Boston Cooking-School Cook Book/Chapter 13

by Fannie Farmer

Chapter XIII. LAMB AND MUTTON.

LAMB is the name given to the meat of lambs; mutton, to the meat of sheep. Lamb, coming as it does from the young creature, is immature, and less nutritious than mutton. The flesh of mutton ranks with the flesh of beef in nutritive value and digestibility. The fat of mutton, on account of its larger percentage of stearic acid, is more difficult of digestion than the fat of beef.

Lamb may be eaten soon after the animal is killed and dressed; mutton must hang to ripen. Good mutton comes from a sheep about three years old, and should hang from two to three weeks. The English South Down Mutton is cut from creatures even older than three years. Young lamb, when killed from six weeks to three months old, is called spring lamb, and appears in the market as early as the last of January, but is very scarce until March. Lamb one year old is called a yearling. Many object to the strong flavor of mutton; this is greatly overcome by removing the pink skin and trimming off superfluous fat.

Lamb and mutton are divided into two parts by cutting through entire length of backbone; then subdivided into fore and hind quarter, eight ribs being left on hind quarter,—while in beef but three ribs are left on hind-quarter. These eight ribs are cut into chops and are known as rib chops. The meat which lies between these ribs and the leg, cut into chops, is known as loin or kidney chops.

Lamb and mutton chops cut from loin have a small piece of tenderloin on one side of bone, and correspond to porter-house steaks in the beef creature. Rib chops which have the bone cut short and scraped clean, nearly to the lean meat, are called French chops.

The leg is sold whole for boiling or roasting. The forequarter may be boned, stuffed, rolled, and roasted, but is more often used for broth, stew, or fricassee.

For a saddle of mutton the loin is removed whole before splitting the creature. Some of the bones are removed and the flank ends are rolled, fastened with wooden skewers, and securely tied to keep skewers in place.

Good quality mutton should be fine-grained and of bright pink color; the fat white, hard, and flaky. If the outside skin comes off easily, mutton is sure to be good. Lamb chops may be easily distinguished from mutton chops by the red color of bone. As lamb grows older, blood recedes from bones; therefore in mutton the bone is white. In leg of lamb the bone at joint is serrated, while in leg of mutton the bone at joint is smooth and rounded. Good mutton contains a larger proportion of fat than good beef. Poor mutton is often told by the relatively small proportion of fat and lean as compared to bone.

Lamb is usually preferred well done; mutton is often cooked rare.

Broiled Lamb or Mutton Chops

Wipe chops, remove superfluous fat, and place in a broiler greased with some of mutton fat. In loin chops, flank may be rolled and fastened with a small wooden skewer. Follow directions for Broiling Beefsteak on page 196.

Pan-broiled Chops

Chops for pan broiling should have flank and most of fat removed. Wipe chops and put in hissing hot frying-pan.

Turn as soon as under surface is seared, and sear other side. Turn often, using knife and fork that the surface may not be pierced, as would be liable if fork alone were used. Cook eight minutes if liked rare, ten to twelve minutes if liked well done. Let stand around edge of frying-pan to brown the outside fat. When half cooked, sprinkle with salt. Drain on brown paper, put on hot platter, and spread with butter or serve with Tomato or Soubise Sauce.

Breaded Mutton Chops

Wipe and trim chops, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dip in crumbs, egg, and crumbs, fry in deep fat from five to eight minutes, and drain. Serve with Tomato Sauce, or stack around a mound of mashed potatoes, fried potato balls, or green peas. Never fry but four at a time, and allow fat to reheat between fryings. After testing fat for temperature, put in chops and place kettle on back of range, that surface of chops may not be too brown while the inside is still underdone.

Chops à la Signora

Gash French Chops on outer edge, extending cut half-way through lean meat. Insert in each gash a slice of truffle, sprinkle with salt and pepper, wrap in calf’s caul. Roll in flour, dip in egg, then in stale bread crumbs, and sauté in butter eight minutes, turning often. Place in oven four minutes to finish cooking. Arrange on hot platter for serving, and place on top of each a fresh broiled mushroom or mushroom baked in cream. To fat in pan add a small quantity of boiling water and pour around chops. This is a delicious way of cooking chops for a dinner party.

Lamb Chops à la Marseilles

Pan broil, on one side, six French chops, cover cooked side with Mushroom Sauce, place in a buttered baking-dish, and bake in a hot oven eight minutes. Remove to serving dish, place a paper frill on each chop, and garnish with parsley.

Mushroom Sauce. Brown one and one-half tablespoons butter, add three tablespoons flour, and stir until well browned; then add one-half cup highly seasoned Brown Stock. Add one-fourth cup chopped canned mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper.

