No. 1630

Leg of Mutton a la Milanaise—Kernel

Noix de Gigot de Mouton a la Milanaise

Remove the kernels from four legs of mutton, the same as the kernel of veal; free the top from fat and sinews and lard it with lardons (No. 3, Fig. 52); line a braziere with slices of fat pork, set the kernels on top and wet with one pint of mirepoix (No. 419); reduce the liquid to a mere nothing, then remoisten to three-quarters of their heighth adding two gills of brandy. Cook it in the oven until done, being careful to baste frequently; prepare a rice socle, lay the kernel on top, glaze and garnish around with small macaroni timbales Milanaise (No. 2988). Serve the stock reduced with espagnole sauce (No. 414) separately.

← No. 1629 Boiled Leg of Mutton with Mashed Turnips and Mutton No. 1631 Leg of Mutton in Papers—Kernels →

For the Modern Kitchen

A braise dressed for banquet service. Strip away the socle and the timbales and what remains is a larded, wine-braised cut of lamb leg with a reduced sauce — entirely workable in a modern kitchen.

What the "kernel" isThe noix is the thick inner muscle of the leg, what a butcher today calls the topside or top round; the corresponding cut on a calf gives the veal noix Ranhofer compares it to. Ask for the leg to be seamed out and take the largest muscle, about 2 lb from a modern lamb leg.
Mutton means lamb nowMutton is older sheep: over two years in the British reckoning, with hogget in between, though usage has varied and American trade often counted anything over a year. It is strongly flavoured and firm, sold in Britain and by specialist butchers but rare in American markets. Lamb leg substitutes directly and will cook faster, so start checking early.
ScaleFour kernels from four legs is banquet quantity, roughly 8 lb of trimmed meat serving twenty or more. One kernel serves four to six and the recipe divides cleanly.
LardingLardons drawn through the meat with a larding needle keep a lean muscle from drying during a long braise. If you have no needle, bard instead — tie a sheet of pork fatback or thin-sliced fat over the top.
Braziere and mirepoixA braziere is simply a heavy lidded braising pan; a Dutch oven does the job. Ranhofer's mirepoix (No. 419) is not raw diced vegetables but a cooked preparation of carrot, onion, celery, lean ham or bacon and herbs, moistened with wine — build one before you start.
Gills and brandyA gill is half a cup, so two gills is one cup of brandy. The recipe adds it as part of the second moistening, once the first liquid has been reduced away to nothing.
Oven temperatureRanhofer gives none. Braise at 325F, covered, basting every twenty minutes; the liquid should barely tremble. A 2 lb kernel wants roughly 1½ to 2 hours, until a skewer meets no resistance.
GlazingTo glaze, strain the braising liquid, reduce it to a syrup that coats a spoon, and brush the hot meat repeatedly. The rest goes into the espagnole for the sauceboat.
The socleA rice socle is a shaped, compacted pedestal of cooked rice built to raise the meat on the platter — nineteenth-century presentation, not food anyone was expected to enjoy. Skip it, or serve the rice loose as a bed.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer published The Epicurean in 1894 after some thirty years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and the book reads as what it is: a working reference for a kitchen serving hundreds, cross-referenced by number so a cook could chase down the mirepoix and the espagnole without leaving the page. À la Milanaise in this classical vocabulary signals a macaroni garnish, usually bound with cheese and cut with ham, tongue, mushroom or truffle — the same convention behind the macaroni timbales called for here, rather than any dish actually eaten in Milan. The kernel itself belongs to a butchery habit largely lost to the home cook: seaming a leg into its separate muscles so the best of them could be larded and braised on its own, with the rest sent to other preparations. Mutton was still ordinary meat in 1894 America and only fell from favour later, which is why a book of this ambition gives it a full chapter.