Wonder if they are still alive! I don't mind a bit of Lorne but very occasionally as very chewy and very fatty (best cooked on a griddle). Popular meat at scottish festivals for the dugs from what I have seen :dog:
As with most things, it depends upon where you buy them from ... if buying from anywhere other than D.G. Lindsay, High St., Perth I will boil them to remove a ton of fat, or cook them well to help remove as much as possible.
An interesting factoid (to me anyway) ...
I had been a driver for too many years and was looking for a change, I had a bit of money to spare so I bought and fully refurbished a mobile snack bar. Whilst organising starting my own wee business, I did a survey out of curiosity while looking for suppliers.
I sampled Lorne, Black Pudding and Haggis from about 12 butchers in my area, including D.G. Lindsays (recommended to me years before by a colleague) and a local butcher which has a terrific reputation and is used by most people locally who are discerning about their food.
I then used a George Foreman "fat reducing grill" to cook my samples and I carefully captured all the fat that dripped out to compare the results.
All the high street store products were the worst, but not by far from the "better" butchers, including the local highly thought of one ... this shocked me considerably, but D. G. Lindsays beat them all by a very, very long chalk.
Supermarket tests:
Lorne anything from 1 to 2 (occasionally more) soupspoons of fat.
Black Pudding anything up to 1 soupspoon of fat, but mostly around ½ a spoon.
Haggis varied widely but was similar to black pudding.
"Better" Butcher shops, to be honest most were only marginally better than the supermarkets ... including my local "well thought of" shop.
D. G. Lindsays: (and I kid you not)
Lorne - less than 1 teaspoon of fat.
Black Pudding - absolutely nil, zero, zilch came out of the grill.
Haggis - a few drips (around 3 to 6 in total.)
Their butcher meat is top quality and most of their produce, to the best of my knowledge and belief, came from their own family farms, they aint the cheapest butcher shop in Perth, but IMHO they are the best.
I must add the disclaimer that I have absolutely no affiliation with D. G. Lindsays. I would pick up my rolls from a local bakery at 5:15am then drive to Perth to be at the butcher's door just before 6am every weekday ... One of the reasons I choose them as my supplier was because they were the only butcher in the area that was open at 6am and I was at their door every weekday morning to get my order. I refused to sell cheap crap from my snack bar and nothing was ever frozen or used a second day (any unused raw meats went into my freezer for my own use,) leftover rolls were tossed over the fence to the chickens of a local smallholder who supplied me with free range eggs at a reduced price. The leftover pies, bridies sausage rolls etc. and cooked meats went to any dogs in the neighbourhood, occasionally the chooks got some too ... my wee JR was like a barrel until I befriended a local boxer dog who would come running for a feats when he saw me in the street!
Their ¼lb beef burgers were out of this world, but bloody expensive so I did buy cheaper ones from a c&c as well as a few of Lindsay's for customers who wanted the better quality.
So, if you are ever in the Perth area and want some quality meat, pop in and give them a try, you won't be disappointed.
