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Lamb Target
The rib or target of lamb consists of the neck and breast-joints left undivided. Saw off the chine-bone, and remove the flat bones which adhere to the meaty part of the neck. Partially divide the ribs, and cover the joint with buttered paper. Lay it down before a clear fire, and let it remain until done enough. A few minutes before it is ready, remove the paper, and brown the meat nicely. Place it on a hot dish, and send brown gravy and mint sauce to table with it. Time to roast, about an hour. Probable cost, 9d. per pound. Sufficient for three or four persons.
A whole-fire roast of an unusual cut, written for a household with an open range. The cut is the real obstacle now; the cooking is straightforward once you have it.
- What a "target" isThe neck and breast of lamb left in one piece, ribs attached — essentially the forequarter minus the shoulder. No supermarket sells it. Ask a butcher for an undivided neck-and-breast joint, or substitute a whole breast of lamb (about 2-3 lb) or a rack with the breast still attached.
- Butchery to request"Saw off the chine-bone" means removing the spinal section so the joint carves between the ribs; the "flat bones" at the neck end are most likely rib tips or blade-bone remnants. Have the butcher do both and score the ribs partway through, as the recipe directs, so it carves cleanly.
- Fire to ovenRoasting "before a clear fire" means a spit in front of glowing coals, with the meat turning and a dripping pan beneath. The recipe gives no oven settings; if adapting, a hot start followed by a moderate oven — roughly 400F for the first 20 minutes, then 350F — is a reasonable approximation for a joint this size.
- Buttered paperParchment brushed with butter, tied over the joint, shields the thin breast meat from scorching. Foil works but steams; parchment is closer to the original. Removing it for the last 10-15 minutes to brown is the step that matters most.
- Doneness, not clock"About an hour" assumes a fierce open fire and a joint of unstated weight. Go by temperature: 130-135F at the thickest point for pink, 145F for medium. Breast of lamb is fatty and forgiving and can also be taken well past that to 175F, when the connective tissue softens.
- Rest itFifteen minutes under loose parchment before carving. The recipe sends the joint straight to a hot dish, as Victorian roast directions generally do; a rested joint loses less juice.
- The gravy"Brown gravy" here is the pan drippings deglazed and thickened, or a made brown sauce from stock. Mint sauce is chopped mint steeped in vinegar with a little sugar — sharp and thin, not the jelly.
- YieldThree or four, as stated, though the breast carries a lot of bone and fat; count on four small portions from a joint under 3 lb.
"Target" is an old butchers' term, generally traced to the joint's rough shield shape — a target being a small round shield. The recipe quotes the cut at 9d. per pound, which is why it appears at all: this is a household economy roast, a way of getting a presentable joint to the table from the neck and breast. The buttered paper is standard practice for spit roasting, where the side facing the fire took direct radiant heat and thin meat would blacken before the thick end was warm. Once ranges with closed ovens displaced the open fire, cuts like this drifted out of the roasting chapter, and the target went with them.