No. 1644

Saddle of Mutton, Duchess Style

Selle de Mouton, a la Duchesse

Pare and shorter the rib bones above the flaps; cut these off straight and with the tip of a knife, separate the rings of the spinal bones at equal distances apart; tie it firmly and lay it on a spit to cook for one hour to one hour and a quarter according to its size; baste frequently while cooking, untie, salt, brown and glaze the meat. Dress and garnish around with duchess potatoes (No. 2785) and the ends with spinach rissoles prepared as explained (No. 161), filling them with spinach (No. 2820). A separate half-glaze sauce (No. 413) is to be served at the same time.

← No. 1643 Rack of Mutton with Small Roots Mutton No. 1645 Saddle of Mutton, German Style →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer assumes a spit, a stocked garde-manger and a numbered index of sauces and garnishes he can point to. Stripped of the cross-references, this is a whole saddle of lamb or mutton, roasted plain, glazed, and set on a platter with piped potatoes.

What a saddle isThe whole unsplit loin section from both sides of the animal, including the flaps (the thin belly ends), cut across the back. Butchers will need notice; expect 6-10 lb bone-in for lamb, more for true mutton. It serves eight to twelve.
Separating the spinal ringsThis is the hinge of the whole preparation. Nicking through the chine at even intervals with a knife tip lets the carver take clean cross-cut slices at the table instead of wrestling the backbone. Do it before tying, not after roasting.
Spit to ovenWithout a rotisserie, roast on a rack in a shallow pan at 425F for the first 20 minutes, then 350F for the remainder. The frequent basting Ranhofer calls for compensates for the drying effect of an open fire; in a closed oven it matters less, though it still helps the glaze.
The timing is not enough for muttonAn hour to an hour and a quarter suits a modest lamb saddle and will leave it distinctly pink; the recipe itself says nothing about doneness. Use a thermometer in the thickest part of the loin, clear of bone: 130-135F for pink. Real mutton, older and heavier, will need considerably longer.
Salt at the endThe recipe salts after untying, then browns and glazes. Glaze here means meat glaze, stock reduced to a syrup, brushed on and returned briefly to a hot oven to shine.
Duchess potatoesNo. 2785 is riced potato bound with egg yolk and butter, piped into rosettes or a border and browned. Pipe them onto a buttered sheet and bake separately at 425F rather than crowding the roasting pan.
Spinach rissolesNo. 161 is the rissole method (a filled paste case, fried) and No. 2820 the spinach preparation; neither text is reproduced here. Small turnovers of puff or short paste filled with well-drained creamed spinach and fried give the same effect. Squeeze the spinach hard or the paste will burst.
Half-glazeDemi-glace: brown sauce and stock reduced together to a coating consistency. A good reduced veal or lamb stock, lightly thickened, stands in for it; the pan juices alone are too thin to carry the dish.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York, and The Epicurean (1894) is essentially that restaurant's service book set in type — hence the numbered cross-references, which work as a chef's shorthand for garnishes the brigade already knew. Dishes a la duchesse are usually associated with the piped potato mixture, though the origin of the name is not documented and it is not always a reliable guide to the garnish. A saddle roasted whole and carved in the room was banquet food: it needed a large spit or oven, a carver who knew where the chine had been nicked, and enough guests to justify the joint. Mutton, the meat of a mature sheep, was still ordinary in the 1890s American market; its near-disappearance from butchers' counters since is why anyone attempting this today will be cooking lamb.