No. 1633

Leg of Mutton on the Spit

Gigot de Mouton a la Broche

Pick out a leg with a short handle bone, and very rounded at its thickest part, having a thin transparent skin and covered with white fat near the tail. Let it hang as long as possible to be tender. When it is required for use, pare nicely, remove the aitchbone, saw off the knuckle and make a handle two inches long; scrape the bone very white. Lay the leg on the spit thrusting the split in near the end bone, letting it come out at the loin bone, then cover over with sheets of well buttered paper. One hour and twenty minutes before serving, lay it in front of the fire, baste often, when nearly cooked salt over. Just when ready to serve withdraw the spit, dress and pour over some clear gravy (No. 404); trim the end bone with a paper frill (No. 10). Serve separately a sauce-boatful of clear gravy (No. 404).

← No. 1632 Leg of Mutton a la Lyonnaise—Minced Mutton No. 1634 Leg of Mutton, Parisian Style, in the Oven →

For the Modern Kitchen

A plain spit-roasted leg, where nearly everything depends on the butchery and the heat management rather than on any seasoning. Two details carry the dish: the meat must be mature mutton, and it must be cooked in front of radiant heat rather than in a closed box if you want the original result.

Mutton, not lambMutton is sheep over about two years old, with darker, firmer, stronger-tasting meat. It is sold by halal and specialty butchers and by some farm suppliers; a leg runs roughly 6-8 lb against 4-6 lb for lamb. Lamb will work but cooks faster and tastes markedly milder.
Hanging"Let it hang as long as possible" assumed a cold larder and a whole carcass. Do not attempt open-air hanging in a domestic kitchen; buy a leg that has already been dry-aged two to three weeks by the butcher.
The butchery, in modern termsThe aitchbone is the pelvic bone at the wide end; removing it makes the leg carvable. The knuckle is sawn back to leave two inches of clean shank as a handle. Ask the butcher to remove the aitchbone and french the shank, which is a ten-second request and awkward work at home without a saw.
Buttered paperSheets of buttered paper are a barding wrapper, not parchment for baking. Butter-rubbed parchment tied on with kitchen twine does the same job: it shields the surface while the interior comes up to temperature. Remove it for the last twenty minutes so the fat browns.
Spit before the fireThis is radiant roasting on a horizontal spit set in front of, not over, a fire, with a dripping pan beneath. A rotisserie attachment on a covered grill is the nearest equivalent. In an oven, roast at 425F for the first fifteen minutes and 350F thereafter, on a rack over a pan.
Time and temperatureOne hour twenty minutes suits a 6 lb leg cooked to the pink side of medium. Ignore the clock and use a thermometer in the thickest part clear of bone: 130-135F for medium rare, 140-145F for medium. Rest fifteen to twenty minutes before carving.
Salting at the endRanhofer salts only when the meat is nearly cooked; he gives no reason, though the belief that early salting drew out juices was widely held at the time. Modern practice runs the other way: salt the leg generously a day ahead and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator, which seasons it through and dries the surface for better browning.
Clear gravy (No. 404)The cross-reference is to a clear, unthickened gravy rather than a flour-thickened one, essentially a jus. Reduced veal or lamb stock, degreased and seasoned, is the substitute; the pan drippings alone will not go far enough.
Yield and serviceA 6-7 lb leg serves eight to ten. The paper frill on the shank bone is purely decorative and lets the carver grip the bone; skip it without loss.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of thirty-odd years as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and its mutton chapter reflects a period when mutton, not lamb, was the standard sheep meat on American and European tables. That this recipe specifies the spit at all is telling: by the 1890s coal and gas ranges had made oven roasting routine, and Ranhofer files a separate entry for the same leg cooked in the oven at No. 1634. The two methods do differ in result, since meat turned before an open fire browns by radiant heat while its drippings fall clear of the meat, giving a drier crust and a cleaner-tasting gravy than a closed oven. The insistence on a short handle bone, white fat near the tail and a thin transparent skin is the buyer's craft of a kitchen that took delivery of whole carcasses and had a butcher on staff, and the long hanging assumed a cold cellar.