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Mutton, Neck of, Roasted
We have already recommended that the ribbones of this joint should be shortened, to give a nice appearance to cutlets, and we also, for economy's sake, and to give a nice squareness to the piece of meat, advise the purchaser to get it done, if possible, by the butcher. The meat of the neck from a well-fed sheep we think superior to that of the loin. Take off any excess of fat, and roast precisely according to directions given for roast loin (see MUTTON, LOIN OF, ROASTED), always remembering that the fire for cooking mutton should be clear and brisk, but not fierce. A little salt rubbed over the joint when it is ready to be put to the fire, a liberal basting, and some flour dredged over, to froth it nicely, are all that is wanted to satisfy a good appetite. Serve with plain gravy, baked tomatoes, or currant jelly. Time, a quarter of an hour to the pound. Probable cost, 10d. per pound. Sufficient, four pounds for four or five persons.
This is a spit-roasting instruction written for an open fire, so the useful work is translating it to an oven and to a joint your butcher will recognise. The hinge is the butchering: a neck that has not been chined and shortened will not carve.
- What to buyThe "neck of mutton" meant here is the best end of neck, sold today as a rack of lamb or, in the US, a rib roast of lamb. The text asks the butcher to shorten the rib bones and square up the joint; you will also want the chine bone sawn through or removed so it carves.
- Mutton versus lambMutton is sheep over about two years old, with a stronger flavour and firmer, better-marbled meat. It is sold now mainly by specialist and halal butchers; a rack of lamb will substitute directly but cooks slightly faster and tastes milder.
- Fire to oven"Clear and brisk, but not fierce" describes a bed of coals throwing steady radiant heat. In an oven, start at 425F for 15 minutes to set the surface, then drop to 350F for the remainder.
- The timing, and what it assumesA quarter of an hour to the pound at a spit is a rough guide from before thermometers. Cook to an internal temperature instead: 130-135F for pink, 145F for medium, taken at the thickest part clear of bone. A 4 lb rack will reach that well inside the hour.
- Basting and frothingFrothing means dredging flour over the hot fatty surface near the end and basting once more, so the flour crisps into a mottled golden crust. It works in an oven, but do it in the last 10 minutes only or the flour scorches.
- Trimming the fat"Excess of fat" is generous on a neck. Leave a thin cap, no more than about a quarter inch, scored in a diamond; too thick a layer will not render in the short cooking time and comes to the table soft.
- RestingThe original says nothing about it. Rest the meat 10-15 minutes under loose foil before carving between the ribs.
- Gravy and accompaniments"Plain gravy" is the pan juices with the fat poured off, loosened with a little stock or water and seasoned, not a thickened sauce. Redcurrant jelly is still the standard partner; baked tomatoes are worth reviving.
- Yield and costFour pounds is fair for four as bone-in weight but tight for five; allow about a pound of bone-in weight per person, or two to three ribs each. The 10d. per pound is a Victorian price and has no useful modern equivalent.
Cassell's arranges its meat entries cut by cut, which is why a neck gets its own roasting instruction rather than being folded into a general note on mutton: a Victorian household bought whole joints and needed to know what to do with each. The editor's claim that neck from a well-fed sheep beats loin is a real opinion of the period, when marbled, well-hung mutton from a mature animal was prized. Mutton was a common roasting meat in nineteenth-century Britain, and the neck sat at the economical end of it, which is why the entry bothers with squaring the joint and shortening the ribs for appearance. The same cut, left long and unroasted, is the basis of Lancashire hotpot and Irish stew. British mutton went into a long decline after the Second World War as fast-grown lamb took over the market, and it has only been partly revived by specialist butchers since.