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Mutton Chops
Cut them nicely, clearing away all ragged ends and edges; fry for a few moments covered closely, and then dip each piece in cracker crumbs and beaten egg, or you may prepare them as for frying; then lay them in a dripping pan, and put into the oven to bake; baste frequently with a little melted butter and water.
A two-stage method: a brief covered sear to set the meat and start the fat rendering, then breading and a slow finish in the oven under frequent basting. The original assumes a cook who knows her fire, so the useful work here is filling in the numbers.
- Mutton itselfMutton is sheep over a year old, usually well over two, and is stronger and firmer than lamb. Few American butchers carry it; shoulder or loin lamb chops cut a full inch thick are the practical substitute, though they will be milder and will cook faster.
- The breading orderThe text says "cracker crumbs and beaten egg," which may be naming both coatings rather than prescribing an order; standard practice is egg first, then crumbs, so the egg has something to grip. Fine dry cracker crumbs, not the coarse crumbs sold as breadcrumbs today.
- "Fry for a few moments covered closely"A brief turn in a hot heavy pan, a few minutes a side, not a full cooking. Closely covered it will steam as much as brown, so read this as setting the meat and starting the fat rendering before the coating goes on. Let the chops cool a little before breading or the egg will slide.
- Oven temperatureNo temperature is given; the book leaves it to the cook's judgement of her range fire. Around 350F suits this: hot enough to crisp the crumbs, gentle enough that the frequent basting is not a losing battle.
- Dripping panA shallow rimmed roasting pan. It was called a dripping pan because it originally sat under a spit to catch the fat; here it simply needs low sides so the chops brown rather than steam.
- Basting liquidMelted butter and water will not emulsify and needs a stir or a shake before each pass. Baste every five to seven minutes; the water keeps the crumbs from scorching while the butter colours them.
- DonenessMutton was generally cooked well through in this period. Modern practice for lamb chops of this thickness is about 130-135F at the centre for medium-rare (medium is nearer 140-145F), roughly 10 to 15 minutes in a 350F oven after the initial frying. Mutton, being tougher, benefits from longer and lower.
- YieldTwo chops per person for loin cuts, one large shoulder chop each. Traditionally served with a sharp accompaniment — currant jelly, caper sauce, or a pickled walnut — to cut the fat.
The Home Cook Book was compiled in Chicago in the mid-1870s and sold for the benefit of a local charity, and is often cited as one of the earliest and most widely imitated American charity cookbooks; its recipes were contributed by named local women and reprinted for decades. Mutton was a staple of that era's table in a way it is not now -- American sheep were kept largely for wool, and the carcass came to market as an older, stronger-flavoured meat that suited the kind of treatment described here, browning and basting rather than a quick grill. The breaded, oven-finished chop was a genteel alternative to the plain broiled chop, and the crumb crust did useful work in holding the juices in a lean, well-worked cut.