Mutton is, undoubtedly, the meat most generally sought and, both by connoisseurs and medical men, it stands first in favour, whether its the favour, digestible qualifications, or general wholesomeness, be considered.
Extract from Isabella Beeton’s Book of Household Management c~1861
Of all mutton, that furnished by South-Down sheep is the most highly esteemed; it is also the dearest, on account of its scarcity, and the great demand of it.
BONED LEG OF MUTTON STUFFED
Ingredients: A small leg of mutton, weighing 6 or 7 lbs., forcemeat, No. 417, 2 shalots finely minced.
Mode: Make a forcemeat by recipe No. 417, to which add 2 finely-minced shalots. Bone the leg of mutton, without spoiling the skin, and cut off a great deal of the fat. Fill the hole up whence the bone was taken, with the forcemeat, and sew it up underneath, to prevent its falling out. Bind and tie it up compactly, and roast it before a nice clear fire for about 2-1/2 hours or rather longer; remove the tape and send it to table with a good gravy. It may be glazed or not, as preferred.
Time: 2-1/2 hours, or rather longer. Average cost, 4s. 8d.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
BRAISED FILLET OF MUTTON, with French Beans
Ingredients: The chump end of a loin of mutton, buttered paper, French beans, a little glaze, 1 pint of gravy.
Mode: Roll up the mutton in a piece of buttered paper, roast it for 2 hours, and do not allow it to acquire the least colour. Have ready some French beans, boiled, and drained on a sieve; remove the paper from the mutton, glaze it; just heat up the beans in the gravy, and lay them on the dish with the meat over them. The remainder of the gravy may be strained, and sent to table in a tureen.
Time: 2 hours. Average cost, 8-1/2d. per lb.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
BRAISED LEG OF MUTTON
Ingredients: 1 small leg of mutton, 4 carrots, 3 onions, 1 faggot of savoury herbs, a bunch of parsley, seasoning to taste of pepper and salt, a few slices of bacon, a few veal trimmings, 1/2 pint of gravy or water.
Mode: Line the bottom of a braising-pan with a few slices of bacon, put in the carrots, onions, herbs, parsley, and seasoning, and over these place the mutton. Cover the whole with a few more slices of bacon and the veal trimmings, pour in the gravy or water, and stew very gently for 4 hours. Strain the gravy, reduce it to a glaze over a sharp fire, glaze the mutton with it, and send it to table, placed on a dish of white haricot beans boiled tender, or garnished with glazed onions.
Time: 4 hours. Average cost, 5s.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
AN EXCELLENT WAY TO COOK A BREAST OF MUTTON
Ingredients: Breast of mutton, 2 onions, salt and pepper to taste, flour, a bunch of savoury herbs, green peas.
Mode: Cut the mutton into pieces about 2 inches square, and let it be tolerably lean; put it into a stewpan, with a little fat or butter, and fry it of a nice brown; then dredge in a little flour, slice the onions, and put it with the herbs in the stewpan; pour in sufficient water just to cover the meat, and simmer the whole gently until the mutton is tender. Take out the meat, strain, and skim off all the fat from the gravy, and put both the meat and gravy back into the stewpan; add about a quart of young green peas, and let them boil gently until done. 2 or 3 slices of bacon added and stewed with the mutton give additional flavour; and, to insure the peas being a beautiful green colour, they may be boiled in water separately, and added to the stew at the moment of serving.
Time: 2-1/2 hours. Average cost, 6d. per lb.
Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from June to August.
ROAST HAUNCH OF MUTTON
Ingredients: Haunch of mutton, a little salt, flour.
Mode: Let this joint hang as long as possible without becoming tainted, and while hanging dust flour over it, which keeps off the flies, and prevents the air from getting to it. If not well hung, the joint, when it comes to table, will neither do credit to the butcher or the cook, as it will not be tender. Wash the outside well, lest it should have a bad flavour from keeping; then flour it and put it down to a nice brisk fire, at some distance, so that it may gradually warm through. Keep continually basting, and about 1/2 hour before it is served, draw it nearer to the fire to get nicely brown. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, pour off the dripping, add a little boiling water slightly salted, and strain this over the joint. Place a paper ruche on the bone, and send red-currant jelly and gravy in a tureen to table with it.
