A sheep's trotter, also referred to as a lamb's trotter, is the culinary term for the foot of

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

. They may be cooked by being boiled, broiled or fried, and are used in various dishes. Sheep's trotters may also be

parboiled Parboiling (or leaching) is the partial or semi boiling of food as the first step in cooking. The word is from the Old French ''parbouillir'', 'to boil thoroughly' but by mistaken association with "part", it has acquired this definition. The w ...

and then finished by an additional cooking method, such as stewing. They can be served with sauces such as

white sauce White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

or a brown

gravy Gravy is a sauce made from the juices of meats and vegetables that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with thickeners for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a mix of salt and caramel food ...

. Powsowdie is a Scottish broth or soup made from sheep's ('head'), that sometimes includes sheep's trotters as an ingredient. Sheep's trotters are used in the preparation of lamb's trotters soup, which can also include leg meat. '' Harqma'' is soup that is common in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

area of Northern Africa, and is sometimes prepared using lamb's trotters. They are also slow-cooked to make '' paya'', which is popular in South Asian cuisine. It is popular amongst South Africans, adapted from the cuisine of India. Those of south Asian descent, and other South Africans often cook it with spices and sugar beans ( pinto) or crab-eye beans ( borlotti beans). It is a common belief that pigs are the only animal who have "trotters". Animals such as sheep, cows, horses and any animal with cloven-hoofed feet have "hoofs".

See also

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Further reading