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A traditional Scotch Broth calls for lamb. However, my partner does not like the strong smell, and lamb is not so easy to get a hold of anyway.
What meat can I substitute for lamb in Scotch Broth while still getting something approximating "what mother used to make"?
(I may also try a pure veggie option, but some meat seems to help it "stick to the ribs" on a cold day.)
I'm Scottish (and live in Scotland). Traditionally, Scotch broth was made using cheap cuts of mutton, often on-the-bone. I make this soup regularly in winter. It's real winter comfort food!
However, you can use any meat you want, or none.
Meats I've personally tried include: cheap cuts of lamb, beef, chicken, even ham. Leftovers are also a good option. A left over roast chicken carcass is as good as anything. In my opinion it's best if the meat is on the bone. It adds something extra special. On occasion I've also used supermarket cartons of meat stock, or even stock cubes. The absence of one ingredient (meat) would never stop me from making one of my favourite soups!
I've also made it completely vegan before by using vegetable stock cubes as the base for the soup. The rest of the ingredients are already vegan, basically root vegetables, onions, leeks, pearl barley, peas, pulses etc. Whatever you have available really.
At its core, the broth itself is really just a vegetable soup. The uniqueness of the flavour (the thing that makes it "Scotch" broth IMHO) comes from the use of pearl barley which is used to thicken up the soup. Without the pearl barley, it would just be a vegetable broth. The other ingredients are variable/optional.
I would think that, as this is a dish of humble origins, it would have been made with whatever meat was available.
As such you could substitute pretty much any red meat. Beef or venison might suit as both are a traditional part of the Scottish scene. You could also go an older sheep meat such as hogget or mutton. These have quite strong flavours, and if your partner doesn't like the flavour of lamb, then they probably also won't like hogget or mutton.
More off the traditional route would be pork, goat or chicken - these would change the flavour substantially and the colour would also be quite different for chicken and pork.
More unusual but part of the Scottish scene meats might be things like pheasant or grouse - though these were more reserved for the rich land-owners that could afford to run a pheasant or grouse moor rather than the more common folk.
You are not going to get the lamb taste without using lamb. There is a unique richness to the fat in lamb. The fat around the ribs especially is concentrated acid reflux. If your family is adverse to it it is probably just better to replace it with a more neutral tasting meat.
I'm a lamb producer and love the stuff, but it isn't everyone forte. Lamb has a stronger, earthy, grassy flavor to it. The closest substitute, which if processed properly would be milder, is venison. If your partner isn't into adventurous eating and needs something more tame, use beef.
Shin of Beef is a good alternative. We have an almost identical soup in Northern Ireland based on celery leaves and leeks.
Brown the steak, fill the pot with water and proceed as normal with your pulses and root veg. Once it has come to the boil, about one and a half hours should do it for an inch thick steak with a bone.
