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What is Lamb Mutton Yearling? Chevon

Eating Goat and sheep goes back at least to the times of Genghis Khan

The armies of Genghis Khan, would butcher sheep. goat, and horses. The meat was cut up in to small cubes and threaded on the swords, cooked on wood charcoal. These were just called kebabs. When Babur invaded India, he realized that Hindus did not eat beef. Babur was a Moslem and he did not eat Pork, so the Lamb, Goat and Chicken became the mainstay of Mughalai Cuisine. Sheep was readily available in Northern India, goat was used when sheep was not available.

The meat from Sheep is always called Mutton. The meat from Goat is called Chevon, but in India, even the meat from Goat is called Mutton. It gets little confusing.

If you are eating Mutton at a posh restaurant, most likely you are eating meat from Sheep. If you are eating at a friend's house, most likely it is meat from Goat.

The baby goat is called Kid, it is equivalent of a lamb. In the olden days Kid and lamb were roasted as whole over open spit. They are not very popular in India.

In United States, the goat meat is seldom available. So, I have elected to emphasize on lamb. In United States sheep meat is classified by USDA as follow:

Lamb: Less than one year old
Yearling: 1 to two years old
Mutton: Over two years old.

Even in the lamb there are special ratings for 'Dakota Lamb' for leanness and 'Spring lamb' (Born between March and October)
What they sell in most of the grocery stores is 'Lamb' and NOT 'Mutton'. It is legal to sell 'Mutton', but there is very limited demand, so you have to look at specialty stores.

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