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CHAPTER IX.

MUTTON.

THE most approved joints of mutton are the haunch and saddle. The saddle is generally looked upon as preferable, though the haunch is the most substantial.

HAUNCH OF MUTTON ROASTED.

115.-It will require to be kept for some time, and must therefore be well washed with vinegar, wiped every day, and, if necessary, rubbed with pounded pepper and ginger. Stick some cloves in the knuckle, and, 24 hours before it is put upon the spit, having thoroughly dried and wiped it clean, lay it in a pan, and pour as much port wine over it as will serve to soak it, turning it frequently, so that every part shall equally imbibe the wine.

Cut off the knuckle rather close to the joint of the leg; nick the cramp-bone, and that will allow the cushion or thick part of the leg to draw up and be more plump; trim off the thick skin at the flank, and round off the corner of the fat, so as to make the joint appear neat. Cover the fat with oiled paper, which should be taken off hour before you think it will be done; then dredge the meat very lightly with flour, and sprinkle it freely with salt; serve it up with currant jelly, and a sauce of port wine, spice, and gravy; a piece of fringed paper being tied neatly around the shank-bone. To roast a haunch of 14 or 16 lbs. will take from 3 to 3 hours; or even a little more if the weather be very cold, or if required to be " done."

very well

To make it taste like Venison.-Let the haunch hang nearly the usual time; then take the skin carefully off, and rub the meat with olive-oil, then put it into a pan with a quantity of whole pepper, 4 cloves of garlic, a bundle of sweet herbs, consisting of parsley, thyme, sweet marjoram, and 2 bay

leaves.

Pour upon the meat a pint of good vinegar and 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls of olive-oil. Cover the upper surface of the meat with slices of raw onion, and turn the mutton every day, always taking care to put the slices of onion on the top surface. At the expiration of days, take the meat out, wipe it with a napkin, and hang it up in a cool place till the next day, when it is fit for roasting.

A more simple method is to rub it every day, and let it hang until it is tender. A clove or two of garlic in the knuckle will, however, give it a much higher flavour, if put into the knuckle when the haunch is hung up.

SADDLE OF MUTTON-E. R.

116. Is formed of the 2 loins, and is also called "the chine." This joint should be well hung and well roasted; but requires rather less time hanging than the haunch. Rub the part close round the tail with salt, after first cutting out the kernel. Wipe it, as well as all other meats, daily, but do not take them into a warm kitchen to do it. Take out the fat from the inside, and also the kidneys: some cooks split the tail, and skewer the pieces back in a ring on either side; but it is an unnecessary and rather vulgar practice. Sprinkle the mutton with salt, dredge it with flour, and send it up finely frothed. Stewed lentils or haricot beans are frequently served round this joint.

If the joint be frequently sponged, or well wetted a few times with port wine, and then hung up in the air to dry, it will be found an admirable improvement, as well as to the haunch; both should, however, be kept until quite tender.

The saddle should be well basted while roasting; it will take 2 or 24 hours, according to the size.

SADDLE OF MUTTON A LA PORTUGAISE.

117. An excellent way to use up port-wine bottoms is the following:-Take 2 quarts of port-wine bottoms or lees, a pint of vinegar, and a pint of stock; shred 6 or 8 shalots, 3 onions, 2 carrots, and 6 turnips, a spoonful of allspice, a dozen cloves, and as many bay-leaves. Make this boiling hot, and pour it over a saddle of mutton, having first cut off the tail close, trimmed off the superfluous fat from the top, and also the flaps. Turn it every morning and evening for 4 or 5 days. Spit it and cover it with a buttered paper, and roast for 2 or 3 hours,

according to its size. It will require longer than usual to roast, and will be quite black, but the flavour will be delicious. When nearly done, remove the paper. Strain a little of the liquor for sauce, adding some gravy and currant jelly to it.

SHOULDER OF MUTTON—E. R.

118.-May be dressed in various ways, but the most usual is to roast it nicely, and send it up with onion sauce.

It is an unsightly joint, and therefore rarely brought to genteel tables; but the appearance may be improved by cutting off the knuckle, when it may be called a shield; and, as to flavour, it has more different sorts of meat in the various cuts than the leg.

The bone may also be taken out, and the mutton stuffed; but in that case the grill of the blade-bone will be sacrificed, which, when broiled, is an admirable adjunct to the breakfasttable. A small shoulder cut into a good shape, boned and stuffed, is very good baked. It is frequently served upon a Yorkshire pudding.

