Lamb is taking centre stage on most Christmas tables around New Zealand this year, according to an online survey from Retail Meat NZ.
But it comes at a cost.
The average retail price of roasting lamb and hogget shot up to a record high in 2025, with Stats NZ's most recent figures from October at $23.79 a kilogram.
In December 2023 it was $12.99 a kilogram.
Beef & Lamb NZ Ltd chief executive Kit Arkwright acknowledged rising prices would be putting pressure on many families.
"The message to consumers is shop around. There are some really great deals out there. There's obviously the supermarkets, there's lots of local independent butchers and there's increasingly more and more online options. And they're all playing different pricing regimes and are offering different prices. So the biggest message is shop around."
Looking at supermarket prices around the country, a leg of lamb is generally up above $25 a kilogram.
One supermarket had a special, with a frozen lamb leg for only $15.90 a kilogram.
General inflation, supply and demand was behind the price rise.
As chairperson of Beef and Lamb New Zealand Kate Acland explained, there were fewer sheep out there.
"Globally there is a shortage of sheep meat, so I think it's around 5.8 percent down globally.
"Some good news out of New Zealand, we've seen even though sheep numbers have dropped off, lamb numbers are actually up on last year.
"From a consumer point of view, hopefully we won't see too much more upward pressure on prices."
Acland also encouraged customers to look for specials that would appear before Christmas.
'Kiwis love lamb'
It is the busiest time of year for independent butchers like Phil Pirie, who owned Pirie's Butchery in the Auckland suburb of Mount Eden.
"Kiwis love lamb and we've got the best lamb in the world, you know, now we're into spring lamb. They're nice and tender and it's so versatile too.
"You can do it in the oven, you can low and slow on the BBQ or a quick little butterflied lamb, bit of rock salt, pomegranate."
Prices had gone up, but Pirie said the customers appreciated quality and he tried to keep the costs down.
"It's just the way of the world, you know, the price of feed for the farmers... low supply and high demand.... The lamb that we do is actually prime export quality.
"We try and hold back on all prices because we're a family business and everyone's got families."
As for the Christmas lunch, Pirie said there would be lamb and ham on his table.
"I do a lamb oyster and do it low and slow on the BBQ. And then obviously our ham as well that we produce ourselves. It's tea tree smoked, steam cooked, and yeah, we actually glaze it as well with a nice champagne apricot glaze.
"But my favourite is cutting ham steaks off the ham, nice and thick and grilling it on the barbecue. It's a real good crowd pleaser."
And if you had ham left over and you did not have a ham bag, Pirie had a good tip.
"Even just a, I wouldn't say an old pillowcase, but a pillowcase you haven't used, and all you do is just soak the bag in water solution with vinegar.
"And then what you do is you pop the ham in the bag and then pop it at the back of the fridge where there's more cold circulation. And that'll keep really well. And then every three days, just redo that process again, and you'd be surprised."
