Almost every large city has a particular manner of cutting up, or, as
it is called, dressing the carcase. In London this process is very
simple, and as our butchers have found that much skewering back,
doubling one part over another, or scoring the inner cuticle or fell,
tends to spoil the meat and shorten the time it would otherwise keep,
they avoid all such treatment entirely. The carcase when flayed (which
operation is performed while yet warm), the sheep when hung up and the
head removed, presents the profile shown in our cut; the small numerals
indicating the parts or joints into which one-half of the animal is
cut. After separating the hind from the fore quarters, with eleven
ribs to the latter, the quarters are usually subdivided in the manner
shown in the sketch, in which the several joints are defined by the
intervening lines and figures. _Hind quarter_: No. 1, the leg; 2, the
loin—the two, when cut in one piece, being called the saddle. _Fore
quarter_: No. 3, the shoulder; 4 and 5 the neck; No. 5 being called,
for distinction, the scrag, which is generally afterwards separated
from 4, the lower and better joint; No. 6, the breast. The haunch of
mutton, so often served at public dinners and special entertainments,
comprises all the leg and so much of the loin, short of the ribs or
lap, as is indicated on the upper part of the carcase by a dotted line.
[Illustration: SIDE OF MUTTON, SHOWING THE SEVERAL JOINTS.]
MUTTON, Baked Minced.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—The remains of any joint of cold
roast mutton, 1 or 2 onions, 1 bunch of savoury herbs, pepper and salt
to taste, 2 blades of pounded mace or nutmeg, 1 teacupful of gravy,
mashed potatoes. _Mode._—Mince an onion rather fine, and fry it a
light-brown colour; add the herbs and mutton, both of which should be
also finely minced and well mixed; season with pepper and salt, and a
little pounded mace or nutmeg, and moisten with the above proportion
of gravy. Put a layer of mashed potatoes at the bottom of a dish, then
the mutton, and then another layer of potatoes, and bake for about ½
hour. _Time._—½ hour. _Average cost_, exclusive of the meat, 4_d._
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—If there should be a large quantity of meat, use 2 onions
instead of 1.
MUTTON, Boiled Breast of, and Caper Sauce.
_Ingredients._—Breast of mutton, bread-crumbs, 2 tablespoonfuls of
minced savoury herbs (put a large proportion of parsley), pepper and
salt to taste. _Mode._—Cut off the superfluous fat; bone the meat;
sprinkle over a layer of bread-crumbs, minced herbs, and seasoning;
roll, and bind it up firmly. Boil _gently_ for 2 hours, remove
the tape, and serve with caper sauce, a little of which should be
poured over the meat. _Time._—2 hours. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per lb.
_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ all the year.
MUTTON, an excellent way to cook a Breast of.
_Ingredients._—Breast of mutton, 2 onions, salt and pepper to taste,
flour, a bunch of savoury herbs, green peas. _Mode._—Cut the mutton
into pieces about 2 inches square, and let it be tolerably lean; put
it into a stewpan, with a little fat or butter, and fry it of a nice
brown; then dredge in a little flour, slice the onions, and put it with
the herbs in the stewpan; pour in sufficient water _just_ to cover the
meat, and simmer the whole gently until the mutton is tender. Take out
the meat, strain, and skim off all the fat from the gravy, and put
both the meat and gravy back into the stewpan; add about a quart of
young green peas, and let them boil gently until done. 2 or 3 slices of
bacon added and stewed with the mutton give additional flavour; and,
to insure the peas being a beautiful green colour, they may be boiled
in water separately, and added to the stew at the moment of serving.
_Time._—2½ hours. _Average cost_, 6_d._ per lb. _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5
persons. _Seasonable_ from June to August.
MUTTON, Broiled, and Tomato Sauce.
[COLD MEAT COOKERY.] _Ingredients._—A few slices of cold mutton, tomato
sauce. _Mode._—Cut some nice slices from a cold leg or shoulder of
mutton; season them with pepper and salt, and broil over a clear fire.
Make some tomato sauce, pour it over the mutton, and serve. This makes
an excellent dish, and must be served very hot. _Time._—About 5 minutes
to broil the mutton. _Seasonable_ in September and October, when
tomatoes are plentiful and seasonable.
MUTTON BROTH, to Make.
_Ingredients._—1 lb. of the scrag end of the neck of mutton, 1 onion,
a bunch of sweet herbs, ½ turnip, 3 pints of water, pepper and salt to
taste. _Mode._—Put the mutton into a stewpan; pour over the water cold,
and add the other ingredients. When it boils, skim it very carefully,
cover the pan closely, and let it simmer very gently for an hour;
strain it, let it cool, take off all the fat from the surface, and
warm up as much as may be required, adding, if the patient be allowed
to take it, a teaspoonful of minced parsley which has been previously
scalded. Pearl barley or rice are very nice additions to mutton broth,
and should be boiled as long as the other ingredients. When either of
these is added, the broth must not be strained, but merely thoroughly
skimmed. Plain mutton broth without seasoning is made by merely boiling
the mutton, water, and salt together, straining it, letting the broth
cool, skimming all the fat off, and warming up as much as is required.
This preparation would be very tasteless and insipid, but likely to
agree with very delicate stomachs, whereas the least addition of
other ingredients would have the contrary effect. _Time._—1 hour.