Time: About 4 hours. Average cost, 10d. per lb.
Sufficient for 8 to 10 persons.
Seasonable: In best season from September to March.
ROAST LEG OF MUTTON
Ingredients: Leg of mutton, a little salt.
Mode: As mutton, when freshly killed, is never tender, hang it almost as long as it will keep; flour it, and put it in a cool airy place for a few days, if the weather will permit. Wash off the flour, wipe it very dry, and cut off the shank-bone; put it down to a brisk clear fire, dredge with flour, and keep continually basting the whole time it is cooking. About 20 minutes before serving, draw it near the fire to get nicely brown; sprinkle over it a little salt, dish the meat, pour off the dripping, add some boiling water slightly salted, strain it over the joint, and serve.
Time: A leg of mutton weighing 10 lbs., about 2-1/4 or 2-1/2 hours; one of 7 lbs., about 2 hours, or rather less. Average cost, 8-1/2d. per lb. Sufficient: A moderate-sized leg of mutton
Sufficient for 6 or 8 persons.
Seasonable at any time, but not so good in June, July, and August.
ROAST LOIN OF MUTTON
Ingredients: Loin of mutton, a little salt.
Mode: Cut and trim off the superfluous fat, and see that the butcher joints the meat properly, as thereby much annoyance is saved to the carver, when it comes to table. Have ready a nice clear fire (it need not be a very wide large one), put down the meat, dredge with flour, and baste well until it is done. Make the gravy as for roast leg of mutton, and serve very hot. [Illustration: LOIN OF MUTTON.]
Time: A loin of mutton weighing 6 lbs., 1-1/2 hour, or rather longer. Average cost, 8-1/2d. per lb. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
ROLLED LOIN OF MUTTON (Very Excellent)
Ingredients: About 6 lbs. of a loin of mutton, 1/2 teaspoonful of pepper, 1/4 teaspoonful of pounded allspice, 1/4 teaspoonful of mace, 1/4 teaspoonful of nutmeg, 6 cloves, forcemeat No. 417, 1 glass of port wine, 2 tablespoonfuls of mushroom ketchup.
Mode: Hang the mutton till tender, bone it, and sprinkle over it pepper, mace, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in the above proportion, all of which must be pounded very fine. Let it remain for a day, then make a forcemeat by recipe No. 417, cover the meat with it, and roll and bind it up firmly. Half bake it in a slow oven, let it grow cold, take off the fat, and put the gravy into a stewpan; flour the meat, put it in the gravy, and stew it till perfectly tender. Now take out the meat, unbind it, add to the gravy wine and ketchup as above, give one boil, and pour over the meat. Serve with red-currant jelly; and, if obtainable, a few mushrooms stewed for a few minutes in the gravy, will be found a great improvement.
Time: 1-1/2 hour to bake the meat, 1-1/2 hour to stew gently. Average cost, 4s. 9d.
Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Note: This joint will be found very nice if rolled and stuffed, as here directed, and plainly roasted. It should be well basted, and served with a good gravy and currant jelly.
BOILED NECK OF MUTTON
Ingredients: 4 lbs. of the middle, or best end of the neck of mutton; a little salt.
Mode: Trim off a portion of the fat, should there be too much, and if it is to look particularly nice, the chine-bone should be sawn down, the ribs stripped halfway down, and the ends of the bones chopped off; this is, however, not necessary. Put the meat into sufficient boiling water to cover it; when it boils, add a little salt and remove all the scum. Draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and let the water get so cool that the finger may be borne in it; then simmer very slowly and gently until the meat is done, which will be in about 1-1/2 hour, or rather more, reckoning from the time that it begins to simmer. Serve with turnips and caper sauce, No. 382, and pour a little of it over the meat. The turnips should be boiled with the mutton; and, when at hand, a few carrots will also be found an improvement. These, however, if very large and thick, must be cut into long thinnish pieces, or they will not be sufficiently done by the time the mutton is ready. Garnish the dish with carrots and turnips placed alternately round the mutton.
Time: 4 lbs. of the neck of mutton, about 1-1/2 hour. Average cost, 8-1/2 d. per lb.
Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
