No. 1754

Stewed Lamb, Duglere

Ragout d'Agneau a la Duglere

Have an equal weight of the rack, breast, and loin of lamb; suppress the skin from the rack, also the chine bone, and cut the ribs quite short nearly level with the large fillet, then divide these meat across in even pieces each one being an inch and a quarter wide. Cut the breast into inch and a half squares after paring and suppressing the skin; cut off all the fat from the loin and remove the skin and chine bone, then divide it into inch and a quarter wide pieces. Fry these meats colorless in either lard or butter with two medium onions, one small carrot cut lengthwise in four and a pinch of sugar; when they begin to brown drain off the fat and moisten to half the heighth with stock (No. 194a) adding a garnished bouquet (No. 123); let the liquid fall to a glaze not allowing it at any time to cook too fast, and keeping it well covered; have the meats brown nicely, then remoisten to their heighth and reduce this liquid. When half cooked drain off the piece to pare and return them again to the saucepan with the broth and half a bottleful of white wine; when the meat is thoroughly done and the liquid reduced to half, throw in some fresh green peas, young carrots, small onions, small new potatoes and new flageolet beans, first putting in those taking the longest to cook, having previously browned the onions in a frying pan. Finish cooking. Dress the meats around the vegetables, skim the fat from the stock and strain it over all.

← No. 1753 Shoulders of Lamb with Puree of Celery—Stuff Lamb No. 1755 Stewed Lamb, Navarin →

For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's ragout is a classic French navarin printemps in all but name: lamb browned pale, glazed twice in its own reduced stock, then finished with the first vegetables of the year. The technique is entirely usable; the language is the obstacle.

"Suppress" means removeThroughout Ranhofer, suppress is a direct calque of the French supprimer — cut away and discard. The chine bone is the section of backbone attached to the rack and loin; ask the butcher to remove it, or buy a rack already chined and a boned loin.
The cutsEqual weights of rack, breast and loin means roughly a third each. Breast is the fatty, gelatinous belly cut, now sold cheaply as riblets or Denver ribs; it does the work of enriching the sauce. Ranhofer gives no quantities or yield; about 3 lb of meat total is a reasonable modern amount, enough for roughly six.
Fry colorless, then brownThe lamb goes into the fat without taking much color at first — the aim is to render and set the surface, not to sear; the recipe only drains the fat off "when they begin to brown." The real browning happens later, when the first addition of stock falls to a glaze and the sugars in it caramelize on the meat. Do not rush that stage; the recipe says as much.
"Moisten to half the heighth"Add stock until it comes halfway up the meat, cook it down to a sticky glaze, then add stock to cover completely and reduce again. This double glazing is the hinge of the dish and the source of all its color and body.
The cross-referencesNo. 194a is Ranhofer's ordinary stock; a good unsalted beef or veal stock stands in. No. 123 is his garnished bouquet — typically parsley stems, thyme, bay, and often celery and leek, tied. Neither is exotic.
Half a bottleful of white wineA period wine bottle held close to a modern 750 ml, so about 1½ cups. Use something dry and unoaked.
Vegetable timing"First putting in those taking the longest to cook" is the only instruction given, and it matters. New potatoes and small carrots want 20–25 minutes, the browned button onions about the same, flageolets (fresh shell beans; frozen or drained canned flageolets work) 10 minutes, and peas 5 at the very end so they stay green.
Oven or stovetopRanhofer assumes a covered saucepan on a range with controllable low heat. A heavy Dutch oven at a bare simmer, or in a 325°F oven, holds the temperature more reliably. Total cooking runs about 1½ hours before the vegetables go in.
FinishingSkimming the fat before straining the sauce over is not optional with breast of lamb — there will be a good deal of it. Chilling the braise and lifting the fat off cold, then reheating, is cleaner than skimming hot.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York for over thirty years, and The Epicurean (1894) is the record of that kitchen — some 3,500 numbered entries cross-referencing one another like a technical manual. The Duglère name honors Adolphe Dugléré, chef of the Café Anglais in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century and a pupil of Carême, whose name is attached to several preparations of the period; the association is traditional rather than a claim that Dugléré devised this particular ragout. What the dish really is, is a navarin printemps: the spring lamb stew whose whole point is the parade of first vegetables — peas, new potatoes, baby carrots, flageolets — dropped in at the end. Ranhofer files his Navarin separately at No. 1755, which tells you how finely he divided the category.