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Mutton, Breast of, with Peas
Cut about two pounds of the breast of mutton into rather small square pieces. Put them into a stewpan with about an ounce of butter, and brown them nicely, then cover with weak broth or water, and stew for an hour. Remove the meat from the stewpan, and clear the gravy from fat. Put the meat into a clean stewpan, add an onion or shallot, sliced finely, a bunch of sweet herbs, some pepper and salt, and strain the gravy over all. Stew for another hour, when put in a quart of young peas, and in about fifteen minutes serve. Macaroni may be put in the place of peas. Probable cost, 8d. per pound.
A plain two-stage mutton stew: brown, stew, degrease, stew again, then finish with peas. The degreasing step is the whole point of the method and is worth doing properly.
- The hinge: clear the fatBreast of mutton is one of the fattiest cuts on the animal, and the recipe's instruction to remove the meat and clear the gravy is what keeps the dish edible rather than greasy. Chilling the strained liquid until the fat sets and lifting it off in a disc works far better than skimming hot broth.
- Finding the cutBreast of mutton is rarely sold in the UK or US now; lamb breast, sold rolled or flat, is the direct equivalent and needs the same long treatment. Boneless lamb shoulder cut into 1-inch cubes is the easiest substitute and gives about the same result in the same time.
- Mutton versus lambMutton means sheep over two years old, with denser meat and a much stronger flavour. If you do find real mutton, the two hours of stewing here is a minimum; three is often closer to the mark.
- A quart of young peasThe recipe does not say whether the quart is measured in the pod or shelled. A quart of shelled peas is roughly 1 to 1 1/4 lb; a quart of pods yields considerably less. Frozen peas, picked young, will need only 4 to 5 minutes rather than fifteen.
- Sweet herbsA bunch of sweet herbs is a bouquet garni: parsley stalks, thyme and a bay leaf tied with string, sometimes with marjoram or savoury. Tie it so you can pull it out before serving.
- Weak brothDeliberately weak, because two hours of stewing bones and fat makes plenty of its own flavour. A stock diluted by half, or water, is closer to the intent than full-strength commercial stock, which will end up over-salted.
- YieldTwo pounds of breast on the bone feeds three, or four with potatoes or bread. Boneless shoulder at the same weight stretches to four comfortably.
- The macaroni variantIf using macaroni instead of peas, cook it separately and stir it in at the end. Dried pasta added to the stewpan will drink the gravy and thicken it to a paste.
Breast of mutton was the cheap end of a cheap animal, which is why Cassell's gives a price of eightpence a pound. Sheep in Victorian Britain were commonly kept until two or three years old for wool and only then eaten, so mutton, not lamb, was the ordinary meat of the period, and its strong flavour was routinely tempered by long stewing with onion and a bouquet of herbs. Peas and mutton is one of the older English pairings, appearing in various forms wherever fresh green peas came in during early summer, and the addition of a quart of them at the last minute makes this a seasonal dish, with macaroni given as an alternative. The two-stage method, browning and stewing and then starting again with clean liquid, perhaps suggests a kitchen that had time and helpers but no refrigeration to make degreasing easy.