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Mutton Cutlets
409. Mutton Cutlets are fried with the bread-crumb, just like the veal cutlets; and, if fried in the English fashion, they generally give out enough gravy to serve without any thing extra; but the articles described under the next paragraph may be added.
FRENCH CUTLETS (Côtelettes de Mouton). 410. Skin a loin of mutton, and cut it into steaks. Then make a forcemeat with an equal weight of lean veal and beef suet, and two anchovies, all pounded; parsley, thyme (and a little onion previously boiled till mild), chopped fine; add grated bread crumbs, and the yolks of two eggs. Make holes in the steaks and fill them with the forcemeat, with which also they must be well covered. Place each carefully in a buttered paper, so that no moisture shall escape, and broil them. Serve in a gravy, with a few of the herbs shred fine, and a little lemon-juice or vinegar to flavour it.
TO GRILL (OR BROIL) A BREAST OF MUTTON. 411. Score it in diamonds, and rub it with the yolk of an egg. Strew on a few bread crumbs, chopped parsley, and salt; put it in a Dutch oven, or broil; baste it with butter; pour in the dish good caper sauco. It is good simply boiled with caper sauce.
KIDNEYS. 412. BROILED kidneys should be split open, scored, and peppered as well as salted. They are then kept open by a fine iron skewer, and as salted. They are then kept open by a fine iron skewer, and placed flat upon the gridiron, after which they are soon done. They require no gravy or garnish. 413. FRIED.-Slice some kidneys (after taking away the fat), melt some butter in a frying-pan, and put in the kidneys after dipping each slice into some chopped herbs with shalots, if approved, mixed with capepper and salt. When nearly done throw in some flour to thicken the gravy, which will be favoured by the addition of stock, or hot water flavoured with Worcestershire sauce and the juice of a lemon. The pan should be well shaken for a little time after the flour is added , and the whole should nearly boil before it is served. Some persons like the addition of a little wine. 414. TOASTED CHOPS OR KIDNEYS may be done very effectually and nicely before the fire in a small Dutch oven or hanging oven. (See par. 52 and fig. 112.) They require occasional turning and basting, and the process is certainly more like roasting than frying or broiling. 415. KIDNEYS dipped in chopped parsley very good for a breakfast. Cut them and put them in a pan with a little good dripping on the top of each; put them in the oven till the gravy runs well out, drain the gravy from them into a cup, add a little pepper and salt, and put it to keep hot, return the kidneys to the oven till sufficiently done, dish them, and pour the gravy over.
A run of mutton entries from a mid-Victorian household book, built around the fireplace and gridiron rather than a hob. The instructions assume you can judge heat by eye, so the numbers below fill in what the original leaves to experience.
- Mutton, and what to buy insteadTrue mutton — sheep over two years old — is scarce outside halal and specialist butchers. Lamb loin chops or a lamb breast behave the same way but cook faster and taste milder; if you find mutton, expect a stronger flavour and allow more time for the breast.
- Cutlets versus steaksParagraph 410 says to cut a skinned loin "into steaks", i.e. chops cut across the loin; the thickness is not specified, so make them substantial enough to hold the forcemeat. 'Cutlets' elsewhere often means single-rib pieces from the best end, though the text does not define the term. Either works, but keep them a uniform thickness so the forcemeat cooks through evenly.
- The buttered paperThis is cooking en papillote over direct heat: the paper holds in the juices and keeps the forcemeat from falling out. Use parchment, not waxed paper, buttered generously and folded closed at the edges. Under a grill rather than over coals, it will scorch at the edges — that is expected, and no reason to move it.
- Forcemeat safety pointThe stuffing contains raw veal, suet and egg yolk, so the centre of each stuffed chop needs to reach 71C/160F even if the mutton itself would be pleasant pinker. Judge by the filling, not the meat.
- Anchovies and the suetTwo anchovies from a salt-packed tin are saltier than modern oil-packed fillets; taste before adding salt. Beef suet can be bought shredded, or substitute cold beef fat from the butcher, pounded or pulsed with the veal.
- Boiling the onion firstThe instruction to boil the onion "till mild" matters: raw onion in a forcemeat cooked this briefly stays harsh. Boil it until it has lost its rawness, then chop fine.
- Breast of mutton timingA breast is a fatty, sinewy cut and will not tenderise under a grill alone. The note that "it is good simply boiled with caper sauce" is the sounder route: simmer 1.5-2 hours until tender, then score, crumb and brown it under a hot grill or in a 425F oven for colour.
- Kidneys: two minutes a sideThe hinge of the whole kidney section. Split, skewered flat and set over high heat, lamb kidneys are done in about 2 minutes per side and should stay faintly rosy inside. Held longer they turn grainy and bitter, which is why the book says they are "soon done".
- A Dutch oven is not a casseroleIn paragraph 414 it means a tin reflector hood set open-side to the fire, so the meat roasts by radiant heat. A hot oven with the chops on a rack, turned and basted, gets close; an overhead grill at some distance is nearer still.
- YieldTwo stuffed loin steaks per person for the French cutlets; a whole breast serves three or four; allow two lamb kidneys each for breakfast.