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Rolled Loin of Mutton
Select a lean loin of mutton, take off some of the fat, and remove the bones carefully with a sharp knife. See that none of the lean is taken off with the bones, roll up tightly and tie the meat well together with a broad tape, and skewer it also; roast the meat, basting it frequently. To serve, take off the tape carefully, secure with an ornamental skewer and pour a good rich gravy round. Serve with red currant jelly.
A boned, rolled loin is still one of the best ways to roast this cut, and the method needs almost no translation — only sizes, temperatures and a substitute for mutton itself.
- Mutton means an older sheepBy common trade convention, a carcass over about two years old, strongly flavoured and firmer than lamb. Most shops today sell lamb; ask for hogget (roughly a year old) if you want something closer to the original, or use a lamb loin and expect a milder, more tender result.
- What to buyAsk for a whole boneless loin, or a bone-in loin you can bone yourself. A boned and rolled lamb loin of 2 to 2 1/2 lb serves four.
- Broad tape and skewerThe recipe ties with broad tape and says to take it off carefully; tape spreads its grip and lifts away without cutting the surface. Butcher's twine at one-inch intervals does the same job. Skip the ornamental skewer or replace it with a single trussing skewer; the tie is what matters.
- Leave a fat cap"Take off some of the fat" means trimming the thick outer layer back, not stripping it; something like a quarter inch is a workable modern guide. The fat carries much of the flavour and helps keep a rolled joint from drying.
- Oven temperatureThis was written for a roasting oven or spit with no dial. Start at 450F for 15 minutes to colour the outside, then drop to 325F. Basting frequently, as instructed, is more useful in a dry old oven than a modern one, but it still builds the crust.
- Cook to temperature, not timeRolled loin is dense and unevenly thick, so a thermometer beats any per-pound rule: 130-135F at the centre for pink, 145-150F or higher for meat cooked through, which is closer to period taste. Reckon roughly 20-25 minutes per pound at 325F as a guide only.
- Rest before untyingGive the joint 15 minutes under loose foil, then cut the tape. Slicing straight from the oven loses the juices the basting was meant to preserve.
- The gravy"A good rich gravy" may mean the pan juices or a separately made gravy: skim the fat, deglaze with stock made from the loin bones, and reduce. The recipe says to pour it round the meat rather than over it.
Mutton, not lamb, was the standard sheep meat on British and American tables through the nineteenth century — sheep were kept for wool and for breeding, and went to the butcher when they were past their useful years. Boning and rolling a loin was practical butchery as much as presentation: it made an awkward cut carve into neat rounds and cook evenly on a spit or in a roasting oven. Red currant jelly is a traditional partner to mutton and venison, the sharpness of the fruit set against strong fatty meat. That a household book still assumes a reader can find a lean loin of mutton, and knows what an ornamental skewer is for, places this recipe at the tail end of a tradition.