No. 1731

Fore Quarter of Lamb with Stuffed Tomatoes—on the Spit

Quartier de Devant d'Agneau a la Broche aux Tomates Farcies

Detach the shoulder from the rack on the covered rib side and leave the neck side without removing it; bone the shoulder, leaving only the end bone, and pass a skewer through the shoulder and the breast; adjust or lay it on the spit, fastening the two ends with a strong string; run a skewer through the meat near the shoulder, having it run through the hole in the spit to prevent the meat from slipping while cooking. Cook in front of a brisk fire basting frequently; it will take from thirty to forty-five minutes; when nearly done, salt it over. Dress the meat on a very hot dish and serve clear gravy (No. 404) separately; garnish the end bone with a frill (No. 10), and set around baked stuffed tomatoes (No. 2842).

← No. 1730 Noisettes of Shoulder of Lamb, Epicurean Lamb No. 1732 Hind Quarter of Lamb with Mint Sauce or Colb →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer assumes a spit turning before an open fire and a butcher who will hand over a whole forequarter. Both are workable today with substitutions, but the timing only makes sense for a very small animal.

What a forequarter isThe front half of the carcass split lengthwise: shoulder, breast, ribs and neck. Ordering one is a special request; the nearest common equivalent is a bone-in shoulder plus a rack or breast section tied together.
"Detach the shoulder from the rack on the covered rib side"He is loosening the shoulder blade side from the ribs so the shoulder can be boned and flattened, while the neck end stays attached to hold the joint together. The end bone he keeps is the shank bone, left in as a handle.
Thirty to forty-five minutes is for baby lambThirty to forty-five minutes is for a very young animal -- that timing only works for a small, young lamb, not the size of carcass sold now. A forequarter from ordinary market lamb will take two hours or more. Cook to internal temperature rather than the clock: 130-135F for pink, higher if you want the shoulder connective tissue softer.
Spit substituteA rotisserie attachment on a covered grill reproduces the turning and the radiant heat. Without one, roast at 425F for 20 minutes and then 325F to finish, on a rack, basting with the pan fat as he directs.
Skewer through the spit holeOld spits were drilled so a skewer could pin the meat and stop it slipping as the joint turns. Modern rotisserie forks and butcher's twine do the same job; tie the boned shoulder tightly or it will unroll.
Salting at the endRanhofer salts only "when nearly done", without saying why; late salting was common practice in spit roasting. Salting an hour ahead, or the day before, gives better seasoning throughout and a drier surface that browns well.
The cross-referencesNo. 404 is his clear gravy, essentially a strained, degreased jus; pan drippings deglazed with stock stand in for it. No. 10 is a paper frill for the shank bone, decorative only. No. 2842 is his baked stuffed tomatoes.
YieldA forequarter of market lamb serves eight to ten; a baby-lamb forequarter of the sort he had in mind, four or five.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of thirty years running the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York, and it is written for a brigade with equipment most homes had already given up. Spit roasting before a brisk open fire was the older method, prized because the meat browned in dry radiant heat while dripping fat could be caught and used for basting; by the 1890s closed ranges had largely replaced it, and Ranhofer nonetheless insists on a la broche for a joint like this. The very short cooking time points to a small young animal, quite unlike the lamb sold now. Stuffed tomatoes as a garnish mark the recipe as late nineteenth century: tomatoes had moved from suspicion to ubiquity in American cooking over the preceding fifty years, and Ranhofer uses them freely as a bright, acid foil to roast meat.