb seem significantly less enjoyable when they're prepared badly.
> Beef, chicken, and pork are less enjoyable when they're not cooked well but they're still alright.
I get that you don't really mean "well" in the steak sense, but I still can't help but to think of how I love medium rare. I will tolerate rare and up to medium well (to a point), but actual well is a hard no.
I grew up thinking I hate steak because my family think the slightest hint of pink is poison. Even my younger brothers, so it's not a generational thing. It gets weird when we meet up and one of them wants to grill the meat, I have to snatch my meat off the grill like a cat burglar because nobody else will respect my preference and try to chase me away (they're completely convinced I'm reckless for this.)
Duck is absolutely great, there's a Thai restaurant near me that makes a great tasting fried duck breast with a peanut sauce. Incredibly crispy, incredibly delicious. Highly underrated meat as you said.
To me the surprise is the popularity of turkey over duck and goose. Turkey is cheaper, but needs to be prepared really well in order to be mediocre. A badly cooked duck or goose is much better than a perfect turkey. The ceiling for goose is high and even higher for duck, but the floor is already pretty high.
Turkey is much much cheaper to raise in quantity than duck or goose. In my family it would be rare to use a turkey for an occasion, its just not interesting.
I posted this above, but its because its much much cheaper and turkey can be farmed on a scale which is very difficult to do with duck or geese.
Its not banned from our table, but it would get the same reception from my family as if I had heated up some microwave meals. But we grew up on farms and had good access to better alternatives.
BTW, if you like duck, try Goose for thanksgiving, and make sure you use the fat if making roasted potatoes.
I think it falls in the same trap as lamb, mutton and goat. Americans don't like food with a lot of flavor. That's also why there are fairly few fermented foods that are commonly eaten and why Tilapia is a popular fish.
I really despise duck. It has an irredeemably off flavor that overwhelms whatever it’s served with. The preferred way to address this in Western cuisine seems to be sickly-sweet glazes and jellies, which are no better.
Love lamb though. Different strokes for different folks?
My local costco sells large boxes of frozen cubed goat meat, and maybe entire goats. (Theres occasionally something large wrapped in burlap next to where the goat cubes are stored in the freezer).
I don't have a need for a 15 pound box much less whole animal, so haven't bought it. Will get a duck from them later this fall though.
I'm surprised you guys don't eat much duck, it's also really good. Do you eat goose? We often have that instead of Turkey, although it's a lot smaller.
But finding goat is very hard. I don't tend to go to butchers since there are none near me within walking distance.
When I lived in Florida I'd routinely eat at Caribbean or Dominican or other tropical cuisine restaurants that would all serve goat. Some of my favorite meals I've ever had were in those small hole-in-the-wall places.