The terms lamb, hoggett or mutton are used to describe the meat of a domestic sheep. The meat of a sheep a year old or younger is generally known as lamb, whereas the meat of an older sheep is either hoggett or mutton depending on its age and characteristics. In some countries all such meat is referred to as lamb. All of these are known generically as sheepmeats.

The meat of a lamb is taken from the animal between one month and one year old, with a carcass weight of between 5.5 and 30 kilograms. This meat generally is more tender than that from older sheep and appears more often on tables in some Western countries. Hoggett and mutton can taste more flavorful than lamb because they contain a higher concentration of species-characteristic fatty acids. They also tend to be tougher than lamb (because of connective tissue maturation) and are therefore better suited to casserole-style cooking.

Sheep meat features prominently in cuisines of the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, and India because other red meats are eschewed for religious or economic reasons. Barbecued mutton is a specialty in the area around the U.S. city of Owensboro, Kentucky, which hosts a competition for barbecued mutton (among other meats) annually.