No. 1752

Shoulder of Lamb with Glazed Vegetables—Stuffed

Epaule d'Agneau Farcie aux Legumes Glaces

Boil an unsmoked red beef tongue in water for three hours before serving, cut it up into quarter inch thick slices and from these remove two and half inch diameter pieces with a round cutter, keep them warm in a sautoir with a little stock (No. 194a). Bone thoroughly two shoulders of spring lamb, suppress the fat and sinews, then season the inside, cover the surfaces with a thin layer of lamb forcemeat (No. 92) and bestrew with fine cooked herbs (No. 385). Roll the shoulders lengthwise, tie them firmly so to keep them in proper shape, then braise in a little moistening without browning. Drain and trim the ends, then cut the remainder of the meat into half inch thick slices, pare them rounded two and a half inches in diameter, and dress them in a straight row on a circle intercalating each slice with one of tongue; arrange either around or in the center, according to the way they are dressed with glazed carrots, turnips and small onions; strain the stock, skim off its fat and reduce it with espagnole (No. 414) to the consistency of a half-glaze sauce (No. 413); serve this separately.

← No. 1751 Shoulder of Lamb with Cucumbers Lamb No. 1753 Shoulders of Lamb with Puree of Celery—Stuff →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer writes for a brigade with a larder full of numbered preparations; the dish itself is a straightforward braised, stuffed lamb shoulder dressed with tongue and glazed root vegetables. The work is in the shaping, not the cooking.

Decode the cross-referencesNo. 194a is one of Ranhofer's basic stocks, No. 92 a lamb forcemeat, No. 385 fines herbes cuites, cooked herbs of the shallot-mushroom-parsley type. No. 414 is espagnole and No. 413 half-glaze; a good reduced brown veal stock stands in for both.
"Unsmoked red beef tongue"Red means cured in salt and saltpetre brine, not fresh; unsmoked distinguishes it from smoked tongue. Buy a pickled or corned beef tongue. Peel the skin off while it is still hot — once cold it will not come away cleanly.
VesselsA sautoir is a straight-sided sauté pan; here it is only a warm bath for the tongue rounds. Braise the rolled shoulders in a heavy covered pan just large enough to hold them.
"A little moistening without browning"This is the hinge. Do not sear the meat and do not flood the pan — an inch of stock, lid on, so the forcemeat sets and the exterior stays pale. The colour comes entirely from the espagnole served alongside.
Heat and timeAbout 325F for 2 to 2 1/2 hours for a boned, rolled spring lamb shoulder of roughly 3 lb, until the meat gives to a skewer. Shoulder needs to reach the 180F range for the connective tissue to soften; a rare-roasted internal temperature will slice badly and eat tough.
Slicing the roundsLet the braised rolls firm up before cutting, and use a 2 1/2-inch cutter on half-inch slices as directed. Reheat the trimmed rounds in a little of the strained braising liquid rather than slicing hot meat, which tears the forcemeat spiral.
Glazed vegetablesCarrots and turnips turned to even shapes, small onions left whole, cooked in stock with butter and a pinch of sugar until the liquid reduces to a shine. Cook them separately from the lamb so the timing is yours to control.
YieldThe recipe gives no number, but two boned shoulders sliced and paired with tongue would serve something in the region of ten to twelve as a course. Save the trimmed ends and offcuts — they are the best eating in the dish and will never appear on the plate.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's record of what came out of the Delmonico's kitchens in New York during his long tenure there, and this entry shows the house style plainly: a cheap, heavily worked cut turned into a symmetrical composition of matched rounds. Boning, stuffing and rolling a shoulder is a French butcher's economy — the shoulder is awkward and sinewy, and rolling it gives you the neat cylinder a shoulder does not naturally offer. The alternation of pale lamb with rounds of red cured tongue is a colour device typical of the period's service à la russe, which is often described as bringing dishes to the table already dressed on the platter, with appearance carrying much of the argument. Ranhofer gives several variations on the stuffed shoulder in succession, differing chiefly in garnish, which tells you how much of a nineteenth-century kitchen's repertoire was one technique multiplied by a shelf of numbered sauces and purées.