Practical household cookery

549. HARICOT MUTTON. Cut the end part of the neck as well as the breast of mutton between each bone ; pare away all superfluous fat, put the pieces of . mutton into a stewpan ; fry them over a brisk Are to a nice brown ; then pour off the grease, sprinkle three spoonfuls of flour over the mutton, and stir the contents for about five minutes over the fire ; then moisten it with one quart of broth, and continue stirring almost constantly till it boils. Prepare about half a pound each of carrots and turnips cut in fancy shapes, such as half-moons, small pears, and big olives; add them to the mutton, as well as a dozen small onions, a " bouquet garni," two bay -leaves, and two pinches of mignonette pepper. Let the haricot mutton simmer gently by the side of the fire, with the lid on the pan, for about an hour and a half, taking care to frequently stir it ; then carefully skim off the fat and grease ; remove the '^ bouquet garni " and leaves ; dish it up with the vegetables ; reduce the sauce (if necessary) by sharp boiling, pour it over the mutton, and serve. Note. — ^The above may be varied by substituting new potatoes, young carrots, turnips, and green peas for the aforesaid vegetables. 550. BRAIZED LEG OF MUTTON A LA BRETONNE. Take a nice fat leg of mutton weighing about eight pounds, saw off the shank-bone, and lard it with a dozen strips of fat bacon, cut a quarter of an inch square by six inches long. Place the leg in a braizing-pan with two onions each stuck with two cloves, a head of celery split in half, two shred carrots, a spoonful of chopped parsley, a bay-leaf, and season with salt, pepper, a little nutmeg, and two blades of mace. Moisten with a quart of good stocky cover the meat with a buttered paper, and put the lid on the pan ; lay on it some embers ; set the pan on the fire to simmer very gently for about four hours, taking care to frequently baste the mutton with its liquor and feed the lid with live embers. Meanwhile cook a pint of white haricot beans (No. 294), strain, and put in a stewpan in which the following sauce has already been prepared: — Shred fine two onions ; fry them of a light colour in a sauté-pan with a little butter; add a pint of brown sauce ; season with salt and pepper ; let it boil gently for fifteen minutes, then rub it through a sieve, as a purde. Having thus put the beans with the sauce, let the whole simmer about five minutes. When the mutton is properly braized take it from the braizing-pan and keep it hot; straiu the liquor into a small saucepan ; skim off all the fat and reduce it to a half-glaze ; lay the haricot beans on a hot dish ; dress the leg of mutton on it ; pour over the meat the half-glaze, and serve. Note, — To simplify the cooking, legs of mutton may be braized without larding, and garnished with plain boiled haricot beans, moistened with gravy instead of sauce. Braized legs of mutton as above can be served k la Jardiniere, k la Soubise, and k la Mac^doine ; for which see the respective garnishes. Loins and saddles of mutton may also be braized and served in the same style as legs of mutton. 551. BOILED LEG OF MUTTON. Choose a nice leg of mutton ; put it in a stock-pot with a spoonful of salt and plenty of cold water ; boil it ; remove the scum by skimming in the same way as broth ; then add a couple of carrots sliced in four, and six or eight turnips ; let it simmer gently by the side of the stove for not less