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Braised Leg of Mutton

Put a leg of mutton in a braising pan with some slices of fat bacon on top and underneath it; put in also four carrots, two onions, a few meat bones, a bay leaf, a bunch of sweet herbs, and three gills of gravy. Put the pan over a fire with hot ashes on the cover, and cook the contents slowly until done. Remove the leg of mutton, place it on a dish, and glaze; take off the fat from the gravy to strain, pour it over, and serve.

Braised Boned Leg of Mutton, Milanese Style The following recipe is a favorite dish of the Milanese, but the Italians of Rome and Naples are not so fond of it, as they think it has a woolly flavor. Remove the bone from a leg of mutton, and bone it as follows from the thick end down to the first joint; chop it off at the first joint, push in a knife near the joint to loosen the flesh, leaving the tendons and gristle on the bone; then commence at the small or tail end and scrape away the fat from the backbone and follow the bone up until the joint is reached, continuing in this way until all the bone is out. The cavity may be stuffed and sewed up at the thin end. Then bring the edges together at the upper end, pushing all the flesh inside and sew the skin tightly together, which will give a rectangular form of solid meat and stuffing. To cut it straight down to the bone or to take it out would spoil it and much of the juice would escape, and if sewed up it would be very unsightly, but by this way the juice is preserved, and when the meat is cold it does not become dry and hard. Fill the cavity with breadcrumbs soaked in broth and squeezed quite dry, adding a mixture of garlic, eggs, mushrooms, bacon, ham and pepper. Sew up the place where it was cut so that the stuffing will not fall out, and put it in an earthenware stewpan, with some small pieces of melted fat bacon. Put the pan over the fire and fry gently until it is a light color, turning often. Sprinkle over salt and pepper, add a few vegetables cut in slices, and pour in a wineglassful each of white wine and broth. Cover with a round of paper, put some hot ashes on the lid, and braise for about four hours, adding a little more broth occasionally, and when done put it on a dish and keep hot. Add a little gravy or broth to the liquor in which it was cooked, bring to a boil, strain it, remove all the fat, and reduce quickly to half glaze, thickening it with a few tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce, keeping it quite light. Pour a little of the sauce over the leg, put the remainder in a sauceboat, garnish with potato croquettes and Brussels sprouts in piles, and serve hot. Leg of Mutton, Provincial Style Take two or three each of cloves of garlic and anchovies cut into fillets, and lard a leg of mutton with them. Roast the mutton in a quick oven, keeping it well basted. Boil one or two more cloves of garlic, changing the water often, and when nearly done, drain and refresh them with cold water. Drain again, put into a stewpan with one breakfast cupful each of stock and gravy, and boil until reduced to a thick creamy consistency. When cooked place the mutton on a hot dish, pour the sauce around it, garnish with vegetables, and serve.