Chops à la Castillane

Broil six lamb chops, arrange on slices of fried egg-plant, and pour around the following sauce: Brown three tablespoons butter, add three and one-half tablespoons flour, and stir until well browned; then add, gradually, one cup rich Brown Stock. Cook three tablespoons lean raw ham cut in small cubes in one-half tablespoon butter two minutes. Moisten with two tablespoons Sherry wine, and add to sauce with two tablespoons finely shredded green pepper. Season with salt and pepper.

Chops en Papillote

Finely chop the whites of three “hard-boiled” eggs and force yolks through potato ricer, mix, and add to three common crackers, rolled and sifted; then add three tablespoons melted butter, salt, pepper, and onion juice, to taste. Add enough cream to make of right consistency to spread. Cover chops thinly with mixture and wrap in buttered paper cases. Bake twenty-five minutes in hot oven. Remove from cases, place on hot platter, and garnish with parsley.

Mutton Cutlets à la Maintenon

Wipe six French Chops, cut one and one-half inches thick. Split meat in halves, cutting to bone. Cook two and one-half tablespoons butter and one tablespoon onion five minutes; remove onion, add one-half cup chopped mushrooms, and cook five minutes; then add two tablespoons flour, three tablespoons stock, one teaspoon finely chopped parsley, one-fourth teaspoon salt, and a few grains cayenne. Spread mixture between layers of chops, press together lightly, wrap in buttered paper cases, and broil ten minutes. Serve with Spanish Sauce.

Boiled Leg of Mutton

Wipe meat, place in a kettle, and cover with boiling water. Bring quickly to boiling-point, boil five minutes, and skim. Set on back of range and simmer until meat is tender. When half done, add one tablespoon salt. Serve with Caper Sauce, or add to two cups White Sauce (made of one-half milk and one-half Mutton Stock), two “hard-boiled” eggs cut in slices.

Braised Leg of Mutton

Order a leg of mutton boned. Wipe, stuff, sew, and place in deep pan. Cook five minutes in one-fourth cup butter, a slice each of onion, carrot, and turnip cut in dice, one-half bay leaf, and a sprig each of thyme and parsley. Add three cups hot water, one and one-half teaspoons salt, and twelve peppercorns; pour over mutton. Cover closely, and cook slowly three hours, uncovering for the last half-hour. Remove from pan to hot platter. Brown three tablespoons butter, add four tablespoons flour, and stir until well browned; then pour on slowly the strained liquor; there should be one and three-fourths cups.

Stuffing

1 cup cracker crumbs	1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup melted butter	1/2 tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup boiling water

Roast Lamb

A leg of lamb is usually sent from market wrapped in caul; remove caul, wipe meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place or rack in dripping-pan, and dredge meat and bottom of pan with flour. Place in hot oven, and baste as soon as flour in pan is brown, and every fifteen minutes afterwards until meat is done, which will take about one and three-fourths hours. It may be necessary to put a small quantity of water in pan while meat is cooking. Leg of lamb may be boned and stuffed for roasting. See Stuffing, under Braised Mutton.

Make gravy, following directions for Roast Beef Gravy on page 202, or serve with Currant Jelly Sauce.

To Carve a Leg of Lamb. Cut in thin slices across grain of meat to the bone, beginning at top of the leg.

Lamb Bretonne

Serve hot thinly sliced roast lamb with

Beans Bretonne. Soak one and one-half cups pea beans over night in cold water to cover, drain, and parboil until soft; again drain, put in earthen-ware dish or bean pot, add tomato sauce, cover, and cook until beans have nearly absorbed sauce.

Tomato Sauce. Mix one cup stewed and strained tomatoes, one cup white stock, six canned pimentoes rubbed through a sieve, one onion finely chopped, two cloves garlic finely chopped, one-fourth cup butter, and two teaspoons salt.

Saddle of Mutton

Mutton for a saddle should always be dressed at market. Wipe meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place on rack in dripping-pan, and dredge meat and bottom of pan with flour. Bake in hot oven one and one-fourth hours, basting every fifteen minutes. Serve with Currant Jelly Sauce.

To Carve a Saddle of Mutton, cut this slices parallel with backbone, then slip the knife under and separate slices from ribs.

Saddle of Mutton, Currant Mint Sauce

Follow directions for Saddle of Mutton, and serve with

Currant Mint Sauce. Separate two-thirds tumbler of currant jelly in pieces, but do not beat it. Add one and one-half tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves and shavings from the rind of one-fourth orange.

Saddle of Lamb à l’Estragnon

Wipe meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place on rack in dripping-pan, and dredge meat and bottom of pan with flour. Bake in hot oven one and one-fourth hours, basting every fifteen minutes. Remove to hot serving dish and pour around.

