Harper's cook book encyclopædia

cooked, or it is most unwholesome. The joint should not be taken from the fire until the gravy drops from it. Lamb is usually cut into quarters, and of these the fore-quarter, which consists of the shoulder, the breast, and the neck, is considered the best. It is generally roasted, though the leg, which is frequently served by itself, makes a useful and excellent joint when boiled. The shoulder is usually boned, stuffed, and roasted ; the neck stewed. The fat of lamb should be firm and light, the lean a clear, faintish white, and also firm. If the fat be yellow and the lean flabby and red, the lamb is of inferior quality. As the fat gives the strong taste to mutton, it should be trimmed off. In baking the joint, it should be set on a rack in the pan to avoid cooking it in the fat. Mutton, Boiled and Baked. — Select a. plump, compact leg of mutton, take out the bone, and fill the cavity with a dressing made of bread-crumbs, a very little thyme, salt, pepper, and bits of butter, moisten with oyster - juice, and add about half a pint of oysters to the quantity of dressing required for one leg of mutton. Sew it up and place in boiling water, having it completely immersed ; boil slowly half an hour ; then place in a dripping-pan, pouring over the meat a little of the liquor, basting frequently with it while baking. Mutton, Boiled and Broiled. — Half roast or stew or parboil a joint of 6 lbs., then cut it once or twice on both sides to the bone, season the cuts and outside with cayenne, and finish dressing on a gridiron over a brisk fire, take the gravy, not the fat, add to it some pickled mushrooms, ldrge and small, and strew over, and garnish the broil when served. Time to parboil, one hour ; to grill, twenty minutes. Mutton Broth. See Soups. Mutton Chops with Espagnol Sauce. — Make a dressing of six chopped mushrooms, one small onion, minced, a teaspoonful of minced parsley with salt and pepper; cook all together in butter, and add a table-spoonful of Spanish sauce. Trim and flatten the chops, broil over live coals for three or four minutes, put them in a baking-pan, cover with the dressing, and set in the oven eight or ten minutes. The chops should be thoroughly done. Take up on a heated dish, and serve with Spanish (Espagnol) sauce. Mutton, Curried. — Put 4 ozs. of butter into a stewpan, and pound six middle-sized onions in a mortar ; add the onions to the butter with I oz. of curry powder, a teaspoonful of salt, a dessert-spoonful of flour, and half a pint of cream. Stir until smooth. Fry 2 lbs. of mutton, cut in neat pieces, without bone. Let them be of a light - brown color. Lay the meat into a clean stewpan, and pour the curry mixture over. Simmer until the meat is done. Time, two hours to simmer. Mutton Cutlets a la France. — Take a dozen cutlets ; put in a saucepan; cover with white stock; add a sprig each of thyme and parsley ; set on the fire to simmer gently until the meat is tender. Take up ; strain the gravy ; return to the saucepan ; add two beaten yolks of eggs, six drops of onion-juice, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a table-spoonful of mushroom catsup, with salt and pepper. Set on the fire, and cook until thick. Take up ; let cool ; dip each cutlet in the sauce ; lay in a baking dish or pan ; cover with grated bread-crumbs and bits of butter. Set in the oven to bake brown. Serve with brown sauce.