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Blanquette of Lamb
Cut in small pieces the meat from 2 shoulders of lamb; put into a stewpan and cover with clear broth, or water, and add 1 teacupful white wine. When the broth has boiled two or three minutes strain it, and set where it will settle. Fry 1 chopped onion in a stewpan with a little butter till brown; then add the meat and fry five minutes. Season with pepper and salt; sprinkle lightly with a little flour, and pour in the broth gradually.
Put in 2 cloves and 2 peppercorns, a little chopped mushroom, a bay leaf, and a couple of parsley springs. Boil all quickly for ten or fifteen minutes-till the liquor is reduced to one-fourth its original quantity; then remove to the back of the range, and cook slowly till the meat is done. Then skim off the fat from the sauce; stir in 3 beaten eggs with a little milk added; stir till it thickens, but do not let it boil; grate in a suspicion of nutmeg, and take up the meat; lay it on a hot dish, strain the sauce over it, and sprinkle with parsley. Serve at once.
A hybrid of a French blanquette and a brown stew: the meat is browned, which a true blanquette never is, but it is finished with the classic egg-and-cream liaison. That liaison is where the dish is won or lost.
- The hinge: never boil the egg sauceOnce the 3 beaten eggs and milk go in, hold the pan below a simmer — around 170-180F — and stir constantly until it coats a spoon. A single boil curdles it into scrambled egg in gravy, and it cannot be brought back.
- Quantities and yieldTwo bone-in lamb shoulders run 8-10 lb and give roughly 4-5 lb of trimmed meat, enough for eight to ten. For a household portion, use one 4-5 lb shoulder and halve everything else.
- A teacupfulIn books of this period a teacupful is smaller than the modern 8-ounce measuring cup; it is variously reckoned at between 1/2 and 3/4 cup.
- The first boilBringing the meat and liquid briefly to a boil and straining it is a blanching step: it removes scum and gives a clear sauce. Skim the surface before straining, and let the broth stand so any remaining sediment sinks.
- "Back of the range"On a wood or coal range the back was the cool zone. Translate as a bare simmer on the lowest burner, or a covered pot at 300F in the oven. Shoulder needs 1 1/2 to 2 hours to become tender.
- Reducing by three-quartersTen to fifteen minutes of hard boiling will not reduce a full stewpan of broth to a quarter. Take the instruction as intent rather than timing: reduce, uncovered, until the liquid just about covers the meat, then drop the heat.
- SeasoningsTwo cloves, two peppercorns, a bay leaf and the parsley are best tied in a cheesecloth bag or run through a sieve at the end, since the sauce is strained over the meat. The nutmeg goes in off the heat, and "a suspicion" means a couple of scrapes.
- Enriching the liaisonMilk alone gives a thin finish. Heavy cream in place of the milk, plus a squeeze of lemon added at the very end, gives the sauce the body and lift a modern palate expects from a blanquette.