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Mutton Rissoles
Mince some raw mutton quite fine, and season it with salt and pepper; then divide it into small equal-sized quantities and roll them into balls; put two ounces of butter in a fryingpan to heat, put in the balls and fry till nicely browned. Drain them out and put in the remainder of the butter, three thinly sliced onions, and two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley to fry for a few minutes; place the onions and parsley at the bottom of a stewpan, lay the balls on them side by side, pour in three tablespoonfuls of vinegar and sufficient clear broth to cover, and boil slowly for half an hour. When done, place the balls on a hot dish, pour their cooking liquor around them, and serve.
A plain braise disguised as a fry: the balls are browned in butter, then simmered in a sharp onion broth that becomes the sauce. Nothing here is difficult, but two things in the text need pinning down.
- The butter is ambiguousTwo ounces (4 tablespoons) go in for browning, then "the remainder of the butter" for the onions, though no total was ever given. Assume 4 oz (1 stick) in all and use the second half for the onions and parsley.
- MuttonMutton means sheep over a year old, strongly flavored and rarely sold in American supermarkets. Boneless lamb shoulder, ground coarse or chopped by hand, is the closest substitute; leg is leaner and the balls will be drier.
- Bind or don'tThere is no egg, crumb or flour, so the balls hold together only by the fat in the meat and firm handling. Grind or chop the meat with its fat, keep it cold, and pack the balls tightly; a 1 1/2-inch ball is a manageable size.
- The vinegarThree tablespoons in a pan of broth reads sharp on paper but cooks down to a background tang against the onions. Use cider or a mild wine vinegar rather than distilled white, which stays harsh.
- Half an hour is right for the meat, not the onionsThe recipe gives the onions only "a few minutes" in the butter before they go under the meat. Slice them very thin and don't rush that frying, or they may stay in stringy pieces at the end.
- "Boil slowly"A bare simmer, lid on, on the smallest burner. A true boil will break the unbound balls apart and leave the sauce cloudy.
- Clear brothPeriod usage means an unthickened, uncloudy stock rather than a thickened soup. Lamb or beef stock suits it; unsalted is best since the meat is already seasoned and the liquid reduces.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantity of meat. A pound of mutton would make roughly a dozen balls, enough for three as a main course with potatoes, or four as part of a larger meal.
A rissole was originally a fried patty or croquette wrapped in pastry or breadcrumbs -- the word is generally traced through French to a Latin root meaning reddish or browned -- but by the late nineteenth century English and American kitchens used it loosely for any small fried meat cake, coated or not. This version abandons the coating entirely and behaves more like a Northern European meatball braise, sharpened with vinegar. Mutton was plentiful and inexpensive in the 1890s, and mincing it raw was one way to use trimmings and the tougher end of a shoulder rather than a leftover roast.