No. 1592

Mutton Chops, Tavern Style

Cotelettes de Mouton a la Taverne

Cut the chops from the saddle, lengthwise having them an inch and a half thick; flatten, pare and garnish each one with a kidney fastened on with a skewer thrust into the fat part of the chop above the minion fillet; sprinkle with salt, baste with oil, and broil until of a fine color on one side, then turn over to finish cooking on the other ten to twelve minutes in all; serve very hot surrounding them with water-cress.

← No. 1591 Mutton Chops Soyer Mutton No. 1593 Mutton Cutlets a la Bouchere →

For the Modern Kitchen

A double loin chop cut across the saddle, with a lamb kidney pinned to it — what British butchers call a Barnsley chop. The whole dish depends on the cut, so start at the butcher counter.

The cutRanhofer says only "from the saddle, lengthwise," an inch and a half thick. A chop cut that thick from the saddle and able to carry a kidney is in practice the double loin chop that British butchers now call a Barnsley chop, though Ranhofer does not use the term. Ask for a double loin chop at an inch and a half; a single loin chop will cook far faster and will not carry a kidney.
Minion filletRanhofer's term for the tenderloin strip that runs under the loin on the underside of the chop. The skewer goes through the fat above it, not through the meat, so the kidney sits neatly in the curve of the chop.
Mutton versus lambMutton here means sheep over a year old, stronger-flavoured and firmer. Almost all American retail lamb now goes to slaughter at five to eight months; if you can find true mutton it will want a minute or two more and rewards a coarser hand with salt and pepper.
The kidneyOne lamb kidney per chop, halved lengthwise, the white core snipped out. Soak briefly in cold water and dry it well — a wet kidney steams instead of browning, and it cooks through faster than the chop, so lay that side away from the fiercest heat.
BroilingNineteenth-century broiling meant a gridiron over live coals. A charcoal grill is the closest match; under a domestic broiler set the rack four inches from the element and preheat it fully, and lay a rimmed pan below to catch the dripping fat.
Ten to twelve minutesThe recipe gives time, not doneness, and the result will depend entirely on the heat of the fire; for a chop this thick it should come out around medium, but check with a thermometer rather than the clock. Let the chops rest a few minutes before serving.
Basting with oilThe recipe specifies only "oil"; a mild olive oil is the likely intent. Brush it on before broiling and again at the turn.
Yield and serviceOne chop is a full portion. Watercress was the conventional accompaniment to grilled meats of the period, and a wedge of lemon or a spoonful of maitre d'hotel butter would not be out of place.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchen at Delmonico's for over thirty years, and The Epicurean (1894) is his attempt to set down the whole repertoire, several thousand numbered entries deep. "A la taverne" points at the English chop-house rather than anything French: the kidney-and-loin chop grilled over coals and sent out on a hot plate with watercress was a chop-house and hotel-grill standard on both sides of the Atlantic. The same cut survives in Yorkshire as the Barnsley chop, usually traced to a Barnsley coaching inn, though that attribution is local tradition rather than documented fact, and the pairing of loin and kidney on one skewer is older and more widespread than any single house's claim to it. That Ranhofer files it among his French-titled preparations says a good deal about how a New York restaurant of the 1890s dressed a plain grilled chop for its menu.