_Average cost_, 7_d._ _Sufficient_ to make from 1½ to 2 pints of broth.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
_Note._—Veal broth may be made in the same manner; the knuckle of a
leg or shoulder is the part usually used for this purpose. It is very
good with the addition of the inferior joints of a fowl, or a few
shank-bones.
MUTTON BROTH, to Make Quickly.
_Ingredients._—1 or 2 chops from a neck of mutton, 1 pint of water, a
small bunch of sweet herbs, ¼ of an onion, pepper and salt to taste.
_Mode._—Cut the meat into small pieces; put it into a saucepan with
the bones, but no skin or fat; add the other ingredients; cover the
saucepan, and bring the water quickly to boil. Take the lid off, and
continue the rapid boiling for 20 minutes, skimming it well during
the process; strain the broth into a basin; if there should be any
fat left on the surface, remove it by laying a piece of thin paper on
the top; the greasy particles will adhere to the paper, and so free
the preparation from them. To an invalid nothing is more disagreeable
than broth served with a quantity of fat floating on the top; to avoid
this, it is always better to allow it to get thoroughly cool, the fat
can then be so easily removed. _Time._—20 minutes after the water
boils. _Average cost_, 5_d._ _Sufficient_ to make ½ pint of broth.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
MUTTON, Haunch of, to Carve.
A deep cut should, in the first place, be made quite down to the bone,
across the knuckle-end of the joint, along the line 1 to 2. This will
let the gravy escape; and then it should be carved, in not too thick
slices, along the whole length of the haunch, in the direction of the
line from 4 to 3.
[Illustration: HAUNCH OF MUTTON.]
MUTTON, Leg of, to Carve.
This homely, but capital English joint, is almost invariably served
at table as shown in the engraving. The carving of it is not very
difficult: the knife should be carried sharply down in the direction of
the line from 1 to 2, and slices taken from either side, as the guests
may desire, some liking the knuckle-end, as well done, and others
preferring the more underdone part. The fat should be sought near the
line 3 to 4. Some connoisseurs are fond of having this joint dished
with the under-side uppermost, so as to get at the finely-grained meat
lying under that part of the joint, known as the Pope’s eye; but this
is an extravagant fashion, and one that will hardly find favour in the
eyes of many economical British housewives and housekeepers.
[Illustration: LEG OF MUTTON.]
MUTTON, Loin of, to Carve.
[Illustration: LOIN OF MUTTON.]
There is one point in connection with carving a loin of mutton which
includes every other; that is, that the joint should be thoroughly well
jointed by the butcher before it is cooked. This knack of jointing
requires practice and the proper tools; and no one but the butcher is
supposed to have these. If the bones be not well jointed, the carving
of a loin of mutton is not a gracious business; whereas, if that has
been attended to, it is an easy and untroublesome task. The knife
should be inserted at fig. 1, and after feeling your way between the
bones, it should be carried sharply in the direction of the line 1 to
2. As there are some people who prefer the outside cut, while others do
not like it, the question as to their choice of this should be asked.
MUTTON, Saddle of, to Carve.
[Illustration: SADDLE OF MUTTON.]
Although we have heard, at various intervals, growlings expressed at
the inevitable “saddle of mutton” at the dinner-parties of our middle
classes, yet we doubt whether any other joint is better liked, when
it has been well hung and artistically cooked. There is a diversity
of opinion respecting the mode of sending this joint to table; but
it has only reference to whether or no there shall be any portion of
the tail, or, if so, how many joints of the tail. Some trim the tail
with a paper frill. The carving is not difficult: it is usually cut
in the direction of the line from 2 to 1, quite down to the bones, in
evenly-sliced pieces. A fashion, however, patronized by some, is to
carve it obliquely, in the direction of the line from 4 to 3; in which
case the joint would be turned round the other way, having the tail end
on the right of the carver.
MUTTON, Shoulder of, to Carve.
[Illustration: SHOULDER OF MUTTON.]
This is a joint not difficult to carve. The knife should be drawn
from the outer edge of the shoulder in the direction of the line from
1 to 2, until the bone of the shoulder is reached. As many slices as
can be carved in this manner should be taken, and afterwards the meat
lying on each side of the blade-bone should be served, by carving in
the direction of 3 to 4 and 5 to 6. The uppermost side of the shoulder
being now finished, the joint should be turned, and slices taken off
along its whole length. There are some who prefer this under-side of
the shoulder for its juicy flesh, although the grain of the meat is not
so fine as that on the other side.
MUTTON CHOPS, Broiled.
_Ingredients._—Loin of mutton, pepper and salt, a small piece of
butter. _Mode._—Cut the chops from a well-hung tender loin of mutton,
remove a portion of the fat, and trim them into a nice shape;
slightly beat and level them; place the gridiron over a bright clear
fire, rub the bars with a little fat, and lay on the chops. Whilst
broiling, frequently turn them, and in about 8 minutes they will
be done. Season with pepper and salt, dish them on a very hot dish,
rub a small piece of butter on each chop, and serve very hot and
expeditiously. _Time._—About 8 minutes. _Average cost_, 10_d._ per lb.
_Sufficient._—Allow 1 chop to each person. _Seasonable_ at any time.