Estragnon Sauce. Brown four tablespoons butter, add four tablespoons flour (which has been previously browned), and pour on gradually, while stirring constantly, two cups bouillon, and one-half cup stock which has infused with one tablespoon tarragon one hour.

Crown of Lamb

Select parts from two loins containing ribs, scrape flesh from bone between ribs, as far as lean meat, and trim off backbone. Shape each piece in a semicircle, having ribs outside, and sew pieces together to form a crown. Trim ends of bones evenly, care being taken that they are not left too long, and wrap each bone in a thin strip of fat salt pork or insert in cubes of fat salt pork to prevent bone from burning; then cover with buttered paper. Roast one and one-fourth hours.

Remove pork from bones before serving, and fill centre with Purée of Chestnuts.

Lamb en Casserole

Wipe two slices of lamb cut one and one-fourth inches thick from centre of leg. Put in hot frying-pan, and turn frequently until seared and browned on both sides. Brush over with melted butter, season with salt and pepper, and bake in casserole dish twenty minutes or until tender. Parboil three-fourths cup carrot, cut in strips, fifteen minutes; drain, and sauté in one tablespoon bacon fat to which has been added one tablespoon finely chopped onion. Add to lamb, with one cup potato balls, two cups thin Brown Sauce, three tablespoons Sherry wine, and pepper to taste. Cook until potatoes are soft, then add twelve small onions cooked until soft, then drained and sautéd in two tablespoons butter to which is added one tablespoon sugar. Onions need not be sautéd unless they are desired glazed. Serve from casserole dish.

Mutton Curry

Wipe and cut meat from fore-quarter of mutton in one-inch pieces; there should be three cupfuls. Put in kettle, cover with cold water, and bring quickly to boiling-point; drain in colander and pour over one quart cold water. Return meat to kettle, cover with one quart boiling water, add three onions cut in slices, one-half teaspoon peppercorns, and a sprig each of thyme and parsley. Simmer until meat is tender, remove meat, strain liquor, and thicken with one-fourth cup each of butter and flour cooked together; to the flour add one-half teaspoon curry powder, one-half teaspoon salt, and one-eighth teaspoon pepper. Add meat to gravy reheat, and serve with border of steamed rice.

Fricassee of Lamb with Brown Gravy

Order three pounds lamb from the fore-quarter, cut in pieces for serving. Wipe meat, put in kettle, cover with boiling water, and cook slowly until meat is tender. Remove from water, cool, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and sauté in butter or mutton fat. Arrange on platter, and pour around one and one-half cups Brown Sauce made from liquor in which meat was cooked after removing all fat. It is better to cook meat the day before serving, as then fat may be more easily removed.

Mutton Broth

3 lbs: mutton (from the neck)	Few grains pepper
2 quarts cold water	3 tablespoons rice or
1 teaspoon salt	3 tablespoons barley

Wipe meat, remove skin and fat, and cut in small pieces. Put into kettle with bones, and cover with cold water. Heat gradually to boiling-point, skim, then season with salt and pepper. Cook slowly until meat is tender, strain, and remove fat. Reheat to boiling-point, add rice or barley, and cook until rice or barley is tender. If barley is used, soak over night in cold water. Some of the meat may be served with the broth.

Irish Stew with Dumplings

Wipe and cut in pieces three pounds lamb from the fore-quarter. Put in kettle, cover with boiling water, and cook slowly two hours or until tender. After cooking one hour add one-half cup each carrot and turnip cut in one-half inch cubes, and one onion cut in slices. Fifteen minutes before serving add four cups potatoes cut in one-fourth inch slices, previously parboiled five minutes in boiling water. Thicken with one-fourth cup flour, diluted with enough cold water to form a thin smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper, serve with Dumplings. (See p. 205.)

Scotch Broth

Wipe three pounds mutton cut from fore-quarter. Cut lean meat in one-inch cubes, put in kettle, cover with three pints cold water, bring quickly to boiling-point, skim, and add one-half cup barley which has been soaked in cold water over night; simmer one and one-half hours, or until meat is tender. Put bones in a second kettle, cover with cold water, heat slowly to boiling-point, skim, and boil one and one-half hours. Strain water from bones and add to meat. Fry five minutes in two tablespoons butter, one-fourth cup each of carrot, turnip, onion, and celery, cut in one-half inch dice, add to soup with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until vegetables are soft. Thicken with two tablespoons each of butter and flour cooked together. Add one-half tablespoon finely chopped parsley just before serving. Rice may be used in place of barley.

Lambs’ Kidneys I

Soak, pare, and cut in slices six kidneys, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt two tablespoons butter in hot frying-pan, pu\??\ in kidneys, and cook five minutes; dredge thoroughly with flour, and add two-thirds cup boiling water or hot Brown Stock. Cook five minutes, add more salt and pepper if needed. Lemon juice, onion juice, or Madeira wine may be used for additional flavor. Kidneys must be cooked a short time, or for several hours; they are tender after a few minutes’ cooking, but soon toughen, and need hours of cooking to again make them tender.

