Home › L › Lamb, Braised Loin of
Lamb, Braised Loin of
INGREDIENTS for dish for 6 persons. A loin of lamb, a few slices of bacon, 1 bunch of green onions, 5 or 6 young carrots, a bunch of savoury herbs, 2 blades of pounded mace, 1 pint of stock, salt to taste. AVERAGE Cost, 1s. per lb.
Bone a loin of lamb, and line the bottom LOIN OF LAMB. of a stewpan just capable of holding it, with a few thin slices of fat bacon; add RIBS OF LAMB.
Serve with mint sauce and send to table with it, either peas, cauliflowers, or spinach.
TIME.-A small saddle, 1½ hour; a large one, 2 hours.
SEASONABLE from Easter to Michaelmas.
Note.-Loin and ribs of lamb are roasted in the same manner and served with the same sauces as the above. A loin will take about 14 hour; ribs, from 1 to 1 hour.
A boned loin braised on a bed of bacon and young vegetables, in the French braise manner Mrs Beeton favoured for lamb that was not to be roasted. The method is straightforward once the archaic terms are decoded.
- The hinge: bone it, then tie itA boned loin will fall open and dry out unless it is rolled and tied at intervals with string before it goes into the pan. The bones themselves should go in alongside for flavour, not be discarded.
- Stewpan, not casseroleA stewpan here is a wide, straight-sided pan with a lid, used on the hob. "Just capable of holding it" is deliberate: a snug pan keeps the pint of stock in contact with the meat rather than boiling away above it.
- Green onionsThese are spring onions or salad onions, used whole with a little of the green. A bunch is roughly 8-12. Small pickling onions or shallots stand in perfectly well.
- Bunch of savoury herbsA bouquet garni: parsley stalks, thyme and a bay leaf tied together so it can be lifted out. Tie it to the pan handle if you want it back easily.
- Pounded maceTwo blades of mace, crushed, are roughly a quarter to a half teaspoon of ground mace, depending on the size of the blades. Mace is the outer covering of nutmeg, warmer and less sweet; a scant grating of nutmeg is the nearest substitute.
- A pint of stockAn imperial pint, 20 fl oz or about 570 ml. Lamb or veal stock is right; the liquid should come no more than halfway up the rolled loin so the top braises rather than boils.
- Cooking time and heatThe original gives no reliable time for the braise. A boned, rolled loin of 2-3 lb takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a gentle simmer, or in a covered pan at 325-350F, until a skewer meets no resistance. Reduce the strained liquor hard afterwards for the sauce.
- Yield and servingSix as written. The peas, cauliflower or spinach suggested for the roast suit the braise equally; mint sauce is less necessary here, since the reduced braising liquor is the point.
- Cost and season"1s. per lb" is pre-decimal shillings and of historical interest only. "Easter to Michaelmas" (late September) reflects the old season for young English lamb, before year-round imported supply.
Braising sat between roasting and stewing in Victorian kitchens: the meat was set on a lining of fat bacon with vegetables beneath, moistened with a little stock, and cooked slowly under a close lid so that it took the flavour of everything around it. Mrs Beeton's household books repeat the technique across loins, saddles and shoulders, and it is often said to have earned its place because it suited a coal range, where a steady low heat was thought easier to hold than the fierce dry heat a good roast demands. The lining of bacon does duty for the larding and barding that French cookery applied to lean joints, and the whole vegetables are aromatics rather than a garnish, to be strained out before the liquor is reduced to sauce. The seasonal note is the most dated part of the entry: until refrigerated shipping from New Zealand and Australia became general in the late nineteenth century, spring lamb genuinely was a spring and summer food.