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Calf's Foot Mould
A relishable breakfast dish may be made of the meat of calf's feet after they have been boiled for jelly, broth, stock, etc., if not overdone. Take out all the bones, and cut the meat of one foot into small pieces, mixing with it the juice and chopped rind of a lemon, and a small onion finely minced; flavour it with salt, cayenne, and powdered cinnamon. Put it into a saucepan with a piece of butter the size of an egg, stir it over the fire for about ten minutes, and pour into a mould. Probable cost of a calf's foot, 4d. to 8d. Sufficient for a small breakfast dish.
A thrift dish built on what remains after calf's feet have given up their gelatine. It sets without any added setting agent, so the state of the meat matters more than anything else in the method.
- The hinge: don't overcook the feetThe mould sets because the connective tissue still holds gelatine. If the feet were simmered to exhaustion for a second or third stock, the meat will be stringy and the mould will not hold together when turned out.
- Sourcing calf's feetNot a supermarket item; order from a halal or Latin butcher, or one who breaks whole carcasses. Pig's trotters are the usual stand-in and behave much the same way, being similarly gelatinous.
- "Butter the size of an egg"Roughly 2 oz, or 4 tablespoons. Against the meat of a single foot this is a generous amount, and it helps the mould firm as it chills.
- Lemon rindChop the zest only, with none of the white pith, or the finished mould turns bitter. A whole lemon's worth of juice and zest to one foot is assertive and deliberately so.
- Mould and settingAny small bowl, ramekin or loaf tin of about 1 to 1 1/2 cups will do. Press the mixture down to exclude air pockets, cover, and chill at least 4 hours or overnight before unmoulding.
- The ten minutes on the fireThis is to melt the butter and warm the seasonings through, not to cook the meat further. Keep the heat low; boiling drives off the lemon and leaves the butter greasy rather than emulsified into the meat.
- Yield and keepingThe book says only that one foot is 'sufficient for a small breakfast dish', which suggests two or three small servings. Treat it as a fresh potted meat and eat within two days, ideally with toast and something sharp such as mustard or pickle.
- Cost noteThe "4d. to 8d." is Victorian pence and reflects the low price of offal and trimmings. It is a price signal, not a measurement.
The purpose of the recipe is plain: nothing from a calf's foot should be thrown away. Feet were boiled for calf's-foot jelly, the standard invalid food of the nineteenth century and the basis of countless blancmanges and wine jellies, and the spent meat was a by-product a cook had to find a use for. The seasoning here is old-fashioned English potting flavour, cinnamon and cayenne together. Gelatine sold in sheets and later in packets is generally credited with gradually removing the need to boil feet at all, and with the jelly went the leftover meat and dishes like this one.