Cut up from three to four pounds of mutton,—the inferior portions will
do as well as any other,—crack the bones, and remove all the fat. Put
on the meat—the pieces not more than an inch and a half in length—in
a pot with enough cold water to cover well, and set it where it will
heat gradually. Add nothing else until it has stewed an hour, closely
covered; then throw in half a pound of salt pork cut into strips, a
little chopped onion, and some pepper; cover and stew an hour longer,
or until the meat is very tender. Make out a little paste, as for the
crust of a meat-pie; cut into squares, and drop in the stew. Boil ten
minutes, and season further by the addition of a little parsley and
thyme. Thicken with two spoonfuls of flour stirred into a cup of cold
milk. Boil up once, and serve in a tureen or deep covered dish.
If green corn is in season, this stew is greatly improved by adding, an
hour before it is taken from the fire, the grains of half a dozen ears,
cut from the cob.
Try it for a cheap family dinner, and you will repeat the experiment
often. Lamb is even better for your purpose than mutton.