Rognons de Mouton Sautes
Prenez gros comme une noisette de beurre et deux cuillerées de farine, faites un roux mouillez avec du bouillon, ajoutez, un petit oignon, persil, feuille de laurier, sel et poivre, faites mijoter une demi-heure, ajoutez quelques cuillerées de madère ou sherry, dix minutes après mettez quatre rognons de mouton (très-frais) coupés en tranches minces, laissez mijoter cinq ou six minutes, servez garni de croutons.
Si cela vous plait, vous pouvez y ajouter quelques champignons coupés et quelques petits morceaux de lard frit.
Prendre de la viande de cochon préparée pour saucisse, mêlez à des pieds de cochon bien bouillis, enveloppéz dans une toillette c'est la dentelle de graisse qui provient du mouton; faire frire. Délicieux pour le déjeuner.
Mutton kidneys sliced thin and simmered in a Madeira sauce — a quick, savory dish for breakfast or a light supper — with a bonus note on caul-wrapped sausage.
- Gros comme une noisette de beurreButter “the size of a hazelnut” is a small knob, about 1–2 tsp; cook it with 2 Tbsp flour into a roux and moisten with bouillon.
- Cook kidneys brieflyAdd the 4 thinly sliced mutton (lamb) kidneys only at the end and simmer just 5–6 minutes — overcooked kidneys turn rubbery.
- Soak to sweetenVery fresh kidneys are best; a soak in cold salted water or milk, then trimming the core, removes any harsh edge before slicing.
- Madeira or sherryA few spoonfuls of Madeira or sherry stirred into the sauce ten minutes ahead give it depth; serve garnished with croutons.
- Optional richnessSliced mushrooms and bits of fried lard (bacon) are welcome additions.
- Toilette = caul fatThe appended note wraps sausage meat and boiled pig’s foot in toilette — caul fat, the lacy membrane of fat — then fries it; these are essentially crépinettes, delicious for breakfast.
Kidneys and other abats were once everyday eating, and a dish of sauced kidneys — the French rognons, the English “devilled kidneys” — was a favorite of the hearty nineteenth-century breakfast and the savory course. Madeira, the fortified wine of the Atlantic island, was a fixture of the well-stocked Creole pantry, splashed into sauces exactly like this one. The closing note describes a crépinette: seasoned meat wrapped in caul, the thin web of fat that bastes and holds it together as it fries — an old, frugal way of making a little sausage without a casing.
From page 100 of the 1904 edition.
Original page from the book