Salted and boiled.-Bone it; if large take 4 oz. of common salt, the same quantity of coarse sugar, mixed with a dessertspoonful of pounded cloves, half that quantity of pepper, a little pounded mace and ginger; rub them well into the mutton, turning it every day for a week; then roll it up tight, and boil it gently for 3 or 4 hours in a quart of water, with a carrot, turnip, onion, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Serve it with some of its own gravy, thickened and highly flavoured, or with any piquant sauce or served up smothered with onions. This is very convenient to families who kill their own mutton. Members of the Yacht Club, or captains of ships are recommended, when they have fresh mutton, to tow it overboard for some hours, and then lay it up in the shrouds. It will then be coated with briny particles, which will effectually keep in all the juices.

BREAST OF MUTTON.

119. The brisket changes first in the breast and if it is to be kept, it is best to rub it with a little salt, should the weather be hot.

Cut off the superfluous fat, joint it well, and roast, and serve it with stewed cucumbers; or to eat cold sprinkle it well with chopped parsley while roasting.

Or:-Bone it, take off a good deal of the fat, and cover it with bread, herbs, and seasoning; then roll and boil till tender: serve with tomata-sauce or sorrel.

Or: Stew it with all the usual kinds of vegetables and a little curry powder; or bone and roll it.

Or :-Cut off the fat, and half boil it; take out the bones, and beat the breast flat; season it with pepper and salt; brush it over with the yolk of an egg, and strew over it minced parsley and green onions, mixed with crumbs of bread; baste it well with fresh butter, and broil it in a Dutch oven. with stewed cucumber or sauce Robert.

LEG OF MUTTON ROASTED.-E. R.

Serve

120.—A leg of mutton intended for roasting should be kept longer than for boiling; it should be carefully attended to during the time it is hung up, constantly wiped to prevent any mustiness gathering on the top and below the flap, and in hot weather lightly dusted with flour or pepper to keep off the flies. The kernel in the fat on the thick part of the leg should be taken out by the butcher, for it taints first there; and the bloody part of the neck should also be cut off when first brought in.

If the weather should be cold, hang the mutton for 3 weeks. Should the weather not admit of its hanging so long, put it into a pan, and cover it with coarse brown sugar, turning it every day; and when to be roasted, remove the skin, and wrap it up in oiled paper. This process will cause it to be very tender and juicy. Remove the thick skin very carefully; trim off the piece of flank that adheres to the fat, and flatten the fat with a cutlet-beater or chopper; cut off the knuckle, and nick the cramp-bone, to allow it to become more plump, as in the haunch. Put a little salt and water into the dripping-pan to baste the meat at first; but then use only its own gravy. Serve with jelly.

A leg of mutton is usually roasted whole, but can be divided advantageously for a small family. Cut the knuckle into a good-sized joint, and boil it until tender; but put a coarse paste over the lower part of the thick end to keep in the gravy, and roast it: or if the skin be raised gently from the outside of the leg, to about 6 or 7 inches wide, 2 or 3 good slices may be cut off for steaks, and the skin then fastened down with skewers.

LEG OF MUTTON BOILED.

121.-Let the joint be kept until it is tender, but not so long as for roasting, as mutton for boiling will not look of a good colour if it has hung long.

To prepare a leg of mutton for boiling, trim it as for roasting; soak it for a couple of hours in cold water; then put only water enough to cover it, and let it boil gently for 3 hours if of the largest size, and, if smaller, according to its weight. Some cooks boil it in a cloth; but if the water be afterwards wanted for soup, that should not be done, as it would be no longer fit for that purpose: some salt and an onion put into it is far better. When nearly ready, take it from the fire, and, keeping the pot well covered, let it remain in the steam for 10 or 15 minutes.

The English taste being in favour of meat in which the gravy has been retained, this joint is esteemed to be in perfection when a little underdone. It is sent to table with capersauce and mashed turnips.

To stuff a Leg of Mutton.-Take a leg of mutton, cut off all the fat, take the bone carefully out and preserve the skin whole; take out the meat and mince it fine, and mix and mince with it about 1 lb. of fat bacon and some parsley; season the whole well with pepper and salt, and a small quantity of eschalot or chives chopped fine; then put the meat into the skin and sew it up neatly on the under side; tie it up in a cloth and put it into a stewpan with 2 or 3 slices of veal, some sliced carrots and onions, a bunch of parsley, and a few slices of fat bacon; let it stew for 3 or 4 hours, and drain the liquor through a fine sieve; when reduced to a glaze, glaze the mutton with it and serve in stewed French beans.

Mix

To dress a Leg of Mutton with Oysters.-Parboil some fine well-fed oysters, take off the beards and horny parts; put to them some parsley, minced onion, and sweet herbs, boiled and chopped fine, and the yolks of 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs. all together, and cut 5 or 6 holes in the fleshy part of a leg of mutton, and put in the mixture; and dress it in either of the following ways:—' -Tie it up in a cloth and let it boil gently 24 or 3 hours, according to the size.

Or:-Braise it, and serve with a pungent brown sauce.

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