No. 1753

Shoulders of Lamb with Puree of Celery—Stuffed

Epaules d'Agneau Farcies a la Puree de Celeri

Bone two shoulders of lamb keeping on the handle bone and sawing the knuckle one inch from it; free the meat of fat and sinews, pare nicely, then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Dressing for Stuffing the Shoulders.—Take one pound of sausage meat, half a pound of finely chopped raw ham, four tablespoonfuls of finely chopped onions, half a pound of minced mushrooms, two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, a quarter of a pound of dry bread-crumbs, two whole eggs and a seasoning of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Fill the two shoulders with this dressing, roll them up and sew them in such a way that none of it can escape, garnish the bottom of a saucepan with slices of fat pork, set the shoulders on top and moisten with a white wine mirepoix stock (No. 419); boil and simmer slowly for two hours and a half. As soon as the shoulders are done glaze and strain the stock, remove all its fat and reduce it to the consistency of a syrup. Dress the shoulder either on a celery puree (No. 711) or a tomato puree (No. 730), or one of artichokes (No. 704), or else of cucumbers (No. 714), macedoine (No. 680), or jardiniere (No. 677); trim the handle bones with frills (No. 10) and serve the gravy apart.

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For the Modern Kitchen

A boned, stuffed, rolled shoulder braised in wine stock — the technique is sound and translates directly, but Ranhofer's cross-references and butcher's language need unpacking.

The hinge: keep the seam tightThe whole dish depends on trussing so the forcemeat cannot escape into the braise. Sew the rolled shoulder with butcher's twine at close intervals, or truss it in a tight spiral; a loose roll will leak sausage meat and cloud the stock you are meant to reduce to a glaze.
Boning the shoulder"Keeping on the handle bone" means leaving the shank bone in place as a carrying handle, with the knuckle sawn off an inch from that bone — a presentation flourish for the paper frill. Any butcher will do this; otherwise ask for a boneless shoulder and skip the frill. Boned weight varies with the size of the lamb; reckon roughly 3-4 lb per shoulder.
Mirepoix stock (No. 419)Ranhofer's white wine mirepoix stock is broadly diced root vegetables and herbs, usually with a little raw ham or salt pork, moistened with white wine and a light stock; consult No. 419 for his own proportions. A modern equivalent: soften the vegetables in the pan, add a cup of dry white wine and enough veal or chicken stock to come a third of the way up the meat.
Slices of fat porkSalt pork or unsmoked fatback, sliced thin to line the pan and keep the meat off direct heat while adding fat to the braise. Thick-cut unsmoked bacon is the usual substitute; if it is smoked, blanch it first or the flavour will dominate.
"Boil and simmer slowly"Bring to a boil on the stovetop, then hold at a bare tremble — around 300–325F in the oven, covered, is steadier than a burner. Two and a half hours is right for shoulder; check that a skewer meets no resistance rather than trusting the clock.
GlazingTo glaze is to brush the meat repeatedly with the reduced, degreased cooking liquid in a hot oven or under a salamander until it takes on a lacquered shine. It is finishing, not cooking, and takes a few minutes.
The stuffingBulk pork sausage meat, not links; if using links, slit and remove the casings. A pound of sausage, half a pound of ham, half a pound of mushrooms and a quarter pound of crumbs, plus the onions and eggs, comes to something over 2 1/2 lb of forcemeat — enough for two shoulders, and any surplus can be rolled into balls and poached in the braise.
The purée cross-referencesThe puree cross-references -- No. 711 celery puree is celery (and often celery root) stewed soft and sieved, typically bound with bechamel or cream; the tomato, artichoke and cucumber options are made on the same principle. Macedoine is mixed diced vegetables; jardiniere is vegetables cut in sticks or shapes, buttered.
YieldTwo stuffed shoulders serve ten to twelve as a main course. Rest the rolls fifteen minutes before slicing so the forcemeat sets and the rounds hold together.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchens at Delmonico's in New York for over thirty years, and The Epicurean (1894) is the record of that restaurant's repertoire s cross-referenced to one another like an engineer's manual. This entry shows the system at its most characteristic: the recipe itself is barely a paragraph, and the actual dish is assembled from stock No. 419, purée No. 711 and frill No. 10, on the assumption that a professional brigade already has all of them going. Boning, stuffing and rolling a shoulder was standard French practice for a cut too awkward to carve at table and too sinewy to roast plainly, and the sausage-and-ham forcemeat is a classic farce. The paper frill on the shank bone is pure Gilded Age dining-room theatre — the point was that the joint arrived looking like something no home cook could produce.