No. 2474

Cutlets of Lambs' Kernels with Mayonnaise

Cotelettes de Noix d'Agneau a la Mayonnaise

Fry twelve fine spring lamb chops; press them under a weight and cut out all the parts except the kernels; pare and replace the trimmings by pate de foies-gras and dip them into a jellied mayonnaise (No. 613) so as to cover them entirely with a thick layer of it. Range some cut-up lettuce leaves on a dish, reserving the hearts for decorating; around the lettuce dress the kernels of lamb and decorate the whole with the lettuce hearts, hard-boiled eggs, anchovies, olives, etc.; surround the edge of the dish with chopped jelly and croutons of the same.

← No. 2473 Cutlets of Lamb with Aspic The Cold Service No. 2475 Cutlets of Lamb with Tomatoed Chaudfroid →

For the Modern Kitchen

A cold buffet piece from Ranhofer's Delmonico's kitchen: the eye of a fried lamb chop, trimmed to a neat medallion, rebuilt with foie gras and glazed in a mayonnaise stiffened with aspic. Nothing here is difficult, but the coating stage decides whether it looks like a banquet dish or a smear.

What a "kernel" isThe noix is the round eye of meat in a rib or loin chop, with all fat, sinew and the tail of the chop cut away. From twelve chops you get twelve medallions perhaps two inches across; count on two per person as a first course.
Cook them rare and press while warmFry the chops hot and fast, then press under a weighted plate as they cool so the meat sets flat and slices clean. Meat cooked through will be dry once chilled and coated, and cold overcooked lamb tastes of tallow.
Jellied mayonnaiseNo. 613 is mayonnaise let down with melted aspic — mayonnaise collée. Modern proportions run roughly one part strong, clear aspic to three parts thick mayonnaise, whisked in while the jelly is liquid but no more than lukewarm, or the mayonnaise will break.
The hinge: coat at the right momentThe sauce must be used just as it begins to thicken to the consistency of pouring cream. Too warm and it runs off the meat; too cool and it sets in ridges. Chill the medallions hard first, set them on a rack over a tray, and pour rather than brush; a second coat once the first is set gives the thick, even layer Ranhofer wants.
Pâté de foies-grasIn 1894 this meant a smooth seasoned liver purée, at that date almost always goose, used here as a paste to fill out the trimmed edges of each medallion. A good duck liver parfait or mousse from the chiller does the same job; spread it thin and refrigerate until firm before glazing.
Chopped jelly and croutonsBoth are aspic: set a clear meat jelly in a shallow tray about a half-inch deep, then chop part of it coarsely with a wet knife and cut the rest into triangles or diamonds for the border. Keep the jelly cold and work fast — it slumps quickly at room temperature.
Serving and holdingServes six as a cold entrée. Because the sauce is uncooked mayonnaise on cold meat, assemble it the same day, keep it refrigerated until the moment it goes out, and do not leave it standing on a warm buffet.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York for most of three decades, and The Epicurean (1894) is his attempt to set down the whole repertoire in a single ordered, encyclopaedic sequence. This dish belongs to the section on cold service — the elaborate chaud-froid and aspic work that made the nineteenth-century buffet table, where food was arranged on mirrored plateaux and had to hold its shape and shine for hours without refrigeration beyond an icebox. Mayonnaise collée, mayonnaise stabilised with meat jelly, was the workhorse of that style: it set firm, it took a mould, and it gave a matte white ground for decoration in truffle, egg white and anchovy. The neighbouring entries, cutlets of lamb with aspic and with tomatoed chaudfroid, show how a single trimmed medallion was varied by nothing more than the coating. That such labour went into what amounts to a garnish tells you the economics of a restaurant kitchen with a large brigade and a clientele that expected to be shown the work.