Lambs’ Kidneys II

Soak, pare, trim, and slice six kidneys. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, sauté in butter, and remove to a hot dish. Cook one-half tablespoon finely chopped onion in two tablespoons butter until brown; add three tablespoons flour, and pour on slowly one and one-half cups hot stock. Season with salt and pepper, strain, add kidneys, and one tablespoon Madeira wine.

Ragout of Kidneys

Soak lambs’ kidneys one hour in lukewarm water. Drain, clean, cut in slices, season with salt and pepper, dredge with flour, and sauté in butter. Fry one sliced onion and one-half shallot, finely chopped, in three tablespoons butter until yellow; add three tablespoons flour and one and one-fourth cups Brown Stock. Cook five minutes, strain, and add one-half cup mushroom caps peeled and cut in quarters; season with salt and pepper, add kidneys, and serve as soon as heated. White wine may be added if desired.

Kidney Rolls

Mix one-half cup stale bread crumbs, one-half small onion, finely chopped, and one-half tablespoon finely chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper and moisten with beaten egg. Spread mixture on thin slices of bacon, fasten around pieces of lambs’ kidney, using skewers. Bake in a hot oven twenty minutes.

Minced Lamb on Toast

Remove dry pieces of skin and gristle from remnants of cold roast lamb, then chop meat. Heat in well-buttered frying-pan, season with salt, pepper, and celery salt, and moisten with a little hot water or stock; or, after seasoning, dredge well with flour, stir, and add enough stock to make thin gravy. Pour over small slices of buttered toast.

Scalloped Lamb

Remove skin and fat from thin slices of cold roast lamb, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover bottom of a buttered baking-dish with buttered cracker crumbs; cover meat with boiled macaroni, and add another layer of meat and macaroni. Pour over Tomato Sauce, and cover with buttered cracker crumbs. Bake in hot oven until crumbs are brown. Cold boiled rice may be used in place of macaroni.

Blanquette of Lamb

Cut remnants of cooked lamb in cubes or strips. Reheat two cups meat in two cups sauce,—sauce made of one-fourth cup each of butter and flour, one cup White Stock, and one cup of milk which has been scalded with two blades of mace. Season with salt and pepper, and add one tablespoon Mushroom Catsup, or any other suitable table sauce. Garnish with large croûtons, serve around green peas, or in a potato border, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.

Barbecued Lamb

Cut cold roast lamb in thin slices and reheat in sauce made by melting two tablespoons butter, adding three-fourths tablespoon vinegar, one-fourth cup currant jelly, one-fourth teaspoon French mustard, and salt and cayenne to taste.

Rechauffé of Lamb

Brown two tablespoons butter, add two and one-half tablespoons flour, and stir until well browned; then add one-fourth teaspoon, each, curry powder, mustard, and salt, and one-eighth teaspoon paprika. Add, gradually, one cup brown stock and two tablespoons sherry wine. Reheat cold roast lamb cut in thin slices in sauce.

Salmi of Lamb

Cut cold roast lamb in thin slices. Cook five minutes two tablespoons butter with one-half tablespoon finely chopped onion. Add lamb, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover with one cup Brown Sauce, or one cup cold lamb gravy seasoned with Worcestershire, Harvey, or Elizabeth Sauce. Cook until thoroughly heated. Arrange slices overlapping one another lengthwise of platter, pour around sauce, and garnish with toast points. A few sliced mushrooms or stoned olives improve this sauce.

Casserole of Rice and Meat

Line a mould, slightly greased, with steamed rice. Fill the centre with two cups cold, finely chopped, cooked mutton, highly seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne, celery salt, onion juice and lemon juice; then add one-fourth cup cracker crumbs, one egg slightly beaten, and enough hot stock or water to moisten. Cover meat with rice, cover rice with buttered paper to keep out moisture while steaming, and steam forty-five minutes. Serve on a platter surrounded with Tomato Sauce. Veal may be used in place of mutton.

Breast of Lamb

Wipe a breast of lamb, put in kettle with bouquet of sweet herbs, a small onion stuck with six cloves, one-half tablespoon salt, one-half teaspoon peppercorns, and one-fourth cup each carrot and turnip cut in dice. Cover with boiling water, and simmer until bones will slip out easily. Take meat from water, remove bones, and press under weight. When cool, trim in shape, dip in crumbs, egg, and crumbs, fry in deep fat, and drain. Serve with Spanish Sauce. Small pieces of cold lamb may be sprinkled with salt and pepper, dipped in crumbs, egg, and crumbs, and fried in deep fat.