No. 1631

Leg of Mutton in Papers—Kernels

Noix de Gigot de Mouton en Papillotes

Remove the kernel from a leg of mutton the same as for a kernel of veal; pare it nicely, take off all the fat and lard it with small lardons (No. 3, Fig. 52), then roast it quite rare, cut it in quarter inch thick slices. Have a sufficiently large sheet of paper, cut it into heart-shape, butter over and lay a little finely sliced ham on top of one side; over this place some Duxelle (No. 385) well reduced with a clove of garlic and chopped parsley, and set the slices of mutton on top, cover the whole with more Duxelle, then fold the paper, crimp the edges around; before finishing the crimping pour a little Madeira sauce (No. 492), and finish plaiting the paper to enclose hermetically, lay the paper on the dish intended for the table, pour over a little oil and push it into a moderate oven, when nicely browned, serve separately with a very hot Duxelle sauce (No. 461) to which some Madeira wine has been added.

← No. 1630 Leg of Mutton a la Milanaise—Kernel Mutton No. 1632 Leg of Mutton a la Lyonnaise—Minced →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's papillote is a two-part dish: the mutton is roasted rare and sliced ahead, then finished only long enough in the paper for the duxelles and Madeira to perfume it. Everything hinges on not cooking the meat a second time.

The "kernel"Noix de gigot is the plump inner muscle of the leg — what a modern butcher sells as the top round or center-cut leg roast, boned and trimmed. Ask for a 2 to 3 lb piece off the leg rather than the whole leg; a boneless leg of lamb steak-end works the same way.
Mutton versus lambMutton is older sheep, generally over one to two years depending on whose definition you use, darker and stronger-flavored, and is sold in the US mainly through halal and specialty butchers. Boneless leg of lamb substitutes directly and will need slightly less roasting time.
LardingThe lardons are strips of pork fatback threaded through the lean meat with a larding needle. If you skip it, bard instead: tie a thin sheet of fatback or a few slices of unsmoked bacon over the roast, or simply brush with oil and accept a leaner result.
"Quite rare"Roast at 425F to an internal 120–125F, about 25–35 minutes for a 2–3 lb piece, then rest and chill slightly before slicing so the quarter-inch slices hold their shape. The meat will carry over in the paper case, so undershoot deliberately.
Moderate oven350F. The parcel needs only 10–12 minutes — long enough for the paper to puff and color and the sauce to steam through. Past that the mutton overcooks and grays.
DuxellesRanhofer's No. 385 is the cross-referenced duxelle: essentially finely chopped mushrooms with shallot and onion cooked down in butter until the moisture has gone. It must be genuinely dry, or the parcel floods and the paper tears. Make it a day ahead if convenient.
The paperUse parchment, not modern waxed paper, cut as a heart and folded over the filling with the edges rolled and crimped into a tight rim. The oil brushed over the outside is what browns it; foil will hold the steam but will not color or dramatize the way paper does.
Yield and serviceA 2–3 lb kernel gives four to six parcels. Each goes to the table sealed, on the plate it was baked on, and is slit open there, with the Madeira-spiked duxelles sauce passed separately.

A Little History

En papillote cooking — sealing food in oiled paper so it steams in its own aromatics — was a fixture of nineteenth-century French service, and this entry shows it used as a way to dress up already-roasted meat rather than to cook something from raw. Charles Ranhofer, chef at Delmonico's in New York for over thirty years, published The Epicurean in 1894 as an exhaustive cross-referenced system: the recipe assumes you already have duxelles, Madeira sauce and a larding needle to hand, and simply points to their numbers. The dish also reflects a period habit that has largely disappeared, the deliberate reuse of a rare roast in a second, more elaborate presentation, which mattered in a kitchen cooking whole legs for a large dining room. Mutton itself was ordinary eating in America and Britain then; the wholesale shift to young lamb came later, as faster-growing breeds and refrigerated shipping reshaped the trade.